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House Republicans remain determined to ignore women

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout: Debate & Discussion' started by da1, Jan 3, 2013.

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  1. da1

    da1 Member

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    2012 was a rough year for the Republican Party’s relationship with women. From Missouri Senate nominee Todd Akin’s “legitimate rape” comments to the party’s efforts to cut funding for preventative care (particularly important for women seeking cancer screenings and the like) to Rep. Darrell Issa’s all-male panel on contraception mandates and religious liberty — and the subsequent attacks from Rush Limbaugh and other right-wing voices on Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke, whom Issa had barred from the hearing — the GOP repeatedly showed a less-than-impressive concern for women’s rights. Not surprisingly, the 2012 presidential election saw the gender gap increase from 12 percentage points in 2008 to 18 percentage points, as President Obama maintained his support among women. One would think, then, that Republicans might pause before yet again insulting half of the country. But this week showed that House Republicans, at least, remain oblivious, as they let the landmark Violence Against Women Act expire.

    First passed in 1994 (and drafted by then-Sen. Joe Biden), the Violence Against Women Act has helped law enforcement investigate and prosecute domestic and sexual abuse and increased the resources available to victims of those crimes. The bill was passed (and renewed in 2000 and 2005) with bipartisan support. This past April, the Senate passed the bill 68-31; though all 31 votes against were from Republicans, a number of very conservative senators supported the bill, including Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), who co-wrote the bill with liberal stalwart Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.).

    But House Republicans objected to the reauthorization’s expanded protections for LGBT, illegal immigrant and Native American victims of sexual assault. That the GOP would prioritize discriminating against illegal immigrants and LGBT people over fighting domestic and sexual abuse is outrageous yet, sadly, not that surprising, given the power of anti-gay and anti-immigrant voices in the party. But perhaps even more damning is their opposition to the Native American protections. The expansion would give tribal courts jurisdiction over domestic violence committed by non-Native Americans against Native American women. As The Nation’s Greg Kauffman writes:

    The statistics are indeed horrific: one in three Native women will be raped in their lifetimes; two in five are victims of domestic violence; three out of five will be physically assaulted. Native women are 2.5 times more likely to be assaulted—and more than twice as likely to be stalked—than other women in the United States. On some reservations, the murder rate of Native women is ten times the national average. According to the Indian Law Resource Center, 88 percent of these crimes are committed by non-Indians—the majority of the population residing on reservations is now non-Indian—and US attorneys are declining to prosecute 67 percent of sexual abuse matters referred to them.

    Yet House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) flatly refused to bring the Senate bill to a vote unless the protections for Native Americans were stripped out. Given the statistics, this negligence is disgraceful. The only reason for inaction from Cantor and others, frankly, is that many House Republicans simply do not truly care about women who are victims of domestic and sexual violence. Women, in turn, will rightly continue to shun the Republican Party.

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...-women-act-remain-determined-to-ignore-women/
     
    #1 da1, Jan 3, 2013
  2. Realjad

    Realjad Contributing Member

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    This thread title sucks
     
    #2 Realjad, Jan 3, 2013
  3. Dairy Ashford

    Dairy Ashford Member

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    I don't know why this is necessary or particularly favorable enough to whatever the status quo is to be that damning to Republicans.
     
    #3 Dairy Ashford, Jan 3, 2013
  4. geeimsobored

    geeimsobored Contributing Member

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    I work in a state with a huge Native population. That provision is a huge deal in Indian Country.

    One of the problems is that there is a large gap in law enforcement on these cases. Law enforcement outside the reservations typically does not venture into reservations and tribal courts legally can't prosecute non-Natives. The end result is a state of limbo in reservations where crimes like rape simply aren't prosecuted by anyone. The American civilian courts and law enforcement don't do anything and the tribal system is powerless.

    This is a huge deal for the Native communities. The sheer number of rapes on the reservations near where I live are absolutely terrifying and for all that was great about VAWA, it had next to no impact on the reservations in its previous incarnation.

    As someone who worked with several Native American groups, I can't express how upset I am with the Republicans on this position. This is truly madness and its deplorable. The article pointed out how frequent rape is on the reservations. And the sheer poverty of the reservations up here means that law enforcement just doesn't touch them. They're left to fend for themselves with a legal system that does little to protect them.

    It's time for solutions but the Republicans won't have any of that.
     
    #4 geeimsobored, Jan 3, 2013
  5. Major

    Major Member

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    Why does Congress keep passing bills that expire? This is just the latest example - but why does it have to be reauthorized every few years? Why didn't they just pass it permanently in 1994? Same with the assault weapon ban - they knew it was an ugly fight then and was going to cost many lawmakers their jobs. Did they not think it would be ugly again?

    Or the recent "milk cliff" fiasco. What kind of system do we have that, if nothing is passed, law reverts to some random law from the 1940's?
     
    #5 Major, Jan 3, 2013
  6. Hustle Town

    Hustle Town Contributing Member

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    You sound like a college professor. You are spewing nonstop BS about what you think conservatives believe when you are not one yourself. Todd Akin and Darrell Issa do not hold the support of the Republican Party or the American people, and they are just two extremists in the party. Let me give an argument of my own based on your rhetoric: Sheila Jackson Lee says that a man went to Mars. Does that statement suggest that all Democrats are uneducated about the space program? I don't think so.
     
    #6 Hustle Town, Jan 3, 2013
  7. Hustle Town

    Hustle Town Contributing Member

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    Directed to the original poster
     
    #7 Hustle Town, Jan 3, 2013
  8. Deckard

    Deckard Blade Runner
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    Great point. It's a stupid practice, one that probably exists because a few crucial votes "back in the day" could only be found if the "law" was temporary. Once precedent was established for this practice, it was used again. And again. Dumb the first time, dumb now.
     
    #8 Deckard, Jan 3, 2013
  9. Dairy Ashford

    Dairy Ashford Member

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    Man, white boys love ragging on some Sheila Jackson.
     
    #9 Dairy Ashford, Jan 3, 2013
  10. Hustle Town

    Hustle Town Contributing Member

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    Who said I was white? Besides, she is dumber than Royce White.
     
    #10 Hustle Town, Jan 3, 2013
  11. FranchiseBlade

    FranchiseBlade Contributing Member
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    Here's a difference. Republicans have proposed and enacted legislation that is offensive to women. Sheila Jackson Lee nor any other Democrat has proposed or enacted legislation recognizing men as having gone to Mars.

    The Republican positions towards women are part of their policies. Sheila Jackson Lee saying anything about a man having gone to Mars is not at all about policies.
     
    #11 FranchiseBlade, Jan 3, 2013
  12. Dairy Ashford

    Dairy Ashford Member

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    Great, non-black guys don't take black women seriously. Yale degree + 20 years in Congress x black skin = dumbest person in the room, got it.
     
    #12 Dairy Ashford, Jan 3, 2013
  13. Qball

    Qball Contributing Member

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    ohsnap you rhymed white with white....don't hurt em slim shady!
     
    #13 Qball, Jan 4, 2013
  14. da1

    da1 Member

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    Hey genius, I linked an article linked in the Washington Post of all newspapers.
     
    #14 da1, Jan 4, 2013
  15. DonnyMost

    DonnyMost not wrong
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    Only in conservative circles is this thought of as a bad thing.

    And the anti-intellectual drums of war from the Republican party keep beating...
     
    #15 DonnyMost, Jan 4, 2013
  16. da1

    da1 Member

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    Very clever
     
    #16 da1, Jan 4, 2013
  17. rocketsjudoka

    rocketsjudoka Contributing Member
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    Darrell Issa is the chair of the House Oversight and Reform Committee and a member of House leadership while Todd Akin was a major party nominee for statewide office. Sheila Jackson Less is a single House and committee member and hasn't held a leadership position other than Congressional Black Caucus Whip.

    I agree that Issa and Akin aren't the Republican party but that party gives them prominent positions.
     
    #17 rocketsjudoka, Jan 4, 2013
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