CNN glossed over how harmful Republican policies threaten women in order to question why female members of the GOP aren't typically considered feminists.

During the May 27 edition of CNN Newsroom, host Carol Costello interviewed former media strategist for the Republican National Committee (RNC), Molly Finn, to discuss why more conservative women aren't considered feminists. Framing the discussion around presidential candidates Hillary Clinton (D) and Carly Fiorina (R), Costello asked “why conservative women rarely come to mind when we think about feminist leaders,” while Finn argued, “Just because some people are not necessarily aligning with the feminist label doesn't mean they aren't advocates for women's equality and success.” Finn went on to claim that the “women's organizations that came out of the feminist movements of the 60s and 70s, it was kind of a narrow conversation. Women's power, women's political power might have been limited to talking about reproductive rights.” Costello then asked whether feminism is “outdated,” wondering if “that word feminism [is] sort of deepening the chasm between liberal women and conservative women”:

Such a conversation on feminism and conservatism misses an opportunity to examine why conservative women are not generally labeled as feminists in the first place -- their policies and legislation often hurt women. Presidential candidate Carly Fiorina, whom Costello cited as an example, is roundly in support of policies that are detrimental to women, opposing legislation to address the gender pay gap, access to reproductive health services, and the Affordable Care Act which “greatly improves women's access” to health care. Republicans more broadly have spent years in a concentrated effort to roll back women's access to reproductive health care, general health care and equal pay.