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

Tina Fey Speaks for All Women About Guys like Akin, Ryan and Mourdock

gifsfln.tumblr.com
Tina Fey spoke at the Inaugural Gala at the Center for Reproductive Rights this week:

Via WSJ

“I wish we could have an honest and respectful dialogue about these complicated issues,” Fey said. “But it seems like we can’t right now. And if I have to listen to one more gray-faced man with a two-dollar haircut explain to me what rape is, I’m gonna lose my mind.”

“I watch these guys and I’m like what is happening? Am I a secretary on ‘Mad Men’?” Fey joked.

Fey then tried to summarize Akin’s views on pregnancy and rape, concluding “It’s making me dumber when I say it. But it’s something about the body not being able to get pregnant when it’s under physical stress. Mr. Akin I think you are confusing the phrase ‘legitimate rape’ with the phrase ‘competitive gymnastics.’”

The War on Women is Real

I see many people on Twitter and elsewhere pretending the War on Women is a joke made up by "hysterical" Dems. But there are real things going on in government that are aimed at controlling and limiting women for years to come. No one should close their eyes. No one should think these guys (and some women) in the GOP are kidding around or that they "don't really mean it." They do. This is not a joke.Other politicians take them at their word and we should too.

This is not a game and we Democrats are not "hysterical" if we fight back every way we can.

Need a reminder of what the War on Women is all about?

Romney Tries to Hide from Akin

Mitt can run but he can't really hid from todd Akin.

Some people on Twitter call the Repub ticket Romney-Akin-Ryan, and they have a point. Akin and Ryan are pretty much identical in their ideology, and they are in tune with the abortion plank of the official Party Platform. Avoiding questions from the media is not going

TPM: Romney Forbids Questions About Akin

Denver TV reporter Shaun Boyd wanted to ask Mitt Romney about Todd Akin and the abortion controversy roiling the GOP Thursday. But the Romney campaign refused.
In a broadcast on Thursday, Boyd revealed the Romney campaign’s demand that she not ask about Akin. The Obama campaign quickly posted the video online and sent it to reporters.
. . . “I wanted to get the interview with him because I have other issues I want to talk to him about,” she said. “So the fact that he doesn’t want to talk about this says something in and of itself. In some ways this speaks for itself even without asking the question.”

The Romney campaign told TPM that asking for stipulations for interviews is not standard practice.
“This is not how we operate,” a campaign official said. “The matter is being addressed.”

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Obama Jokes that "Backwards" Todd Akin Missed Science Class

Via MattBors.com

LOL ~ the President last night at a fundraiser via Politico:

“Recently some of you have been paying attention to the commentary about the senator from Missouri, Mr. Akin,” Obama said. “The interesting thing here is that this, this is an individual who sits on the House Committee on Science and Technology but somehow missed science class. And it’s representative of the desire to go backwards instead of forwards and fight fights that we thought were settled 20 or 30 years ago.”

Via LA Times:

Meanwhile on Fox News, Ann Coulter is raving about Akins again, upset that he wouldn't follow her advice and drop out of the Missouri Senate race.

Via Daily Caller

“They have been pushing this war on women thing forever. They had nothing until now,” said Coulter. “Now they’ve got something. Every Republican is going to be asked about this.”

“Now we can complain about media bias,” she said. “But that is a fact. This is all we’re going to hear about. It’s not like [anyone] did this to him. He was trying to show off with the fancy footwork on what happens to a woman’s body after rape. How about, ‘Yes, rape and incest and life of the mother. Now give us the other 2 million babies’? Can we just stick with that as our argument?”

Now that the deadline for Akin’s possible withdrawal from the race has passed, Coulter said she hates the GOP congressman.

“I’m glad that I didn’t do the interview yesterday,” she said. “I didn’t want to be on radio yesterday because I couldn’t officially hate Todd Akin until the 5 p.m. deadline. Once he refused to resign — not even resign. He doesn’t hold the office — to withdraw as the candidate. Now I can officially hate him. If he had withdrawn, now we can rally around him. Say he is a fine man, good Republican doing what’s best for the party. Now we can’t say that. Now I officially hate him.”

Don't be so angry, Ann - we figured it out long ago from listening to Rush Limbaugh talk about Feminazis. Sandra Fluke was another clue. Oh, and Governor Ultrasound in Virginia - why don't you hate him for a while? Oh yeah - he's writing the Party Platform with the exact same language that Akin uses. Hypocrites, thy name is Republican.

Remove Todd Akin from the Science Committee

Via Politico
Tell John Boehner to Remove Todd Akin

PETITION: Remove Todd Akin from the Science Committee

Sign your name to call on Speaker John Boehner to remove Rep. Todd Akin from the House Science and Technology Committee.

Republican Congressman Todd Akin told a Missouri news station:

"First of all, from what I understand from doctors [pregnancy from rape] is really rare... If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down."

Someone who believes nonsense like this has no part overseeing science policy.

Tell Speaker Boehner to immediately remove Rep. Akin from the House Science and Technology Committee.

Akin Assumes Women are Liars - and That's OK?

The more Todd Akin tries to explain what he said last Sunday, the bigger the hole gets under Romney/Ryan and the Republican Agenda. Let's face it, Akin is probably the most honest representative the Republican Party has ever had. What you see in him is what you get when you vote red.

Stupidity, Misogyny, Anti-Intellectualism - they've got it all.

Akin's latest attempt to explain "legitimate rape" makes things even worse. He wasn't saying there are various types of rape, he says. No, he just thinks women are liars and can't be trusted to tell the truth after a traumatic experience. He believes even the landmark Roe vs. Wade is based on lies. The premise seems to be that "bad women" are in such a hurry to get abortions that they will lie and say anything to get it done.

From Think Progress

Arguing that he misplaced the word “legitimate,” Akin explained — during a follow up interview with Dana Loesch — that he meant to argue that women sometimes lie about being raped:

AKIN: You know, Dr. Willke has just released a statement and part of his letter, I think he just stated it very clearly. He said, of course Akin never used the word legitimate to refer to the rapist, but to false claims like those made in Roe v. Wade and I think that simplifies it….. There isn’t any legitimate rapist…. [I was] making the point that there were people who use false claims, like those that basically created Roe v. Wade.

This would merely seem absurd and grasping at straws, except that yesterday the Republican Party voted to leave the "no exception for rape and incest" clause in their Party Platform. And that's not all - they still want to ban birth control, too. So Akin is not alone, and even if he leaves the Party, there are plenty of his kind waiting in the wings.

From NPR

Later, in a discussion of health care, the platform committee waded back into the abortion question, passing several amendments. One, proposed by Illinois delegate Sharee Langenstein, says being "pro-life" is consistent with being "pro-woman."

Another amendment, proposed by a delegate from North Carolina, supports banning the RU-486 pill and similar drugs that end pregnancies. Jackie Curtiss, a delegate from Alabama, objected, saying in light of Akin's recent comments about rape, it sends the wrong signal to women. The amendment passed after others on the committee said the resolution would not affect the "morning after" pill.

A reporter tried to get Paul Ryan to go on the record about his past interactions with Todd Akin, but Ryan is a slippery devil and keeps hiding behind the "top of the ticket" candidate, Mitt Romney. But Ryan certainly didn't cut all ties with the past, and is still touting his "pro-life" record as a dog whistle to the base.

Ryan Interview with CBS Pittsburgh

Delano: “Should abortions to be available to women who are raped?”

Ryan: “Well, look, I’m proud of my pro-life record. And I stand by my pro-life record in Congress. It’s something I’m proud of. But Mitt Romney is the top of the ticket and Mitt Romney will be president and he will set the policy of the Romney administration.”

Despite Ryan’s views, Romney says he will allow exceptions for rape and incest. Ryan also seemed to back away from earlier views on types of rape.

Delano: “You sponsored legislation that has the language ‘forcible rape.’ What is forcible rape as opposed…”

Ryan: “Rape is rape. Rape is rape, period. End of story.”

Delano: “So that forcible rape language meant nothing to you at the time?”

Ryan: “Rape is rape and there’s no splitting hairs over rape.”

Okey, Dokey, only Ryan sponsored bills WITH Todd Akin that would change the definition of rape, distinguish between forcible and statutory rape, and would definitely ban several types of birth control. We can only conclude that Paul Ryan is lying now just to get elected.

Via Think Progress

 Ryan and Akin also cosponsored a federal personhood bill, the Sanctity of Human Life Act of 2009, which declares that a fertilized egg is entitled to the exact same legal rights as a human being:

(1) the Congress declares that–

(A) the right to life guaranteed by the Constitution is vested in each human being, and is the paramount and most fundamental right of a person; and
(B) the life of each human being begins with fertilization, cloning, or its functional equivalent, irrespective of sex, health, function or disability, defect, stage of biological development, or condition of dependency, at which time every human being shall have all the legal and constitutional attributes and privileges of personhood; and

(2) the Congress affirms that the Congress, each State, the District of Columbia, and all United States territories have the authority to protect the lives of all human beings residing in its respective jurisdictions.

Lest there be any doubt, this bill is unconstitutional. Congress does not have the power to overrule Roe v. Wade by an ordinary statue, only a constitutional amendment could serve that purpose.

And even Romney can't really hide from this mess. Turns out back in 2007, he aligned himself with voodoo pro-life Dr. Willke who started all this nonsense - the same guy Akin mentions in the first quote at the top of the page. All roads lead back to Dr. Willke.

Romney Press Relase 2007

Boston, MA – Today, Dr. John Willke, a founder of the Pro Life Movement, endorsed Governor Mitt Romney and his campaign for our nation's highest office. Dr. Willke is a leading voice within the pro-life community and will be an important surrogate for Governor Romney's pro-life and pro-family agenda.

"Unlike other candidates who only speak to the importance of confronting the major social issues of the day, Governor Romney has a record of action in defending life. Every decision he made as Governor was on the side of life. I know he will be the strong pro-life President we need in the White House," said Dr. Willke. "Governor Romney is the only candidate who can lead our pro-life and pro-family conservative movement to victory in 2008."

Welcoming Dr. Willke's announcement, Governor Romney said, "I am proud to have the support of a man who has meant so much to the pro-life movement in our country. He knows how important it is to have someone in Washington who will actively promote pro-life policies. Policies that include more than appointing judges who will follow the law but also opposing taxpayer funded abortion and partial birth abortion. I look forward to working with Dr. Willke and welcome him to Romney for President."

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"

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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
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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

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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."