MEMO from Missouri Campaign for Change
TO: Interested Parties
RE: Women Voters in Missouri
DATE: October 13, 2008
On Friday, Bloomberg reported that as the economy continues to sour, women voters in Missouri are beginning to break towards Barack Obama. The article, “Obama Makes Inroads Among White Working Class Women in Missouri,” quoted several Missouri women - previously undecided - who are now supporting Obama because of their deep concerns about how the faltering economy is affecting their families.
The report is not remarkable considering the stark differences between the candidates on issues like health care, jobs, equal pay, and other bread-and-butter issues that are foremost in women voters' minds. This is not a surprise. Women are more at risk with an economic downturn; they are more likely to be paid minimum wage, to not have health care, and to be “last in, first out” in the workplace.
As women become increasingly anxious about the economy, they are closely examining the candidates’ positions on these key issues – and women are concluding that Barack Obama and Joe Biden are the right choice to bring the change we need.
In recent weeks, Missouri polls have tightened up:
· The most recent Rasmussen poll shows Obama leading McCain 50-47 (October 5)
· CNN’s most recent poll has Obama leading 49-48 (September 27-30)
· The St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s most recent polling indicates McCain leading 47-46 (September 26)
Much of this trend is attributable to women voters moving toward Obama because of concerns about economic issues and their belief that he can bring the change we need:
· In Rassmussen’s survey, a whopping 51 percent of women say that economic issues are their top concern.
· This is an increase from a month ago, when the same poll had 44 percent of women rating economic issues as chief concern. In that poll, McCain led 51 to 46. (September 11)
· And women trust Obama to turn the economy around --- 49 percent to 45 percent trust Obama more on the economy (Rasmussen, October 5)
Given this trend, it is no surprise that the McCain campaign is trying to change the topic of conversation with false attacks and distractions. Just the other day, Missouri’s own Governor Matt Blunt said of the economic crisis: "We need to get it back to the middle pages of the Wall Street Journal instead of on the front page of every paper every day.”
But it’s not working.
Women voters are examining the candidates’ positions closely, and they know that on health care, jobs, tax relief for middle class families, and other key issues, that Barack Obama and Joe Biden will bring the change we need.
Health Care
· Barack Obama’s health care plan would provide quality affordable health care for all Americans. The Obama plan would lower costs by up to $2,500 per family while improving the quality of care and allowing people satisfied with their insurance coverage to stick with their current plan.
· Obama’s plan would also ensure that insurance companies could not discriminate against patients for pre-existing conditions – as even pregnancy is considered by some insurance companies – and could not skirt state laws that require coverage for preventive measures like mammograms and cervical screenings.
· John McCain’s would pay for his new health tax credits by taxing workers’ health benefits for the first time in history, resulting in a $3.6 million tax increase on working families. The non-partisan Economic Policy Institute has estimated that this policy would result in 20 million individuals – including 406,000 Missourians – losing their employer-sponsored health coverage.
Creating New Jobs
· Obama’s plan would help 8.7 million women business owners grow their businesses and create jobs, by setting capital gains rates to zero for small business and entrepreneurial ventures.
· Obama would also provide a new health tax credit for small businesses that provide quality health care to their employees.
· Obama’s plan will invest $1 billion in Missouri right now to help avoid budget cuts or tax increases and put Missourians to work rebuilding roads, bridges and schools.
Equal Pay
· Barack Obama helped pass a law to give 330,000 more women protection from paycheck discrimination in Illinois and strongly supports federal legislation to ensure that women receive equal pay for equal work.
· John McCain stood in the way of legislation to help close the pay gap that has women earning 77 cents for every dollar earned by men.
Balancing Work, Family, and Budget
· Obama considers it unacceptable that 22 million working women don’t have a single paid sick day, that women can still be fired for taking maternity leave and that 78 percent of workers who have family leave can’t afford to take it because it’s not paid.
· Barack Obama wants to make it easier for women to balance work, family and budget, by extending child care tax breaks to 7.5 million additional working women, including 1.4 million women in Missouri, providing 7 days of paid sick leave to 22 million working women, and expanding the Family Medical Leave Act to more workers
· Barack Obama wants to give 8.4 million working women a raise of up to $4,700 per year, by increasing the minimum wage to $9.50 by 2011.
Taxes
· An Obama-Biden administration would make it easier for women to make ends meet through a comprehensive tax plan that makes strengthening the middle class a priority – not corporations or the wealthy.
· Barack Obama’s tax plan would provide a new “Making Work Pay” tax cut of up to $500 per person or $1000 per family that would benefit 71 million working women.
· As President, Obama will work to expand the childcare tax credit to an additional 7.5 million working moms; provide afterschool and summer learning opportunities for an additional three million children; and invest $10 billion to give every child access to quality, affordable early childhood education.
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