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Despite furor, economy likely to trump women’s rights in election

By David Lightman, McClatchy Newspapers –

WASHINGTON — Women’s rights have soared into the political spotlight in these days before Republicans meet in Tampa, Fla., for their convention, and Democrats think they have a strong issue that will show their opponents are unusually insensitive to women, they say.

Experts contend that the economy will matter most. But in the meantime, the furor rages, and in a close election, it could trigger enough anger to make some difference.

The uproar began over the weekend, when Missouri Republican Senate candidate Todd Akin said, “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.” Akin later said he’d misspoken, and he apologized. Despite pleas from Republican leaders, including presidential candidate Mitt Romney, the congressman refused to leave the race.

By coincidence, the Republican platform committee met Tuesday in Tampa and adopted tough anti-abortion language.

While it was nearly identical to the language agreed to in 2004 and 2008, Democrats used the vote to highlight what they called the party’s callous, even hostile, attitude toward women. They called it the “Akin amendment,” even though he had nothing to do with it. They recalled how, earlier this year, conservative radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh insulted law student Sandra Fluke for her advocacy of mandatory insurance coverage for birth control without co-payments.

Republicans were not pleased. The days before a political convention are supposed be a time for the party’s candidates to coast into the host city on a wave of fresh momentum. Romney and running mate Paul Ryan have been traveling the country trying to drum up enthusiasm, but instead are being met by a barrage of news accounts of the controversy.

In the end, independent analysts think the issue will hardly be dominant.

“The election’s going to be about the economy and jobs,” said Brad Coker, the managing director at Mason-Dixon Polling & Research, which surveys voters around the country.

But women’s rights do have the potential to fire up the Democratic base, and in a campaign that has seen a virtual tie between President Barack Obama and Romney for weeks, mobilizing all kinds of loyal groups, or bases, and getting them to turn out in big numbers is seen as crucial.

Obama’s June directive allowing many younger undocumented workers to remain in this country helped give him a huge boost in polls of Hispanic voters. Romney’s strong support for Israel during a visit to Jerusalem last month was seen as a way of engaging Jewish voters. And Democrats’ fervent championing of abortion rights and other reproductive rights could mobilize women loyal to the party.

Republicans concede that they have an image problem with many women, but they say it can be overcome or at least neutralized.

“The fact is that the bases of both parties are fired up,” Republican consultant Curt Anderson said.

Debbie Walsh, the director of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University, said the abortion/reproductive rights issues would matter, but that “economic issues will be front and center.”

The Pew Research Center, which has studied the political gender gap for years, found in April that 86 percent of voters said the economy was the issue most important to their votes, followed by jobs at 84 percent. Abortion ranked 16th, at 39 percent, followed by birth control, 34 percent.

“These issues are overshadowed by the economy and jobs by most voters,” said Carroll Doherty, Pew associate director.

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