Women Sour on Obama, New Poll Shows Lowest Presidential Approval Rating
A new Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday shows President Obama at his lowest approval rating yet. Even women, a voting bloc central to his victory in 2012, have started to abandon him. Some female conservative leaders that The Christian Post spoke to believe this shift among women is due to the painful rollout of the Affordable Care Act, better known as "ObamaCare."
According to the poll, taken between November 6 and November 11, 54 percent of American voters disapprove of Obama's job as president, and only 39 percent approve. The rate among women is slightly better, at 51 percent and 40 percent, respectively. The poll showed a major shift from the slight disapproval (49 to 45 percent) expressed in October, beating what was previously Obama's worst month – October 2011 (55 to 41).
"His numbers right now are where George W. Bush's were at this time," Tim Malloy, assistant director of Quinnipiac's Polling Institute, told The Christian Post in an interview on Wednesday. In contrast, "Reagan and Clinton were far better off at the five year point."
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Malloy connected the numbers with reports contradicting Obama's oft-repeated pledge that, if they like it, Americans will be able to keep their old healthcare under the ACA. During the time of polling, "it became clear that the president had made a misstatement on keeping one's healthcare plan if they like the plan," the Quinnipiac spokesman said.
"When any Democrat has a deficit like that with women, they're in trouble," Republican strategist Alice Stewart, host of the Alice Stewart Show, told CP Wednesday. Stewart also connected the poll to Obama's reportedly broken promise.
This alleged lie "does not compare" to any others, Stewart argued, even President George H.W. Bush's promise "read my lips, no new taxes," because Obama's promise was made under false pretenses. "This pledge was made while he knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that the American people would lose their insurance," the Republican strategist explained. Even President Clinton has called on Obama to fulfill this pledge.
One healthcare expert estimated that at least 129 million Americans will not be able to keep their previous healthcare coverage by 2014. "The American people will put up with a lot from their elected officials, but they won't put up with being deceived," Stewart claimed. She argued that this shift against Obama will continue against Democrats leading into the 2014 elections.
"There's a long term deficit for losing the trust of the American electorate," the Republican strategist added. "President Obama is going to feel that and the Democratic Party will, too."
Penny Nance, president and CEO of Concerned Women for America (CWFA), agreed with Stewart's predictions. "There is a shift coming," Nance argued, "because the Obama Administration does not understand women." She explained that the promise of free birth control is not the key to win women's votes, because these voters care more about their families.
Nance lamented a new ad for the ACA which features a young lady holding birth control and leaning into a man with the title "Let's Get Physical." Beneath the picture, the ad reads "OMG, he's hot! Let's hope he's as easy to get as this birth control." The group behind the ad, Progress Now Colorado, has received millions in government grants, Nance alleged.
"In a time when people cannot pay their bills, they're losing their jobs, their healthcare plans are going through the roof, the fact that our government dollars are being wasted to promote unhealthy behavior is outrageous," the CWFA president declared. "There's a long time between now and 2014, but right now the trend is not in favor of Senate Democrats."
Sabrina Schaeffer, executive director of the Independent Women's Forum, proved more hesitant to declare a political victory against Democrats. "I think most presidents in their second term face this, so I don't want to get over-excited," Schaeffer cautioned. She argued that women are souring on Obama because they "make the majority of healthcare decisions for their families, buy the most prescription drugs, and have unique healthcare needs related to childbearing."
Despite the widely publicized failures of the ACA website, Healthcare.gov, and Obama's broken promise that "if you like your plan, you can keep it," Schaeffer warned that most women still like the idea of government healthcare. "Women still like the idea of ObamaCare but are frustrated at the implementation," she explained. She argued that, when it comes to political issues, women care most about fairness.
Schaeffer mentioned the site MyCancellation.com, which "gives a personal face to all the people who are losing their personal health insurance right now." She advocated for market-based healthcare, as opposed to a government system. "I think that people are beginning to realize that until they own and control their healthcare dollars, healthcare is not going to improve in this country," she argued.
