Hanging out with Face the Nation

CBS News Chief White House correspondent Norah O’Donnell recently invited EMILY’s List president Stephanie Schriock and leading political strategists Leslie Sanchez, Michelle Bernard, and Maria Cardona to a Google+ Hangout. The issue du jour? The war on women and the importance of women voters in the upcoming election.

Republicans have sought to mask their ongoing war on women as a ‘phony’ Democratic rhetorical device. Schriock brought that argument back to reality: “When the Republican party took over the House of Representatives and so many of our legislatures all over the country, what we began to witness—week by week by week—is another attack to dismantle all of the freedoms and the rights that women have fought for—for decades.”

Schriock went on: “You can call it what you want to call it… but it’s war on women’s economics, it’s war on women’s healthcare, it’s war on women’s opportunities.“ She cited recent EMILY’s List research that showed 69% of Independent women found the Ryan budget (with its cuts to programs that help women and families) a “convincing reason to vote against Republicans.”

Even conservative strategist Leslie Sanchez conceded: “I do not give Republicans a full pass on this”.

So how do we fix ‘this’?

Maria Cardona, principal at the Dewey Square Group, weighed in: “We need a Congress that reflects America. Right now, the United States Congress does not reflect what this country looks like … We don’t have the diversity of voices that are needed to represent all of the communities that make up this great country.”

Michelle Bernard, president and CEO of the Bernard Center for Women, thinks the solution is even simpler: “We need a Congress that works.”

Representative Democracy that works—not as easy as it looks (sounds?). But for 27 years, EMILY’s List women have committed to the fight. These women know the issues that matter most. More importantly, they know how to work across the aisle to create legislation that helps women and families. In 2012, we see a historic amount of women running for Senate and the House of Representatives. The possibilities are endless.

So what’s the bottom line for women voters this year? Schriock goes to the numbers: “They’re looking for jobs. They’re looking for economic hope.” A woman’s right to healthcare and birth control are important economic issues that matter in the voting booths—but let’s stay focused. “They want to talk about where the jobs are. And that is really where this election is going to be, and it’s going to be won on that.”