Generally speaking, voter suppression is nothing new. Republicans have been insidiously doing it for years, despite the passing of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, a landmark legislation that made it illegal to make it difficult for people vote. In an essay on MSNBC, Barbara Arnwine and Eleanor Smeal explain that despite the radical changes that the law brought into place, states have still continued to try to pass voter suppression regulations. Just this year, 30 states have proposed some sort of legislation that would make voting harder to do, whether it is by enforcing voters to present photo ID or by reducing the amount or accessibility to polling stations. This has notoriously, by and large, affected minorities, students and seniors, but as Smeal and Arnwine note, another group that's largely affected but rarely discussed, is women.
"What is not commonly known, however, is that women are among those most affected by voter ID laws. In one survey, 66% of women voters had an ID that reflected their current name, according to the Brennan Center. The other 34% of women would have to present both a birth certificate and proof of marriage, divorce, or name change in order to vote, a task that is particularly onerous for elderly women and costly for poor women who may have to pay to access these records."
War on Women is an expression in United States politics used to describe certain Republican Party initiatives as a wide-scale effort to restrict women's rights, especially reproductive rights.
Prominent Democrats such as Nancy Pelosi and Barbara Boxer, as well as feminists, have used the phrase to criticize proponents of the laws as trying to force their social views on women through legislation. The legislative initiatives covered by the expression can include access to reproductive health services, particularly birth control and abortion services; how violence against women is prosecuted; how rape is defined for purposes of public funding of abortion for rape victims; how workplace discrimination against women is treated; and litigation concerning equal pay for women.
While used in other contexts, and prior to 2010, it became a common message in American political discourse after the 2010 congressional elections. The term is often used to describe policies that reduce or eliminate taxpayer funding for women's health organizations such as Planned Parenthood, in attempts to restrict abortion subsidies. Other areas in dispute include public funding and/or mandatory employer insurance coverage of such matters as contraception and sterilization.
The phrase and the concept have been criticized by Republicans. Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus described it as an over-simplified fiction advanced by Democrats and the media while other Republicans contended that such rhetoric was used as a distraction from President Barack Obama and the Democrats' handling of the economy. In August 2012, Todd Akin's controversial comments regarding pregnancy and rape sparked renewed media focus on the concept.
The sad truth is the GOP will sink to any level in the attempt to keep and or gain power. Repiblicans are willing to steal voting rights from the young, old, poor, women and other minority groups and the grass roots republicans turn a blind eye to the crimes of the GOP. The sad thing is that in Virginia these low life a-holes are approximately half of the voters. They live in blind ignorance fed on propaganda, lies and Fox News. The more rual and backward the area the greater their numbers, hello Amherst County.
Mandatory ultrasounds
Ultrasound of fetus at 14 weeks
In 2011 and 2012, "War on Women" was used to describe the legislation passed by many states requiring that women seeking abortions first undergo government-mandated ultrasounds. Some states require that women view the image of the fetus and others require that women be offered the opportunity to listen to the fetal heartbeat. Since many women's pregnancies are not far enough along to get an image via a traditional ultrasound, transvaginal ultrasounds, which involve the physician inserting a probe into the woman's vagina, may be required, but these requirements vary state to state. Critics have questioned the value of having a medically unnecessary procedure, and characterized it as similar to some states' legal definition of rape. Writer Megan Carpentier underwent the procedure and indicated that although it was not comparable to being raped, the process was "uncomfortable to the point of being painful, emotionally triggering... and something that no government should force its citizens to undergo to make a political point."
Iowa politicians proposed the Women's Right to Know Act in January 2012, which would require that a woman undergo an ultrasound and be asked if she would like to see an image of the fetus and listen to its heartbeat prior to receiving an abortion. Virginia State legislators passed a bill in 2012 requiring women to have an ultrasound before having an abortion. The legislation, signed by Governor Bob McDonnell, would require that the provider of an abortion make a copy of the fetal image and include it in the file of the patient. In Louisiana, where pregnant women are already required to view ultrasounds of their fetuses before receiving an abortion, lawmakers proposed a bill that would require them to listen to the embryonic/fetal heartbeat as well. Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett drew criticism when he said of his state's new mandatory transvaginal ultrasound law that "You can't make anybody watch, okay? Because you just have to close your eyes. As long as it's on the exterior and not the interior."
Gestational limits on abortion
In June 2013, Representative Trent Franks of Arizona, passed a national bill in the House Judiciary Committee that would ban abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy. The bill did not include exceptions for rape, incest or health of the mother. In responding to the bill's lack of exception for rape victims, Franks stated that "the incidence of rape resulting in pregnancy are very low," which was compared to the controversial statements made by Todd Akin; studies show that the incidence of pregnancy from rape is approximately equal to or higher than the rate from consensual sex. Afterwards, the House Rules Committee added exceptions for rape and incest. Georgia legislators passed HB 954, a "fetal pain bill" criminalizing abortions performed after the 20th week of pregnancy. The bill, which does not contain exemptions for rape or incest, has been referred to as the "women as livestock bill" by opponents after Representative Terry England made a comparison between women seeking abortions for stillborn fetuses to delivering calves and pigs on a farm.
In April 2012, Arizona passed legislation banning abortions occurring 20 weeks after a woman's last menstrual period. A judge from the District Court initially upheld this ban, but the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in August 2012 that the ban could not be enforced until an appeal on the law had been decided. The Ninth Circuit then struck down the law as unconstitutional in May 2013.
Eight other states, including Nebraska, Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Idaho and Oklahoma, have passed such bills; unlike Arizona, the gestational age in these states is calculated from fertilization (20 weeks post-fertilization-which means 22 weeks LMP). In 2013, Idaho's ban was struck down as unconstitutional by a federal judge. States such as Ohio have proposed so-called "heartbeat bills" that would prohibit abortions when the heartbeat of the fetus can be detected. Fetal heartbeats can be detected as early as six weeks into a pregnancy.
Defining the beginning of human personhood
In 2011, voters in Mississippi rejected Initiative 26, a measure that would have declared that human life begins at fertilization, which had drawn support from conservative Republicans and Democrats. Critics of the initiative indicated that the law would have made abortion illegal even in cases where the mother’s life is in danger.
Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers
Since the mid-1990s, politicians have passed legislation designed to increase the regulatory burden of abortion providers. TRAP laws (Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers) have been passed in numerous states.
In February 2011, South Dakota state legislators considered a bill that would expand that state's definition of justifiable homicide to include killings committed by a party other than a pregnant woman for the purpose of preventing harm to a fetus, a measure interpreted by critics as allowing the killing of abortion providers. Similar legislation was considered in Iowa.
Several state legislatures have passed or are considering legislation to prevent parents from suing doctors who fail to warn them of fetal problems, which are sometimes known as wrongful birth lawsuits. Some of the laws, such as one proposed in Arizona, make exceptions for "intentional or grossly negligent acts", while others do not.
A Kansas bill passed March 2012 requires doctors to warn women seeking abortions that they are linked to breast cancer, a claim that has been refuted by the medical community.
In April 2012, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker signed into law a bill requiring doctors who prescribe the medical abortion pill to have three meetings with patients or be subject to felony charges. Planned Parenthood suspended non-surgical abortions in the state.
Birth control
On January 20, 2012, Health and Human Services' Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced a mandate requiring that all health plans provide coverage for all contraceptives approved by the FDA as part of preventive health services for women. Following complaints from Catholic bishops, an exception was created for religious institutions whereby an employee of a religious institution that does not wish to provide reproductive health care can seek it directly from the insurance company at no additional cost.
Missouri Senator Roy Blunt proposed an amendment (the Blunt Amendment) that would have "allowed employers to refuse to include contraception in health care coverage if it violated their religious or moral beliefs," but it was voted down 51-48 by the U.S. Senate on March 1, 2012. A bill passed by the Arizona House would allow employers to exclude medication used for contraceptive purposes from their health insurance plans.
The Testimony Chairman Issa Doesn't Want You to Hear
Sandra Fluke reading a prepared statement for U.S. Congressional testimony, 16 February 2012.
In February 2012, Republican Congressman Darrell Issa convened an all-male panel addressing contraceptive mandates for health insurers. He did not allow Sandra Fluke, a Georgetown University Law Center student, to participate in the hearing. Democratic Representatives then staged a separate panel where Fluke was allowed to speak. Later that month, American conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh controversially called Sandra Fluke a "slut" and "prostitute" and continued in similar fashion for the next two days. Foster Friess, the billionaire supporting the candidacy of Rick Santorum, suggested in February 2012 that women put aspirin between their knees as a form of contraception. Limbaugh echoed the sentiment, saying he would "buy all of the women at Georgetown University as much aspirin to put between their knees as they want." Nancy Pelosi circulated a petition and asked that Republicans in the House of Representatives disavow the comments by Friess and Limbaugh, which she called "vicious and inappropriate."
Defunding Planned Parenthood
The legislative policy initiative described as a War on Women has included a drive to eliminate state and federal funding for Planned Parenthood, in that "several Democrats" used the phrase to criticize the Republican Party when February 2011 saw House Republicans pass legislation designed to cut off funding for Planned Parenthood. Texas, Indiana and Kansas have passed legislation in an effort to defund the organization. Arizona, Ohio and New Hampshire are considering similar legislation. In Texas, lawmakers reduced funds for family planning from $111M to $37M. The future of the Women's Health Program in Texas, which receives 90% of its funding from the federal government, is unclear. The Indiana legislature passed a bill restricting Medicaid funds for Planned Parenthood. Indiana Representative Bob Morris later referred to the Girl Scouts of the USA as a tactical arm of Planned Parenthood. In Kansas, where abortion doctor George Tiller was murdered in a church, the state's Department of Health and Environment maintains a 'Woman’s Right to Know' website with "4-D ultrasound video/audio" of fetuses. A 2011 Kansas statute cut funding to Planned Parenthood.
On January 31, 2012, breast cancer organization Susan G. Komen for the Cure stopped funding Planned Parenthood, citing a congressional investigation by Rep. Cliff Stearns and a newly created internal rule about not funding organizations under any federal, state or local investigation. Four days later, Komen's Board of Directors reversed the decision and announced that it would amend the policy to "make clear that disqualifying investigations must be criminal and conclusive in nature and not political". Several top-level staff members resigned from Komen during the controversy.
Defunding international family planning
The National Organization for Women (NOW), in the U.S., in 2011, stated its opinion that "the 'war on women' isn't restricted to U.S. women", saying that the House of Representatives planned to "cut ... international family planning assistance.... [to] include the elimination of all U.S. funds designated for UNFPA" (now known as the United Nations Population Fund).
Violence against women
Rape
In January 2011, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act moved to change how rape is treated when used to determine whether abortions qualify for Medicaid funding. Under the language of the bill, only cases of "forcible rape" or child sexual abuse would have qualified. Political activist groups Moveon.org and Emily's List charged that this constituted a Republican attempt to "redefine rape."
Unsuccessful Missouri Republican candidate to the U.S. Senate Todd Akin made controversial comments in August 2012 asserting (falsely) that women who are victims of "legitimate rape" rarely experience pregnancy from rape. While he issued an apology for his comments, they were widely criticized, and they sparked a renewed focus on Republican attitudes towards women and "shift[ed] the national discussion to divisive social issues that could repel swing voters rather than economic issues that could attract them".
There were multiple calls from Republicans for Akin to step down as nominee. The Washington Post reported a "stampede" of Republicans dissociating from Akin. NRSC chairman John Cornyn said the GOP would no longer provide him Senate election funding. A campaign spokesman for Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan said both disagreed with Akin's position and would not oppose abortion in instances of rape. Ryan reportedly called Akin to advise him to step aside. RNC Chairman Reince Priebus warned Akin not to attend the upcoming 2012 Republican convention and said he should resign the nomination. He described Akin's comments as "biologically stupid" and "bizarre" and said that "This is not mainstream talk that he's referring to and his descriptions of whatever an illegitimate rape is."
Other Republican candidates in the 2012 election also created controversy with their comments on rape. Indiana Senate candidate Richard Mourdock, when discussing his opposition to exceptions on abortion bans in cases of rape, said, "I think even if life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen." Tom Smith, the Senate candidate in Pennsylvania, compared pregnancy from rape to pregnancy out of wedlock. Akin, Mourdock, and Smith all lost their races due to backlash from women voters.
Military sexual assault
Columnist Margery Eagan has said that opposition to reforming the military in order to better prosecute sexual assaults constitutes a war on women. Senator Saxby Chambliss of Georgia was criticized for saying that part of the cause of the sexual assault was young officers' "hormone level created by nature."
Domestic violence
The renewal of the Violence Against Women Act, which provides for community violence prevention programs and battered women's shelters, was fiercely opposed by conservative Republicans in 2012. The Act was originally passed in 1994 and has been reauthorized by Congress twice. Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell, who has previously voted against renewal of the Act, said the bill was a distraction from a small business bill.
In October 2011, the City Council in Topeka, Kansas, facing a budget crisis, decriminalized domestic violence. This was meant to force Shawnee County to pay for the prosecution of perpetrators, since domestic violence was still covered under state laws. In the month before the repeal, eighteen people had been arrested and charged with domestic violence, but released because no government office would prosecute.
Financial assistance
In February 2011, Ms. magazine charged House Republicans with launching a new "War on Women" for their proposal to cut the WIC budget by 10%. The WIC program, which President Barack Obama has called a spending priority, is a federal assistance program for low-income pregnant women, breastfeeding women, and infants and children under the age of five. The program had been running a surplus, primarily due to decreases in the cost of milk, which make up 20% of WIC expenditures, and lower participation than expected. WIC's budget was later cut by 5.2% as part of the bipartisan budget sequestration in 2013.
Workplace and pay discrimination
In April 2012, Governor Scott Walker's repeal of Wisconsin's Equal Pay Enforcement Act was described by opponents as furthering the "War on Women", which became a big issue in his recall election. The Equal Pay Enforcement Act was passed in 2009 in response to the large gap between the wages of men and women in Wisconsin. Among other provisions, it allowed workplace discrimination victims redress in the less costly and more accessible state court system, rather than in federal court. Defending the repeal, Walker stated that the Act had essentially been nothing but a boon for trial lawyers, incentivizing them to sue job creators, including female business owners, and that the law was being used to clog up the legal system in his state. While it is still illegal in the state of Wisconsin to discriminate against women when it comes to pay, the repeal was criticized for reinforcing the gender pay gap, a recurrent theme in the struggle for women's rights. Republican State Senator Glenn Grothman said of the repeal, "You could argue that money is more important for men. I think a guy in their first job, maybe because they expect to be a breadwinner someday, may be a little more money-conscious." Law student Sandra Fluke wrote in opposition to the measure, highlighting legislation that supports equal pay for equal work, such as the federal Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009.
Public opinion
A May 2012 Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that 31 percent of women and 28 percent of men believed there was an ongoing and wide-scale effort to "limit women's reproductive health choices and services". 45 percent of women and 44 percent of men responded that some groups would like to limit these choices and services, but it's not wide‐scale. Democrats were more likely than Republicans to say there is a movement, but the largest gap was between liberal and conservative ideologies. Among those women believing these efforts to be wide-scale, 75 percent saw this as "a bad thing" against 16 percent who saw this as "a good thing." In the same poll, 42 percent of women and men have said they have taken some action in response to what they heard regarding reproductive health issues.
Reaction, The Response from Republicans
Critics of the term have said that the War on Women does not exist and have suggested that it is a ploy to influence women voters. Reince Priebus, the Chairman of the RNC, referred to the War as a "fiction", saying "If the Democrats said we had a war on caterpillars and every mainstream media outlet talked about the fact that Republicans have a war on caterpillars, then we'd have problems with caterpillars."
Republican Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers called the war a myth, saying "It’s an effort to drive a political wedge in an election year." Referring to the 2010 elections and Nancy Pelosi, she said that "It could be argued that the women actually unelected the first woman Speaker of the House."
Senator John McCain, when asked by journalist David Gregory if there was a Republican War on Women, said "I think that there is a perception out there because of how this whole contraception issue played out — ah, we need to get off of that issue, in my view."
Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski countered the criticism from her fellow party members, challenging them to "go home and talk to your wife and your daughters" if they did not think there was a war on women, saying "It makes no sense to make this attack on women."
Republican Representative Paul Ryan mocked the War on Women: "Now it's a war on women; tomorrow it's going to be a war on left-handed Irishmen or something like that."
Texas Senate Bill Five filibuster
In reaction to abortion restrictions in Texas Senate Bill Five, Democratic State Senator Wendy Davis created a 13 hour filibuster to stop it from being passed. Eventually the bill was declared dead as the vote took place after midnight. It was estimated that up to 5,000 people came to the Texas capitol in order to stop the bill.
Democratic sexual harassment scandals
Members of the Democratic Party, both prominent and local, have been accused of participating in the war on women. In a column for USA Today, Glenn Reynolds wrote in July 2013 that "most of the action in the war on women seems to be coming from the Democratic front," referring to the allegations of sexual harassment against San Diego mayor Bob Filner, the Anthony Weiner sexting scandal, and the Eliot Spitzer prostitution scandal. The Republican National Senatorial Committee has also used these scandals in press releases, tying Democratic Senators in Iowa and New Hampshire to the allegations.
The messaging from Republicans was described as unlikely to be effective by Garance Franke-Ruta in The Atlantic because "[the War on Women] was an argument about Republican policies on women... rather than about reprehensible individual behavior" noting that many of the targets are not on upcoming ballots. Franke-Ruta continued by saying the Republican Party "is going to need its own pro-active framework for thinking about what is happening in America and why women have been drawn to Democrats in numbers that matter in key elections."
The next time some mush mouth republican tells you there is no war on women you will know for certain that that person is lying and please vote accordingly. Until we vanquish republicans from any control in our government we will continue to be controlled by big business, big money and right wing religous nutjobs. Once again Hello Amherst County.
No Longer Governor, Republican Bob McDonnell is Finally Facing Federal Indictment
By the end of last year, the Justice Department was prepared to indict Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell and his wife for their connection to the “gifts” scandal: The allegedly inappropriate help they gave dietary supplement maker Star Scientific after receiving more than $165,000 in gifts from CEO Jonnie Williams.
It didn’t happen. Not because the case fell apart—it’s clear that the McDonnell’s received huge sums from Williams—but because of the election; McDonnell was leaving office and the governor’s mansion was changing hands. His lawyers argued that, if prosecutors were going to file charges, then they should wait until after McDonnell left office, to ensure a smooth transition of power.
His successor, Democrat Terry McAuliffe, was sworn in earlier this week, and we’re now at the point where McDonnell is open to federal charges.
And according to the Washington Post, the Justice Department should make an announcement by next month. In the meantime, whether or not he faces charges, it’s obvious that McDonnell’s political career is over. He’s been abandoned by the Virginia GOP, no less because his scandal helped sink Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli in the gubernatorial election, and led—in some degree—to Democrats winning the full slate of statewide offices for the first time since 1969.
One thing is worth noting about McDonnell: While his popularity suffered as a result of the “gifts” scandal, Virginia voters never turned against him decisively. Polls before the election had him at 50 percent approval, and a final internal poll placed his job approval rating at 52 percent. Even with his clear corruption, voters still liked McDonnell and his tenure.
Republicans don't hold other republicans responsible for anything. Not corruption, Not selling favors, Not outright lying and stealing. Republicans only have morale judgements when democrats are involved in scandals. Republicans will vote for anything with an R after its name and later deny they knew their candidate was a corrupt crook. Republicans lack the basics ethics to hold office. Republicans live their lives in blissful ignorance aided by Fox News. Hello Amherst County.
Now That Chris Cristy has developed bridge problems that threaten to kill his presidential run Jeb Bush has picked up the torch.
Amherst County Virginia Democratic News
ACVDN
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