Tonight on CNN, Robert Ehrlich, Mitt Romney’s Maryland campaign chair, suggested that voters — particularly women — would not be exposed to Romney’s “real views” until the general election. Ehrlich said that once women “see” Romney’s “real views,” the gender gap between him and President Obama would dissipate.

Watch it:

Ehrlich, the former Republican Governor of Maryland, is pro-choice.

Last month, a top Romney aide said that Romney didn’t have to worry about lurching to the right during the primary because in the general election he could start over fresh “almost like an Etch A Sketch.”

Yesterday, Romney’s wife Ann said, “I guess we better unzip him and let the real Mitt Romney out.”

“Should Occupy get involved in electoral politics?” was the question that kicked off a panel today on “Occupy and electoral politics,” part of a national Occupy forum happening in DC all this week.

No, seemed to the short answer from most of the speakers and attendees here. And while any Occupier will say no one can speak on behalf of the rest of the movement, the consensus inside the Quaker Meeting House in Dupont Circle, at least, was that Occupiers should be focused on something much bigger than winning a few elections in November.

“I don’t see any opportunity inside electoral politics this year,” long-time activist and former Ralph Nader spokesperson Kevin Zeese remarked.

The speakers called for building a “deeper” grassroots movement outside electoral politices to “build power first,” then maybe a robust third party or infrastructure several years down the road.

“There’s always this emphasis on winning,” Occupy Wall Street’s Ian Williams said. “But do we want to win or do we want to transform the world?”

And while conservative claims that the Occupy movement is a vanguard wing of the Obama campaign, the Occupiers themselves seem uninterested in helping anyone. “The Democrats are a graveyard for progressive movements,” labor organizer Mark Dudzic said. “To think that you can somehow transform that party into something that it’s not designed to do is a fools errand,” he said, dismissing the Tea Party’s approach to remaking the GOP.

“[Do] not get involved in the Obama campaign this year,” Zeese made it clear. Follow Martin Luther King’s advice, Zeese, suggested — “never endorse a candidate.” “He didn’t want to be master or servent of either party. … And that’s, I think, where Occupy should be.”

Existing third parties like the Greens aren’t of much value either, according to Dudzic, “except they make some people feel good for thinking that they’re being pure.” “It’s like lifestyle activism, where you buy organic coffee and think you’re saving the world.”

Still, the mood was more optimistic when a man from Ohio brought up activists’ efforts to overturn the state’s anti-union SB-5 law. Local elections and ballot initiatives, most seemed to agree, offer better opportunities for engagement than presidential elections.

Voters head to the polls today in Wisconsin, Maryland, and the District of Columbia as Mitt Romney tries to put away Rick Santorum with a big win. The latest polls show Romney with a clear edge in Wisconsin, up by as much as 10 points, and Maryland is a similar story. Wisconsin has only slightly more delegates up for grabs than Maryland, but the Badger State will be the focus as Santorum has argued that he can win in blue-collar, rust belt states where Romney has struggled.

In both states, as in previous primaries, progressives should be paying attention to three key things that will be relevant in November, assuming Romney wins the nomination:

1. Romeny’s rich/poor gap — As we’ve previously noted, exit polls from the states that have held primaries thus far show Romney wins among wealthy voters, and loses among middle- and working-class voters. In virtually every state, except for ones in which Romney won in an landslide, Romney won among those making more than $100,000 a year (and did even better among $250,000+ earners) and lost lower income brackets.

Throughout the campaign, Romney has had difficulty connecting to voters struggling with a down economy. One CNN poll found that regardless of demographic breakdown — gender, race, age, income, education level, party affiliation, political attitude, geographic region, and Tea Party support — everyone agrees Romney “favors the rich.”

So far, he’s been unsuccessful in fighting this narrative, so it will be important to watch his performance going forward in the primary to see if lower-income Republicans rally to Romney as they accept that he will be the nominee.

2. Women – Romney has also struggled to win support from women. Republicans have lost ground overall after months of ugly debates on contraception and years fighting choice, but Romney has lost even to Santorum here. Going forward, the question will be whether Romney’s struggles with women are an aberration that can be fixed if Republicans stop talking about birth control and Romney becomes the nominee, or there has been permanent damage done.

3. Turnout/ lack of enthusiasm — Despite population growth, increased GOP voter registration, and a supposedly unpopular president to galvanize the base, turnout has been down across the board in the primaries thus far, suggesting a lack of enthusiasm for the candidates among Republican voters. This could spell real trouble for Romney in November, especially in states like Wisconsin, which, while Democratic, has been trending more conservative in recent years, most notably with the election of Gov. Scott Walker (R) and a Republican legislature in 2010.

217. That’s how many days are left between now and Election Day. And nearly everyone agrees it’s an extremely vital election because it will determine what kind of philosophy will govern our nation:

President Obama: “I think it’s going to be a clarifying election about who we are and what we stand for. But it’s enormous — a lot is at stake in this election. And we’re going to have to fight for it. We’re not going to be complacent and be able to deliver on what we think is the right path for our kids and our grandkids and future generations.”

Mitt Romney: “I believe Americans face a fundamental choice in this election, a decision that is much more important than the candidates or the political parties. We should understand that we are selecting not just who should guide us but a choice between two distinct paths and destinies for our nation.“

To monitor this important election cycle, ThinkProgress is expanding its reporting and launching a new webpage devoted specifically to breaking election news, covering stories that other news sites are not, and focusing on the issues that we think matter. While much of the media delivers horse-race coverage of the latest polls and fundraising numbers, we’ll be putting our emphasis on what we do best — dissecting where the candidates stand on policy and why that matters.

ThinkProgress Election 2012 will make a concerted effort to go beyond the presidential election and cover leading House and Senate races, important ballot initiatives, and other interesting state/local elections. Our Election 2012 page will be a collaborative team effort, led principally by the reporting and editing of Alex Seitz-Wald. We’ll also be posting frequent updates on our new Elections Twitter account — @TPElections. We hope you appreciate our coverage, and let us know if you have information to share.