Philadelphia Inquirer Article

Amidst the turmoil and drama of this season's presidential election, Karen Heller pits women against Romney in her article, An unconvincing pitch for female voters. Karen Heller has been a renowned Philadelphia Inquirer journalist for nearly 20 years, during which time she has covered everything from Miss America pageants to political conventions, and was even a finalist for the 2001 Pulitzer Prize in commentary. Her own personal political views against Romney strongly affected this piece. The article focused on "women's issues," but the article argues that these issues, such as equal pay in the workforce, are also issues for men and for middle-class families in general. Heller's argument therefore not only targeted Philadelphian women voters, but their husbands and families as well.

As most rhetors do, Heller effectively used logos, ethos, and pathos to persuade her readers not to vote for Romney, in an area of swing voters. She states facts like, "[Romney] hasn't supported the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which ensures equal pay," then follows it up with "It is astonishing that we still require such legislation, that many women still make less than men performing the same work, and that any candidate would take issue with this basic civil right," demonstrating her own ethical perspective. (A2).

One of the more unique rhetorical devices Heller utilizes is her repetition of an allusion to #bindersfullofwomen, an Internet trend that has sprung from an awkward comment Romney made recently. The cultural memory Heller expected of her audience was beyond me, so I found an article explaining the reference, and an example of the new trend. http://bindersfullofwomen.tumblr.com/ . Karen Heller references the "binders full of women" comment multiple times in her article, although she easily forgives Romney for his relatively minor slip-up. She does, however, effectively use the allusion as an effective full-circle ending, to unify and signal a sense of closure to the article

This article informed me on the open ends still left in many political issues today, such as pay differences in the workforce and the effect of Romneycare vs. Obamacare on the health of women with breast or ovarian cancer, and, although I can't vote, furthered my pre-existing preference towards Obama in the upcoming election.