It's been more than 40 years since Philip Morris snookered women into smoking with their catchy "You've come a long way, baby" ad campaign, but today's counterpart is surely the latest catchy slogan aimed at the female gender by another group of savvy male operators -  the so-called "war on women."

In an op-ed appearing in The Washington Times, author Mary Beth Hicks says women haven't come too far if they're still allowing themselves to be manipulated by tactics that make them feel good about themselves, even if the result is bad.

Hicks writes: "Just as Virginia Slims used savvy marketing tactics to foist an unhealthy addiction onto a generation of unsuspecting and gullible women and girls, the political left continues to manipulate women with strategies that make them think their 'issues' are being addressed and their interests are being protected."

They're not. Instead, they're being served a healthy portion of high-fat baloney in the form of trumped up charges that anyone who opposes HHS mandated free birth control is somehow against women and trying to ban contraception. There is absolutely no evidence to back up this charge.

"No one is suggesting that female contraception be banned," Hicks points out. "It’s just not a responsibility of the American people to provide free birth control to their fellow citizens, and it’s especially not the responsibility of religious employers or others of faith who object to providing such coverage on moral grounds."

The fact that this political straw man has managed to sway female voters is "embarrassing" she says.

I agree, especially when it comes from a White House where one top female aide to the president said the way women were being treated there would amount to a "hostile work environment" anywhere else. This discriminatory behavior is borne out by a new report just published in the Washington Free Beacon which reveals that female aides at the White House earn a medium annual salary of $60,000 while their male counterparts earn $71,000 - a difference of nearly 18 percent!  And wasn't it just last night on CNN when Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen ridiculed Anne Romney for being a stay-at-home mom who "never worked a day in her life" in spite of having raised five boys while fighting a debilitating disease?

Hicks goes on to criticize last week's women's forum during which the Obama administration (disingenuously) claimed that “women are not an interest group” even while presenting the party line on subjects such as women’s health care, violence against women and girls, women in the workforce, education, and women and entrepreneurship.

"Yet it is the very definition of hypocrisy to tout Democratic solutions to the economy as being in the best interests of women," Hicks writes. "Posing as the ultimate government sugar daddy, Mr. Obama continues to promote the false security of big-government programs to respond to women’s special concerns. (Note that he did this while making a quaint, sexist joke about how long it takes women to 'settle down.' And the ladies all laughed because, well, he’s Barack Obama.)"

Women, beware! While some may believe the creators of the "war on women" are looking out for their best interests, they would be wise to remember the old slogan: "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me."

Providing women with a sugar daddy is no way to address the serious issues that are impacting women today.

"We want the debt reduced and real spending cut — just as we’re doing in our homes," Hicks writes. "We want jobs for ourselves and our families. We’re concerned about energy independence, overregulation, national security and upholding our tradition of religious liberty. We’re not so easily manipulated that you can shove us into a voting bloc, pat us on the head and consider us placated."

She adds: "Some of us have come a lot farther than that."

Marybeth Hicks is the author of “Don’t Let the Kids Drink the Kool-Aid: Confronting the Left’s Assault on Our Families, Faith and Freedom.” Find her on the web at http://marybethhicks.com.

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