Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers said the latest employment statistics released Thursday are more proof that “President Obama’s policies are failing.”
The Washington state congresswoman, vice chair of the House Republican Conference and the highest-ranked woman in the GOP caucus, told The Washington Times-affiliated “America’s Morning News” radio broadcast that Thursday’s Labor Department unemployment report was “very disappointing.”
The report shows weekly unemployment applications dipped last week by 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 386,000 — better than last week, but not good enough to make a dent in the overall unemployment rate of 8.2 percent. Economists said the report is an indication that hiring is slowing across the economy.
Mrs. Rodgers, who has endorsed Republican front-runner Mitt Romney and has been mentioned as a longshot running mate choice, said President Obama’s appeal to women voters has been overstated.
“I’ve been speaking out a lot against this phantom ’War on Women’ that the Democrats suggest that the Republicans are waging. It once again is just another distraction,” she said.
She predicted that women voters will rally to Mr. Romney because of his promise to dismantle Mr. Obama’s health care law.
“Women do not like this health care bill. I really point to the health care bill as one of the reasons women voted Republican in 2010.”
The 42-year-old Spokane congresswoman brushed aside speculation about the vice presidency, telling hosts John McCaslin and Dana Mills that “I don’t expect to get that call.”
• David Eldridge can be reached at deldridge@washingtontimes.com.
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