WAR ON WOMEN – NOT – AT 11:14 A.M. ET:  One of the basics of the Democratic coalition is the women's vote.  Dems have depended on women to build solid majorities.  But, wait, something is happening.  From The Wall Street Journal:   

Democrats have a lot to worry about in the midterm elections but one of their sturdiest bulwarks against a GOP rout in the fall has been support among women. They have held significant leads over Republicans among women by a number of polling measures.

But the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News Poll has some warning signs for Democrats who are counting on women to help them weather a tough political climate.

An important bellwether is the question of which party voters would prefer to control Congress, and it has long been the case that men prefer a Republican Congress and women favor a Democratic Congress.

But the poll conducted Sept. 3-7 found that women’s Democratic preference had shrunk to a 47%-40% margin — down from 51% -37% a month earlier. The swing was especially sharp among white women, who gave Democrats a 4 point edge in August; in the new poll, Republicans enjoyed 48%-40% advantage.

It is hard to assess what accounts for that shift but, if it proves a durable trend, the stakes are high. GOP pollster Bill McInturff said that maintaining support among women is critical for Democrats in the midterm elections, or else “a difficult cycle becomes a really terrible cycle for Democrats.”

The poll also found that women’s feelings about the Democratic Party have soured, as 39% expressed positive feelings toward the party, down from 44% in June. And their support for Obama is also eroding — especially on foreign policy, with only 33% approving of his handling of foreign policy compared with 46% a month ago.

Jeff Horwitt, a Democratic pollster who worked with Mr. McInturff to conduct the poll, said those findings invite comparison to the 2010 midterm elections, when Republicans won the House majority and exit polls showed the GOP winning a rare victory among women (49%-48%).

“The results among women in this poll should be a cautionary tale for Democrats,” Mr. Horwitt said. “What we don’t know is if this is a trend or a blip.”

COMMENT:  Women haven't done well economically under this administration, and I suspect that many American women no longer identify with a party whose leaders believe women get up every morning thinking about abortion.  The Democratic Party's approach to women's interests is stuck in the sixties.  The nation has moved on.

September 14, 2014