GOP presses its agenda on 'mommy blog' sites

Susan Davis, USA TODAY | USATODAY

WASHINGTON — House Republicans are targeting popular "mommy blog" websites in a digital ad campaign beginning Tuesday as part of an ongoing effort to repair the GOP's image with certain voting blocs — in this case swing female voters — who have sided decisively with Democrats in recent elections.

The banner ads will be featured on over 100 websites popular among women and geo-targeted to be viewed by residents in 20 Democratic-held congressional districts targeted by the GOP for 2014. The House Republican campaign operation is increasing its use of niche digital ad marketing for the upcoming election cycle. They used a similar strategy targeting Democrats on the unpopular automatic spending cuts known as sequester in March.

The $20,000 ad buy, running on sites including Ikeafans.com and MarthaStewart.com through Friday, will call on Democrats to vote with House Republicans next week on a bill to give hourly private sector workers more flexibility to choose between compensatory time and cash payment for overtime work.

"Tell Rep. Kyrsten Sinema you shouldn't have to choose between work and family," reads one ad set to run in Sinema's suburban Phoenix district. "Will Rep. Collin Peterson stand up for working moms?" reads another that's slated to run in Peterson's western Minnesota district. The banner ads link to a petition site calling on lawmakers to support "more freedom for working moms."

The legislative effort is not expected to garner much Democratic support because it has long been opposed by labor unions and Democratic interests who argue it is a backdoor attempt to weaken workers' rights to overtime pay.

However, the legislation is part of an umbrella effort outlined earlier this year by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., to provide conservative alternatives to everyday problems facing American families — in this case, increasing parents' ability to choose between extra pay or extra time off.

The agenda is a recognition that Republicans are at a disadvantage with several voting blocs that will be key to future electoral successes including young voters, Hispanics, and women, which all sided with President Obama in 2012.

Republicans also tapped a young mother, Rep. Martha Roby, R-Ala., to play a lead role in promoting the bill. "I'm a mom. I have two kids," she told reporters last week, "I certainly have a very clear understanding of the pulls working families have on them when it comes to juggling home-time with work-time."

Democrats dismissed the ad strategy. "The problem for Republicans isn't what they're targeting, it's what they're selling," said Jesse Ferguson, a spokesman for the House Democratic campaign operation.

GOP leaders have faced some embarrassing setbacks in the base-broadening effort.

For example, Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, the second most senior Republican in the House garnered national headlines last month after he used a racial slur during a radio interview in describing his memories of Latinos from his youth.

Last week, Republican leadership scuttled a planned vote on a bill aimed at providing sick Americans with health care because it didn't have enough GOP support to pass.

Division over the health care bill was driven by conservative outside groups such as the anti-tax Club for Growth who opposed the legislation because it did not fully repeal Obama's health care law. The same groups aren't expected to oppose the comp time bill, and the Club for Growth said it will take no position on it, improving its changes for passage in the House, but the bill is not expected to get a vote in the Democratic controlled Senate.