Miscues on Women’s Issues Hurting Baker’s Campaign
Friday, September 26, 2014
After a string of comments on a variety of topics ranging from domestic abuse and the NFL to the Hobby Lobby ruling, Baker has added another comment to the bunch, calling female reporter Sharman Sacchetti “sweetheart” after she asked him a follow up question about him changing the firm that runs his media relations strategy.
“Charlie Baker has proven once again that he does not take women or their concerns seriously in this race,” said Katie Hayden, Policy and Operations Manager for Mass NOW. “His dismissive behavior and condescending use of “sweetheart” in response to a question from a well-respected female journalist is just another example of his blatant disregard for women.”
Baker needs all the help he can get in regards to becoming more favorable among women voters, as recent polls show that Baker is trailing Coakley in that category by double digits. Additionally, when Baker lost to Patrick in the 2010 gubernatorial election, he had lost the vote among women in Massachusetts by a 24-percent margin.
Back and Forth
Baker has been trying valiantly to increase his appeal among women by hosting Women for Charlie events, bringing on Karyn Polito as his Lt. Governor, and featuring his daughter and wife in a variety of television ads among other things, but his back and forth nature on a lot of key women’s issues have been particularly damaging.
In addition to Baker’s “sweetheart” comment, he has also been recently blasted for being noncommittal about whether or not he felt NFL commissioner Roger Goodell should be fired after the Ray Rice scandal and when he initially said that the Hobby Lobby ruling “doesn’t matter” and then later retracted and clarified his comments after a wave of criticism.
What Women Want
Women have become increasingly important to the political landscape to the point that elections are trying to cater more and more to them during election cycles.
Research by the Barbara Lee Family Foundation – a group devoted to engaging more women in politics through nonpartisan research – shows that women in Massachusetts are simply looking for a candidate that they can connect with. While many focus on the women’s issues like abortion rights and domestic abuse in appealing to women, everyday family issues like creating jobs, the economy, and education are all important issues that many women tend to look at and prioritize.
“Male candidates have to find a way to court women voters, which is a trend that we are certainly seeing,” said Erin Souza-Rezendes, Communications Director for the Barbara Lee Family Foundation. “Women are looking for a candidate that they can relate to. When you see dismissive language by male candidates, that is something that can really stick with women in a negative way.”
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