Republican Pollster At GOP Retreat: Stop Talking About Rape
As Republicans prepare for a recalibration ahead of the 2014 midterm election cycle and the 2016 presidential race, GOP bigwigs are gathering to share what they learned from the 2012 cycle. At one recent convention, a Republican pollster shared some good advice for aspiring GOP officeholders – stop talking about rape. Period.
Kellyanne Conway, president and founder of Polling Company, joined a number of Republican pollsters and campaign professionals at a getaway in Virginia on Wednesday where she offered that bit of advice.
According to sources who spoke with POLITICO about the closed-door conference, Conway said that rape is now a “four-letter word” for Republicans.
Several high-profile Republican candidates saw their electoral hopes cut short in 2012 by ill-conceived comments about sexual assault and the potential resulting pregnancies. Conway, along with many other Republican political professionals, are seeking to limit those kinds of self-inflicted wounded heading into the 2014 election cycle.
Last week, Mitt Romney campaign advisor Kevin Madden offered similar advice to the GOP. “This is actually pretty simple,” Madden said. “If you’re about to talk about rape as anything other than a brutal and horrible crime, stop.”
Read the full report via POLITICO
> >Follow Noah Rothman (@Noah_C_Rothman) on Twitter
New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!
Comments
↓ Scroll down for comments ↓