The GOP-led House advanced their anti-women abortion bill Tuesday, by a vote of 232-193 in favor of the “Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act”.
The fact that the measure was initially approved by a committee made up of 23 Republican men and no women wasn’t helping the GOP escape their “war on women” branding. But after Representative Trent Franks (R-AZ) made a fool of himself explaining that it was okay that Republicans were banning abortion after 20 weeks for rape and incest victims because the odds of rape from pregnancy are “low”, the Republicans decided they’d better put a woman’s face on the matter. This theory relies on their notion that American women are so stupid that they’ll buy anything if it’s packaged properly (see Sarah Palin).
So, Republicans shoved Representative Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) out in front to be the face of the debate on Tuesday, because who better to sell a bill limiting freedom than the woman who believes that women don’t want equal pay laws. Also, Marsha used to be an “image consultant” apparently, something that no doubt came in handy for her while she faced 33 scolding letters from the FEC.
Poor Franks with Akin on his face had to sit it out. No more limiting freedom glory for Franks.
Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) was outraged that House Republicans got Blackburn to be the new face of their anti-freedom bill, especially since, of course, Ms. Blackburn is not on the all male committee behind the bill. Apparently Marsha can only be trusted to sell the bill, not actually have any input into it.
Slaughter scoffed, “If that’s not a first, I don’t know what is, and if that is not PR I don’t know what is. Such a cowardly move is an insult to the intelligence of women across America.”
If only Ms. Slaughter had heard Speaker Boehner trying to sell his party’s obsession with limiting freedom for women…
When asked why his party was so focused on abortion instead of economy (jobs?), Speaker Boehner pivoted desperately but tripped on his epistemic closure, “After this Kermit Gosnell trial and some of the horrific acts that were going on, the vast majority of the American people believe in the substance of this bill and so do I.”
Actually, unless you watch Fox News or are subjected to people who do, you probably don’t know much about Gosnell. And yet pretty much everyone knows someone who is underemployed or unemployed. Go figure.
The “substance” behind the Republican bill is based on dubious science (aka, the non-science “believed” by conservative voters) that fetuses feel pain at 20 weeks and thus women should be forced to feel pain all of the time.
Perhaps if someone were to explain to Republicans that those fetuses they proclaim to love so much often grow up to be women, they might suddenly care about the pain they force on women. But as Raw Story pointed out today:
Meanwhile, Sen. Bob Casey’s (D-PA) and Rep. Jerrold Nadler’s (D-NY Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), which requires employers to offer “reasonable accommodations” to pregnant women, was referred to committee on May 14 and has yet to garner even a hearing, let alone a vote.
That’s a no on caring about fetuses in the event that they are females and a no to caring about pregnant women, who are also known as female fetuses that were born and grew up into adult women.
Two Republicans voted against the Republican efforts to limit individual freedom for women, and five Democrats voted for it. The House is doing their big show vote tonight, because they don’t mind actually working for a few hours in order to stop women from running free in the country.
Not to worry, the Senate will kill this and if they don’t, the President has vowed to veto it. But Republicans don’t care about making this bill law. This was just a political game to appease their base — just another way of running for reelection in 2014 on the taxpayer dime.
We now resume our regularly scheduled programing of Republican scandal mongering on the taxpayer dime, also known as setting up a fictional bad guy to run against in 2014, since the Republicans can’t run on their actual record. But with this brief interruption, they’ve managed to reinforce their image as clueless white men so afraid of women’s power that they’re trying to force women back into the dark ages. Winning.
Image: Nashville Scene
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phooeyrat
Jun. 18th, 2013 at 5:40 pm
Every woman on this planet who is aware of the GOP’s hatred for the female of our species should not let these people (the GOP) rest or have one moments peace in their lives until you women have “changed” their minds about you and the roles that you all play in everyone’s lives. In my opinion. Don’t take any of their insane, evil-shit. Make them all feel your pain and disgust at what they have planned for your futures and your daughters. Let them have it. Make them all sorry they were born.
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Johnee
Jun. 18th, 2013 at 6:23 pm
Unfortunately these idiots have the support of fundie conservative women, and they are every bit as rabid as their male counterparts.
As majii stated, what’s sad is that the majority of Americans don’t support this crap, and we have to fend off this heavily disproportionate representation in congress and the senate, of a small but concentrated backwards minority in the southern states and bible belt.
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phooeyrat
Jun. 18th, 2013 at 7:58 pm
Is that all that’s stopping you? What are you women waiting for? Things too change by themselves. Maybe crazy Sarah could give you ladies a few pointers on how too be tough as nails. It might be worth a few “rabies-shots” too get rid of these a-holes. In my opinion. Or you could just keep going with the flow… Down the river. Or am I barking up the wrong tree?
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majii
Jun. 18th, 2013 at 6:05 pm
They keep making the same d*mn mistake. A poll from last year showed that a majority of Americans don’t want abortion to be abolished, yet, these tools keep focusing on abortion and neglecting to take up legislation on jobs and the economy. They don’t seem to realize that their base is not comprised of all Americans. Clueless doesn’t begin to describe their actions. I’m glad that Rep. Slaughter made her thoughts known to them. Blackburn should be ashamed of herself for allowing herself to be the face of a bill restricting women’s healthcare choices when she isn’t even a member of the committee that created and passed the bill. Some may be offended, but what Blackburn did can only be described as wh*ring one’s self out for gain of some sort.
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Daniel Berry, NYC
Jun. 18th, 2013 at 6:06 pm
I’d be interested in knowing something about the history of Marsha Blackburn’s relationships with men.
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Grovegal
Jun. 18th, 2013 at 7:03 pm
Excellent article! Boehner keeps saying “the majority of the American people want this” when he’s absolutely clueless as to what we want. He isn’t looking outside his bubble.
In 2014, they’ll see what the American people wanted and it will be like last year’s election. Stunned at their fall from the ivory tower.
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Sugapea
Jun. 18th, 2013 at 8:01 pm
How can we wake up the voter’s for 2014?
The public is so busy trying to keep their heads above the water, many don’t know what’s happening!
A whole bunch of commercials/bumper sticker’s showing what the Religious-Right is trying to do to American woman.
With a memorable tag-line:
‘The Republican Taliban’s attack on women’s rights has to stop!
We need your strength to get our House clean in 2014′!
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Paws
Jun. 18th, 2013 at 9:29 pm
“Apparently Marsha can only be trusted to sell the bill…”
———–
Well, I’m not buying what she’s selling.
I actually heard her say today that all these women are telling her Congress “has to do something about these late term abortions.”
BULL. Who the hell is saying that? You know what women are wanting Congress to do? Create some jobs, like they keep harping on the President for. Boehner keeps asking, “Well where are the jobs?” Well, gee, maybe they could get a jobs bill passed if they stopped trying to regulate every pregnancy in the country.
These people are pathetic and Blackburn is a mental midget who couldn’t sell chum to a Great White Shark.
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