2012 ~ A Great Election for Women

This was a great election, not just because Barack Obama was re-elected in a near landslide, but because women found the power to fight back against an oppressive Republican Party that seemed hell-bent on attacking our decisions, our basic human rights and our bodies. Most of the time, they simply attacked our intelligence, thinking a return to 1950s values is what women want for ourselves and our daughters. This is why I've written 26 Posts on the War on Women going back to Rick Santorum in the Primaries, as well as 21 posts on Snark Amendment collecting quotes and video from these guys. I want all of it to stay on the internet forever if possible, so that four years from now we won't have complacency and forget just how bad it was.


Well, today is a much better world for my daughter as well as my sons, and everyone else in society. Obama will protect the Supreme Court, health care, and Pell Grants. While the Tea Party may still control the House, and unfortunately Ryan and some others are still there, we have the political capital and some new voices to help in the fight, Obama will surely be able to pressure Speaker Boehner in ways we never did before. The conservative message failed and their party is in shambles. For all Romney's talk of family values and his love of his wife and kids, he couldn't put himself in the place of one female American who wasn't either a wealthy Stepford Wife or some glorified secretary in a binder.


The Gender Gap was real, and that should prove that the War on Women was real for us. We shouldn't have to explain it. We don't need anymore lectures and threats of probing and rape and forced pregnancy from nutjobs and religious fanatics. We don't need anymore insults from loser misogynists like Rush Limbaugh either, and he needs to realize his day is DONE.


But if that is the only message you have, just keep on keepin' on. It can only help the Democrats in the future. I know I will stay fired up even after this election and I think all women feel this way. History books will be written on the failure of the white-male oriented GOP to connect with half the country. If they don't understand it by now, just read the book.

And look at some of the great women who were elected yesterday!!!

Claire McCaskill Beat Todd "Legitimate Rape" Akin in Missouri



Tammy Baldwin beat Tommy Thompson in Wisconsin
And Becomes the First Openly Gay Senator



Tammy Duckworth Beat Joe "Misogynist Shouter" Walsh in Illinois




Elizabeth Warren defeated Scott Brown in Massachusetts

Obama Responds to the Todd Akin Fiasco

Obama gets it exactly right.

Via Huff Post

"The views expressed were offensive," said Obama. "Rape is rape. And the idea that we should be parsing and qualifying and slicing what types of rape we are talking about doesn't make sense to the American people and certainly doesn't make sense to me. So what I think these comments do underscore is why we shouldn't have a bunch of politicians, a majority of whom are men, making health care decisions on behalf of women."

. . . "Although these particular comments have led Governor Romney and other Republicans to distance themselves, I think the underlying notion that we should be making decisions on behalf of women for their health care decisions, or qualifying forcible rape versus non-forcible rape, I think those are broader issues," Obama said. "And that is a significant difference in approach between me and the other party."

Great discussion on Hardball: "Defending the Caveman"

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Todd Akin and the Magical Pregnancy Shield

Sometimes the more subtle type of violence against women is the verbal kind coming from the Right-Wing Republican Tea Party Nutters. Take Todd Akin . . . please. He thinks that women can't get pregnant from "forcible" or what he calls "legitimate" rape because of "God's Protective Shield," which is something a couple of wingnut doctors made up. Insane. (More on that further down the page)

My Previous Post: Missouri's Todd Akins and "Legitimate" Rape
Updated Tweets and Comments on Snark Amendment

His Original Statement from Huff Post

From what I understand from doctors, that's really rare. If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. But let's assume maybe that didn't work or something. I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be on the rapist.

And of course the Obligatory Non-Apology

Now Republicans are panicking and calling for Akin to pull out (no pun intended).
Todd Has Until Tuesday Aug. 21 to Drop Out of the Race

Meanwhile, Claire McCaskill has had a surprise money bomb dropped on her Senate campaign tonight. Congratulations! 

ACT Blue Donations for Claire McCaskill
Direct Donations for Claire McCaskill

Did you know that Congressman Akin is on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee. Go figure that out!

What we know is that Akin worked with Paul Ryan in Congress to redefine rape as either "forcible" or not, so that girls wouldn't be lining up for abortions and claiming "statutory rape." I guess he believes that statutory rape can lead to pregnancy, but not "legitimate" or "forcible" rape.

From Huffington Post 

Ryan ... cosponsored the "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act" with Akin in 2011. The GOP tried to narrow the definition of rape as it related to abortions with the measure. Only in instances of "forcible rape," the bill specified, would a woman be eligible to have her abortion covered under insurance.

The Romney/Ryan Ticket came out with a statement tonight that is slightly to the left of Paul's previous views on abortion:

Governor Romney and Congressman Ryan disagree with Mr. Akin’s statement, and a Romney-Ryan administration would not oppose abortion in instances of rape," Andrea Saul, a Romney spokesperson, told The Huffington Post.
While Saul's statement is consistent with Romney's position on abortion, it's a clear departure from Ryan's position, which is that abortion should only be legal in cases where the life of the mother is at risk. Ryan sponsored a fetal personhood bill, which would effectively criminalize abortion and some forms of birth control without exceptions for rape victims.
“I’m as pro-life as a person gets,” he told the Weekly Standard in 2010. “You’re not going to have a truce.”

Mother Jones has an article detailing just where Todd Akins (and probably Paul Ryan) got this misinformation about rape and pregnancy. Turns out there are some whacked-out doctors on the right who are spreading misinformation and these anti-women wingnuts then use it to make policy.

My question: Why would grown-up supposedly educated men believe this nonsense? 


Todd Akin Wrong, but Not Alone

. . .  John C. Willke, an anti-abortion doctor, writes on the website Christian Life Resources about how pregnancies resulting from rape are "extremely rare" because of hormones and stuff:

Finally, factor in what is certainly one of the most important reasons why a rape victim rarely gets pregnant, and that's physical trauma. Every woman is aware that stress and emotional factors can alter her menstrual cycle. To get and stay pregnant a woman's body must produce a very sophisticated mix of hormones. Hormone production is controlled by a part of the brain that is easily influenced by emotions. There's no greater emotional trauma that can be experienced by a woman than an assault rape. This can radically upset her possibility of ovulation, fertilization, implantation and even nurturing of a pregnancy.

. . . In 1998, Fay Boozman, a Republican candidate for Senate in Arkansas, got in trouble for embracing this idea. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported that Boozman said the inability to get pregnant from rape stemmed from "God's little protective shield"—a report Boozman denied before saying that it was in fact an "adrenaline rush" that prevented conception from rape.
The you-can't-get-pregnant-from-rape falsehood is apparently something that enough people believe that Planned Parenthood includes it on its pregnancy FAQ page.

I don't think even God's Protective Shield can help Todd Akin now. He's going down!

Missouri's Todd Akin and "Legitimate" Rape ~ Updates

UPDATES:

Snark Amendment Tweets and Internet Comments on this story

ACT Blue Donations for Claire McCaskill
Direct Donations for Claire McCaskill

Honestly, how much more of this can we women take before we have to go march in the streets? This evil idiocy towards women is like a Frankenstein's monster that keeps going and going and going . . .kicking women where they are most vulnerable. What does this say about the GOP and the future of this country? I. Just. Can't. Stand. It.

On Pregnancy from Rape:
From what I understand from doctors, that's really rare. If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. But let's assume maybe that didn't work or something. I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be on the rapist.
~ Congressman Todd Akin, R-Missouri, running for Senate

We're going to prove to Missourians that Todd Akin is out of touch with their problems, out of touch with the pain that they feel, and out of touch with the views that they hold dear.
~ Akins opponent, Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri

As a woman & former prosecutor who handled 100s of rape cases,I'm stunned by Rep Akin's comments about victims this AM bit.ly/NahiHz
— Claire McCaskill (@clairecmc) August 19, 2012

UPDATE: Akins Issues a Statement - "Whoops, I misspoke off-the-cuff." OMG

Todd Akins Press Release

St. Louis - Congressman Todd Akin just released the following statement regarding his interview on the "Jaco Report" broadcast this morning in St. Louis:

"As a member of Congress, I believe that working to protect the most vulnerable in our society is one of my most important responsibilities, and that includes protecting both the unborn and victims of sexual assault. In reviewing my off-the-cuff remarks, it's clear that I misspoke in this interview and it does not reflect the deep empathy I hold for the thousands of women who are raped and abused every year. Those who perpetrate these crimes are the lowest of the low in our society and their victims will have no stronger advocate in the Senate to help ensure they have the justice they deserve.

"I recognize that abortion, and particularly in the case of rape, is a very emotionally charged issue. But I believe deeply in the protection of all life and I do not believe that harming another innocent victim is the right course of action. I also recognize that there are those who, like my opponent, support abortion and I understand I may not have their support in this election.

"But I also believe that this election is about a wide-range of very important issues, starting with the economy and the type of country we will be leaving our children and grandchildren. We've had 42 straight months of unacceptably high unemployment, trillion dollar deficits, and Democratic leaders in Washington who are focused on growing government, instead of jobs. That is my primary focus in this campaign and while there are those who want to distract from that, knowing they cannot defend the Democrats' failed economic record of the last four years, that will continue to be my focus in the months ahead."

Colbert and McCaskill Discuss Rove's "Spooky PACS"

Stephen Colbert and Claire McCaskill of Missouri talk about secret "Spooky PAC" money coming from unknown big-money donors trying to Democrats out of office. Colbert is hilarious discussing Karl Rove's billionaire minions giving secret donations to his Crossroads Super PACs, which he calls "Spooky PACs."

My Partial Transcript from the Video:

The general election is underway and I'm as giddy as a schoolgirl who will soon be denied birth control.

So far, the big players in 2012 are the Super PACs, like Colbert Super PAC. You know our motto: "Making a better tomorrow, tomorrow."

...And folks, I'm not the only one throwing around my unlimited corporate cash....Secret billionaires are just trying to get "involved" in the political process, the same way the Secret Service just wanted to get "involved" with those prostitutes. So, to protect themselves from accountability, big donors need anonymity. Like Casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson, who almost single-handedly funded Newt Gingrich's Super PAC "Winning Our Future" - which has recently been renamed "Dodging Our Creditors." Well now, Adelson is going underground, where it's possible he also originated. He says that from now on if he injects big bucks into this election, it will be to a c4. Now folks, he's talking about super secret 501(c)4's. Or as they're now called "Spooky PACs," which can accept unlimited money without ever disclosing their donors because they're technically "social welfare organizations."

Their negative attack ads count as "charity" in the same way that yelling "Get a job you dirty bum" is a donation to the homeless. Of course, I have a Spooky PAC - Colbert Super PAC Shh. You know our motto: Making a Better Tomorrow at a Later Date That's None of Your G*d**n Business." And for you transparency fetishists I am happy to now make my fully legally required disclosure: I have written the names of Colbert Super PAC Shh Donors on my taint in butterscotch topping. I invite the FEC to audit it with their tongues.

The Colbert Report
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The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive