LISTEN TO MORE FROM WCPN HERE
WCPN: “More than 1,200 Ohioans have signed a letter to Republican U.S. Senate candidate Bernie Moreno telling him they don’t think comments he made recently were funny. Moreno has been put on blast after a video surfaced where he said it might be ‘a little crazy’ that women who are over 50 years old are concerned about keeping abortion legal in Ohio.”
Republican Voter Jenny Conrad of Mt. Orab: “I was insulted.”
Republican Penny Schmitthenner of Delaware: “Bernie Moreno is totally out of touch with Ohio voters.”
WCPN: “[Sherrod Brown] promises to uphold the reproductive rights amendment passed by 57% of Ohio voters last November.”
Jezebel: Over 1,200 Women Write Bipartisan Letter to Ohio GOP Candidate Over His ‘Insulting’ Abortion Comments
Kylie Cheung – October 10, 2024
- In September, Bernie Moreno, the GOP nominee for U.S. Senate in Ohio, made a series of equal-parts bizarre and insulting comments…
- “You know, the left has a lot of single issue voters. Sadly, by the way, there’s a lot of suburban women that are like, ‘Listen, abortion is it. If I can’t have an abortion in this country whenever I want, I will vote for anybody else,’” the Ohio businessman, who’s running to unseat Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown, said at a campaign event. “It’s a little crazy by the way, but—especially for women that are like past 50—I’m thinking to myself, ‘I don’t think that’s an issue for you.’”
- On Wednesday, over 1,200 Ohio women of all ages and political affiliations responded with an open letter to Moreno, pointing to his “insult[ing],” “mocking” comments and determining he’s “unfit” to represent them.
- “As Ohio women across the political spectrum, we don’t agree on everything. But there are some things bigger than party politics. What unites us is the firm belief that Ohio women should have the ability to make their own healthcare choices, free from the involvement of people like you,” the letter states. “The way you have insulted Ohio women, your clear disrespect for the will of the voters who made their position on this issue clear last year, and your repeated support for an abortion ban with no exceptions all make it clear we cannot trust you to fight for us.”
- The Ohio GOP and Moreno’s campaign didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from Jezebel—on the letter, where he stands on a national abortion ban, and where he stands on exceptions, though, to be clear, medical experts argue these are ineffective.
- Speaking to Ohio’s Statehouse News Bureau, some of the signatories were women “past 50,” who were especially outraged by Moreno’s comments.
- “I’m a 72 year-old-woman and of course I’m concerned about women’s reproductive issues. I’ve got daughters, I’ve got sisters, I’ve got nieces, I’ve got friends, all who I care about,” Jenny Conrad, a registered Republican in the state, said. “And even though I may be out of age, so to speak, they are not. And I care about them and I care about their right to be able to make their own health care decisions.”
- Like the rest of the country, abortion has become a defining issue in elections in Ohio: Last year, Ohio voters decisively passed a ballot measure to restore abortion rights in the state… So, you have to wonder why Moreno thought it wise to call the many women who supported this ballot measure “a little crazy,” and mock older women like Conrad, who will likely decide the outcome of his race… as their open letter shows, so-called “crazy” Ohio women aren’t laughing.
- Penny Schmitthenner, another Republican voter in Ohio who signed the open letter, told the News Bureau she’s voting for Brown because he “respects women,” explaining, “Just the way he chooses to represent Ohio and has for years and years and years, that’s why I was more than happy to sign the letter.”
- In February, Moreno suggested that abortion rights are unnecessary because women like his daughter simply need help carrying heavy strollers. In September, he lied that the abortion rights ballot measure that won in Ohio last year was only victorious thanks to cheating…