Republicans Freak Women out,Obama Flies in the Polls.

According to a survey by ABC News and The Washington Post, the incumbent president can count on women’s vote to curb the recovery of his probable challenger, Romney. What is tipping the scale in favor of the White House’s current tenant is the fierce campaign the Republicans have been carrying out for a long time against women’s rights in order to regain approval from the right wing.

The “gender gap,” the gender difference. A gender issue might return Barack Obama to the White House. According to a survey by ABC News and The Washington Post, a large majority of American women plan to vote for the Democratic president next November. Mitt Romney, the likely Republican nominee, has made gains among men but not enough to cover his loss among women. With the presidential elections less than seven months away, Obama is ahead of Romney 51 percent to 44 percent. Seven percentage points represent a good result for Obama, now that the campaign is getting to its heart.

The ABC News/Washington Post survey examines different aspects of the electoral race: the economy (the only field where Obama is weak: 76 percent of Americans consider the country still in recession), the candidates’ ability to defend the interests of the middle class (Obama is leading by 10 percent), popularity (again, Obama has the edge over Romney because he is considered more likeable, reliable and authoritative by 64 percent of Americans). But women’s vote represents the most comforting data for Democrats: 57 percent of American women would vote for Barack Obama (compared to 38 percent who would vote for Romney).

The veritable good news for Obama especially concerns the vote of white women. As of Mar. 10, Romney was favored by 55 percent of white women. Today — a month later — the Republican candidate has lost 7 percent of that group. Obama has the substantive equality in the white female vote and the absolute predominance in the minority (Obama hits almost 80 percent among African-American and Latino women). This explains why the White House could be Democratic for another four years.

The survey’s outcome does not arrive totally unexpected. American women have traditionally voted for the Democratic candidate. In 2008, Obama had 13 percentage points over McCain among women voters. This year, however, it is quite different. Republicans are imprisoned in an increasingly ideological view. They are convinced primary election will be won by the far right wing and they are working hard to attract the conservative and evangelical vote. As a result, Republicans have started a veritable “war against women,” as it has been called.

The traditional opposition to abortion has been accompanied by a demonization of all forms of contraception (despite 99 percent of American women reporting they have used some form of birth control at least once in their life). In the heart of the election campaign, Virginia’s Republican governor, Bob McDonnell – with the support of all candidates — has promoted a law requiring a particularly invasive vaginal ultrasound for all women trying to have an abortion, even those victims of rape. Furthermore, Romney, Santorum, Gingrich and all the Republican leaders have been fighting for months to cut public funding to Planned Parenthood, the national organization working for women’s health. Planned Parenthood has been accused of using taxpayers’ money to pay for abortions (only 3 percent of Planned Parenthood’s funds, none of which are public funds, go toward abortion services).

The list is long and becomes even more apparent if we start considering domestic policy. Republicans in Maryland cut funds for after-school school services for poor children with working mothers. In South Dakota, Republicans want to legalize the killing of abortion doctors. In Georgia, a Republican wants to change the legal term for women who have been subjected to rape or domestic violence from “victim” to “accuser.” In a recent closed-door meeting of Republican senators, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska invited colleagues to tone down their rhetoric in order to avoid being painted as anti-women, since “that might have disastrous consequences in the November vote.”*

Murkowski’s appeal does not seem to have been heard, and now Republicans are faced with the nearly impossible task of winning American women back. They are annoyed, frightened and weary of a “war” that has probably inflamed the Christian and conservative vote, but has made the vote of an entire nation colder and more doubtful.

*Editor’s note: This quote, accurately translated, could not be verified.