Earlier today I saw the block quote from the National Journal on the front page:
But her passion sets her apart from most undecided women, according to research conducted by Momentum Analysis, a Democratic polling firm, and Public Opinion Strategies, a Republican firm. The pollsters have been studying “Walmart moms”—women with school-aged children who shop at the mega-store—since 2010. They conducted a focus group with them in June in Richmond, Va., and an online discussion with women from five battleground states, including Virginia.
“We would get a blank stare when we asked about women’s issues,” said GOP pollster Alex Bratty, whose partner, Neil Newhouse, advises Romney. “President Obama is raising an issue that these moms are not talking about. It’s the wrong conversation.”
Even Bratty’s Democratic partner in the study, Margie Omero, agreed that most women are not feeling targeted, although she added that they don’t want the government involved in reproductive decisions. “I think part of the Democratic strategy to talk about abortion and birth control is for motivating the base and for turnout and enthusiasm, not necessarily for reaching swing voters,” she said. “Swing voters are not seeing a war on women. What they want is to make sure candidates understand their life struggles and what they’re going through in a very empathetic way, and if you look at the polls, Obama definitely has the advantage on that.”
At the moment Obama enjoys a double digit lead among woman. While Romney is unlikely to make much headway in closing that gender gap, I for one don't want to cede any ground at all. So I started thinking about what sort of issues working class moms who are forced to shop at Walmart are probably concerned about.
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First a few words on these supposed "Walmart Moms." It seems like every election we get some new quirky demographic that is going to swing the election. Be it the "Soccer Moms" of 1996 and 2000, or the "Security Moms" of 2004. Then in 2008 we got the mythical "Hockey Moms" thanks to Sarah Palin and her Alaska themed campaign speak. In all likelihood this is just as ridiculous a concept, if not more so.
Growing up during the Regan-Bush years my family was very poor and it was during the Bush Senior years that Walmart moved into town. Our family shopped there routinely because they were cheaper than every other store in town and our budget was incredibly thin. So in a very real way my mother was a "Walmart Mom" but I think if I were to call her that, I would be smacked. I cannot imagine any woman wanting to be called a "Walmart Mom." Whoever coined that term should be fired.
That said I remember being a kid and going to Walmart and the sorts of things we bought and I think I can make some pretty accurate guesses about what sort of issues a working class mom would be concerned with most.
First and foremost I would guess Education:
I remember as a kid the constant school supplies needed to get through the end of the year. I remember feeling like a burden on my parents because I needed a pack of pencils or new folder or some sort of supplies to complete a school project. Even as a kid in elementary school I remember wondering what would have to be sacrificed so that I could get school stuff.
Today schools seem like they're in even worse financial shape, at least around here. Parents routinely come to my work and talk about school supply drives at their work or church. Where parents buy school supplies and bundle them together to donate to the schools. I stand in line at places like Target and Staples behind moms buying school supplies for these drives. Businesses in the area actually advertise how much money worth of supplies they have donated to schools in the area.
The good news is that even though the schools are struggling, Obama has a great record on this. He can make his argument by talking about the Stimulus package. Perhaps the most important thing The Stimulus did was it prop up failing State budgets which without a doubt softened what would have otherwise been much steeper, deeper and painful cuts to schools. Second as anyone can check on http://www.Recovery.gov, the Stimulus gave money directly to schools in virtually every community in the country.
I have posted this info here before but it bares repeating. I checked Recovery.gov a few weeks back to see how much my tiny, highly Conservative area got from the Stimulus.
Here are the numbers:
Apple Valley High School: $8,200,737
Hesperia School District: $11,421,209
Victor Valley High School: $7,099,257
San Bernardino County School District: $19,515,943
There are other smaller schools and education centers in the area that got smaller amounts, but even just these major institutions the total for my Tri-City Area is $26,721,203 dollars. The grand total education stimulus when you include the county district is $46,237,146 dollars.
Remember that newly created California House District 08 that due to California's stupid new primary system has 2 GOP candidates running against each other for the same seat, with no Dem in the race?
That's where I live. This district will probably go to Mitt Romney by 20 points, despite the fact that we got almost $46 Million Dollars in stimulus funds, and that's just for Education. That does not include construction funds, or money to prop up local Governments. Nor does it including federal funding for the neighborhood re-stabilization programs that are bringing new life to dead communities.
If you know a "Walmart Mom" go to Recovery.gov, enter your zip code and filter the results by searching for "school" and then post the results just as I have on your Google+ and Facebook pages where they can see it. If Mitt Romney were President he would have denied these kids, and their families the financial relief provided by the Stimulus. He would have denied our schools those funds.
The Second most important issue I would assume is wages:
Woman's issues are by and large family issues because families struggle right along with them. The Payroll Tax holiday or "Silent Stimulus" has already pumped billions of dollars into the economy by letting workers keep a slightly larger chunk of their paychecks. This has put extra spending money in the pockets of every working Americans, which saves jobs.
While it may not be enough money to have been noticed by most people, it has done a world of good for those on extremely fixed incomes and for our economy as a whole.
There is also only one candidate in the race that would even consider raising the minimum wage, let alone support such an effort. That is Barack Obama. Not only do Walmart's customers tend to work for minimum wage, but so do their employees. Making the minimum wage an issue in this campaign could be the deciding factor for this newly invented demographic.
And lets not forget that any candidate that would turn a blind eye to the fundamental unfairness of paying woman less for doing the same job, does not belong in the White House. Republican's like to stress how important it is for children to have 2 parents, specifically they want a man and a woman. They use this as a shield they can hide behind while they bash gays and single moms. But when the time comes to talk about equal pay for both parents, all you hear is crickets from the other side.
Equal pay is not just about fairness, though that is certainly important. It is about families and budgets and making ends meet. Thankfully President Obama understands this and signed the Lilly Ledbetter law that goes a long way toward equality for woman, and stability for families. But it didn't solve the problem. So who should working class moms trust when it comes to further improvements toward economic equality and stability? The guy who signed the most sweeping reform to date, or Mitt Romney, the guy who won't even comment on whether or not he would have done the same?
Third most important issue would probably be Health Care:
People in the lower economic spectrum, those who work for a living and struggle to get by, those who shop exclusively at Walmart are statistically more likely to have grown children living at home. Housing prices have dropped but if you're a working class student either just out of school or still in college, odds are you do not have a job that pays enough to afford moving out on your own. This also means you definitely don't have a job that offers health care coverage of any sort.
Because of this the benefits of the Affordable Care Act are more important to stress now more than ever. I won't go into the details too much since everyone here already knows the ins and outs. We have been discussing this landmark legislation for 4 years. But the ability to keep your children on your plan until they are 26 cannot be oversold. It cannot be talked about enough. Nor can the fact that the law already protects children from discrimination via Preexisting Conditions and will protect everyone by 2014.
Unless Mitt Romney appeals it on day one, as he has pledged to do.
This is already getting kind of long, so I will end it there. Three issues working class moms likely view as more immediately pressing than Abortion. You could ad Jobs, Jobs, Jobs, to the list and that wold be true. I didn't include that because it seems to be the overarching theme of this Election and isn't really specific to any one demographic. Be it real or newly invented by a focus group.
Be sure to ad your own working class mom issues in the comments, or rake me over the coals for being wrong if I am on any of this.