With just four days until voters head to the polls and with his party facing the prospect of significant losses, President Obama on Friday made a last-minute pitch to women by again pushing new equal-pay laws and a hike in the minimum wage.
Speaking at Rhode Island College, Mr. Obama blamed Republicans for blocking those efforts but avoided explicitly encouraging attendees to vote Democrat next Tuesday. Friday’s event was an official presidential address, not a campaign event.
“Many women can’t even get a paid day off to give birth to their child. There are a lot of companies that still don’t provide maternity leave,” the president said. “We’ve got to broaden our laws for family leave.”
Mr. Obama also laid out a number of other reasons why, in his view, women should support the administration and the Democratic party as a whole. He cited Democrats’ backing for raising the minimum wage to $10.10 and the implementation of Obamacare, which the president said puts health-care decisions in the hands of women rather than their bosses or insurance companies.
Even though a minimum-wage hike looks unlikely — especially if Republicans retain control of the House on Nov. 4 — Mr. Obama vowed to press on.
“I’m not going to give up this fight. We need Republicans in Washington to stop blocking a minimum-wage increase and give America a raise,” he said.
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.