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The VAWA Finally Passes and Reveals A New Truth For the Republican House
The Republican majority in the House is split. This reality was revealed today in a painfully obvious way when sane, moderate Republicans joined the Democratic minority to pass the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), while the Tea Party version failed to garner enough votes to be more than an embarrassing reminder of their extremism.
The Violence Against Women Act has been around since Vice President Joe Biden championed it in 1994. It’s supported by the public. Since the passage of the act, annual incidents of domestic violence have dropped by more than 60 percent.
The House Republican opposition to reauthorizing the VAWA was bad for their brand. It solidified the GOP as the party of legitimate rape and “shutting it down”. Their rewrites of the act only served to reveal their true agenda, which was to take away liberty from women while refusing to grant any protections to Native American women, undocumented immigrants and the LGBT community. To say the House Tea Party Republicans are out of step with mainstream America is putting it mildly.
Eric Cantor (R-VA) – ironically the House “Majority” Leader (that should read, “of the Tea Party”) – claimed the Republican version was all about making sure women are safe, but of course, that turned out to be false. For instance, their July 2012 version was quickly discredited as the liberty-stealing piece of patriarchal propaganda it was. Their latest version was true to tea form — anti women, anti undocumented workers, anti protecting people who are gay, anti protecting Native American women…. So, “making sure all women are safe” translated in policy to making sure as few women are protected as possible. GOP Freedom = Rich White Men Only.
Today, after 90 minutes of “debate”, the Republican version of the VAWA (also known as the pro violence against women act) died 166-257. (God bless America.)
Yet the bipartisan Senate version passed 286-138. Senator Elizabeth Warren tweeted, “Glad to hear the House has passed the Senate’s version of #VAWA. It plays a vital role in combating domestic violence & sexual assault.”
How did the bipartisan Senate version get passed in the Republican majority House? (In case you’ve been in hiding for the past several years, anything that isn’t far right extremist doesn’t even get put up for a vote in Republican majority House, so this is a pretty significant accomplishment in these times.)
Good question, because this is the new reality facing the Republican Party, and it’s also why John Boehner struggles to be taken seriously as the Speaker of the House, as someone with the power to negotiate with the President. Boehner can’t deliver the votes, because the Republican Party is divided between the Tea crazy and the pro-corporate, pro-rich, but not crazy side of the party. And it seems the not so crazy side didn’t like what 2012 portended for their party.
The not-so-crazy side knows they can’t win elections by hating on women, undocumented workers, brown skinned people and gays. Sure, they can get out the vote via fear-mongering over those very same people, but they can’t win a national election.
And so, 87 Republicans voted with all 199 Democrats for the Senate version of the VAWA.
Those 87 Republicans refused to put women in more jeopardy just to satisfy the anti-woman agenda of the Tea Party caucus. If those 87 Republicans can find the courage to take a stand for average Americans on other issues (American Jobs Act, anyone?), they just might help to save this country from the tea party, debt-ceiling hostage taking side of the party.
I’m not holding my breath. After all, CPAC looks like the usual clown show and Boehner refuses to put most bills up for a vote for precisely this reason — it might pass with Democrats and a few Republicans, thereby effectively erasing the Republican majority. But still, 87 House Republicans were willing to vote with Democrats on something that was bipartisan and should never have been held up this long in the first place. Sad to say, but this is a vast improvement over the last two years.
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12 Responses to The VAWA Finally Passes and Reveals A New Truth For the Republican House
Mark Lysle
Feb. 28th, 2013 at 2:28 pm
Am I the only one out here who thinks that the Tea Party “Caucus” will be out on its collective ass this time two years from now?
They don’t stand for anything but white wealthy men and corporations. They’re no “caucus”. If there were truth in Congressional advertising, they’d be forced to change their name to the “Corporate Whore Caucus.”
Churchlady
Feb. 28th, 2013 at 3:10 pm
Some, not all. It will depend a great deal on how firm the redistricting lines will prove to be – the Tea Party people have made too many of their seats safe. If there are NON TP GOP willing to challenge them, I don’t see it yet. But the GOP are too safe in too many states, and Baggers have their claws firmly hooked into the machine they helped create. Popular opinion can be trumped by district biases.
Someone wrote a while ago that one commitment people can make is to move for the duration of residence into red districts, re-register, vote, and more home. That sounds like a Bagger tactic, but we have no certainty that even the 2020 census will realign districts if the same old people are drawing the lines. A far more certain way to do this in states with initiatives is to demand citizen redistricting commissions similar in neutrality to the one in CA. That is a less devious, more direct AND more reliable way to take back democracy from the knaves who see holding power as more important than democracy.
Charlotte Propes
Feb. 28th, 2013 at 2:38 pm
This behavior of the right extremist is the very reason why we need every provision of the Voting Rights act upheld.
djchefron(Moderator)
Feb. 28th, 2013 at 2:44 pm
These two dummycrats voted wiyh the teabaggers,
Reps. Mike McIntyre and Dan Lipinski.Now McIntyre is from a very red district in North Carolina so while immoral one can understand the way he voted.But lipinski is from blue ILLINOIS represents a very blue district in Chicago AND STILL COULDNT DO THE RIGHT THING.
His ass needs to be primaried and I know its a ethnic (east european immigrants for those who dont know) hood needs to be primaried.
Just A Dumb Fireman
Feb. 28th, 2013 at 4:45 pm
“I know its a ethnic (east european immigrants for those who dont know) hood needs to be primaried.”
Would you translate this into English, please?
djchefron(Moderator)
Feb. 28th, 2013 at 5:22 pm
Sorry about that.In Chicago, historically is segregated according to skin color and ethnicity.Poles live with Poles,Mexicans with Mexicans Irish with Irish you get the idea.They dont say Chicago is one of the most segregated cities for nothing.In Lipinski’s district its mostly eastern Europeans if I remember correctly centered around South Archer st.
Shiva(Moderator)
Feb. 28th, 2013 at 3:20 pm
The speakers at CPAC show us that the Republican Party has not caught on yet. The same losers that have been there before. The same reasons people voted against the Republican Party are the speakers at CPAC
Women’s rights, just like voters rights need to be preserved. This country has not been taken over by the fundamentalist sharia law yet. They are trying very hard but it will not happen. Someday the Republicans will understand the transvaginal probes, rape and everything else you can do against a woman is not what’s going to get them votes or put them in power.
I’m glad this finally passed
The Platzner Post
Feb. 28th, 2013 at 3:37 pm
Glad to see some on the crazy side have not gone totally over the edge!!! Sharing on The Platzner Post Facebook www.facebook.com/ThePlatz..., and Twitter twitter.com/ThePlatznerPo....
djchefron(Moderator)
Feb. 28th, 2013 at 4:08 pm
Looking at the vote totals Boehner once again broke the hastert rule with a minority of republicans doing what was right.
Eric Cantor voted with the teabaggers so I dont know how this will play out but there may a ray of hope that sane republicans will do what is right for the country moving forward.One can only hope.
majii
Mar. 1st, 2013 at 1:32 am
Yep! It seems as if some republicans are tiring of the GOP obstructionism.
From Booman:
“South Jersey Congressman Jon Runyan (formerly a red cape for Michael Strahan when he played offensive tackle for the Philadelphia Eagles), led a bloc of 19 Republicans who insisted on a vote on the Senate version.
www.boomantribune.com/#st...
djchefron(Moderator)
Mar. 1st, 2013 at 7:45 am
Just a little off topic but this exchange is by one of the teabaggers who voted no on VAWA
I present Sean Duffy of Wisconsin
Questioner: “I’m wondering about whether or not Rep. Duffy if you would support the legislation that’s in the Wisconsin legislature called ‘Right To Know Your Unborn Child’
Duffy: “I don’t know what a trans-vaginal ultrasound is?”
Questioner: “You don’t?”
Duffy: “No … I haven’t had one.”
[Laughter from the room]
Questioner: “It’s been in the news …”
[Inaudible]
Questioner: Right now it’s being discussed on the Wisconsin level, I realize you’re not involved in that but is this something that you would support on the federal level?
Duffy: I haven’t heard of it. And just like I told you I’m pro life, and I know that you are too, but I’m not willing to say I’ll support what you’re talking about because I haven’t seen the bill, even though we’re probably in agreement on that issue.
Questioner: So you don’t know what it is?
Duffy: No.
Questioner: Oh, OK, thank you.
That is all.
Stupid just can’t keep its’ mouth shut.”
Anne
Mar. 1st, 2013 at 8:08 am
I am happy that this legislation was passed, but angry that what should have been a no-brainer vote was held up by a bunch of Congressional crazies. I’m quite sure that a significant number of Republicans who voted for it were women themselves, and any Democrats who voted against it deserve a place in the Hall of Shame along with the Tea Partiers who predictably came down on the wrong side of the issue.