BOSTON — A coalition of Massachusetts women's groups says GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney did, in fact, receive binders with the names of potential female candidates for high-level positions when he was governor.
Romney's remark at Tuesday's debate with President Barack Obama that he was sent "binders full of women" has touched off a wave of social media parodies. He said in the debate that he reached out to women's organizations after being dissatisfied with the mostly male applicants for senior level positions in his administration.
But representatives of the Massachusetts Government Appointments Project note the effort, which did increase the number of women in top positions, started before Romney was elected in 2002.
MassGAP describes itself as a nonpartisan coalition of women's groups.