Moms Know Best: We Need to Head in a New Direction

We've been hearing a lot again this election cycle from Democrats about the GOP's "war on women."  This week's Democratic National Convention has brought more of the same.

It makes sense strategically, I suppose, since many political analysts predict that the women's vote will determine the next president. The Obama campaign is betting all or nothing that if they scare enough of us away from Mitt Romney, they will win. We are the largest swing vote, after all.

But maybe it's the other way around.

The female speakers at the Republican National Convention in Tampa last week were nothing short of amazing. A former secretary of state, three sitting governors, a U.S. senator, a mayor, three U.S. congresswomen, a former lt. governor, an attorney general, and a supermom of five boys. But what did the DNC chairwoman, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, have to say about them? That they were nothing more than "shiny packaging."

"Shiny packaging"?

Those speakers were the real deal, and represent women across this country concerned with the direction that we have been heading.

President Obama's policies, and his willful neglect of issues that are critical to the prosperity of American families have left millions of women much worse off than they were four years ago. Yet the Obama campaign paints Republicans as scary and heartless. They say if elected we will take away Medicare and entitlements, and that we’ll impose extreme policies on issues of life and marriage.

American women are not single issue voters. There are dozens of important issues affecting women and families, and on nearly all of them, President Obama has failed. Women, and especially moms, want leaders and policies that protect our families. Above all else, we want to know that our kids are safe. And we have taken notice.

A recent survey of American mothers in five key battleground states revealed that a majority of the women contacted in each state believe that this country is on the wrong track. Overall, a plurality of these mothers disapprove of the job performance of the current president.

Here are some of the survey's key findings:

• 73% of moms are concerned about the type of nuclear strategy that President Obama might pursue.
• 62% of moms are concerned by President Obama’s conciliatory remarks to Russian President Medvedev.
• 53% of moms thought it was inappropriate for President Obama to tell Israel that it should alter its borders.
• 78% of moms think the United States should increase off-shore drilling.
• 79% of moms think government regulations need to be trimmed to incentivize people to start small businesses or expand existing ones.
• When informed that Obamacare cuts Medicare funding, only 12% of moms thought this was fair.

So where, specifically, has President Obama failed to lead and protect American families?

Lets look at national security. Take the New START treaty for instance. Signed in 2010, this treaty limits the U.S. and Russia's supply of nuclear warheads but allowed Russia to have 10 times more tactical weapons than the U.S. The treaty also seriously restricts our ability to expand our missile defense programs without Russia's permission. We are at greater risk today because of this treaty.

It's frightening how insufficiently prepared we are. We have no plan to prevent an electromagnetic pulse attack (EMP), we do not have a space-based missile defense, and we have not honored our commitment to place missile defense systems in Poland and the Republic of Czechoslovakia.

What's more, the president has failed to confront the potential devastation that would be inflicted should the U.S. face an EMP attack. If nuclear weapons were detonated above Denver and Indianapolis, for example, the pulse could destroy electronic-based control systems, sensors, communication systems, protective systems, computers and similar devices across the country. There would be no power, no food, no water, no communications, no transport vehicles. And hundreds of millions could eventually die.

Furthermore, President Obama has made us more vulnerable by appeasing our enemies and turning his back on our allies. For example, in 2010 the Muslim Brotherhood called for a Jihad against the United States, and has recently consolidated power in Egypt. The Brotherhood subscribes to Sharia law which endangers women and religious minorities. What was President Obama’s response?  Striking a deal with the Egyptian government to forgive $1 billion of its debt to the U.S., and supporting a new $4.8 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund.

The Democrats will try to scare you with claims that Republicans are trying to take away your Medicare, but let’s keep in mind the uncertainty of the world we live in today, and what kind of leaders we will need to protect us from very real threats that are all too often ignored.

To my fellow moms out there, your vote matters. Government is supposed to protect individuals, families, and communities. President Obama's policies, or lack thereof, have done the exact opposite. He has expanded government power while undermining your safety and your freedom. We need leadership that puts American families first, with policies that strengthen the family, create economic opportunity, and protect us from threats in an increasingly unstable and perilous world.