John McCain is irritated that the Democrats are accusing the Republicans of waging a war on women. He made his displeasure known on the Senate floor while expressing his support for renewing the Violence Against Women Act. Of course, the context is that many of his Republican colleagues are opposed to renewing the Act. The following, too, is context:
Democrats have increasingly referred to the “War on Women” over the past several months to describe the GOP’s sustained legislative focus on issues that affect women’s health and rights. An amendment to a sweeping transportation bill pushed by Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) would have allowed employers to deny women contraception coverage for any moral reason. Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) vetoed funding for rape crisis centers last week, and several GOP governors supported legislation that mandates medically unnecessary ultrasound procedure for women who are seeking abortions. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R), meanwhile, recently repealed the state’s equal pay law.
So, I don’t really know what there is to be irritated about. McCain’s remarks don’t make even a little sense.
“My friends, this supposed ‘War on Women’ or the use of similarly outlandish rhetoric by partisan operatives has two purposes, and both are purely political in their purpose and effect: The first is to distract citizens from real issues that really matter and the second is to give talking heads something to sputter about when they appear on cable television,” he said. “Neither purpose does anything to advance the well-being of any American.”
“To suggest that one group of us or one party speaks for all women or that one group has an agenda to harm women and another to help them is ridiculous,” he continued.
Now, McCain says that none of these issues really matter. And he says that none of these issues will advance the well-being of any American. But we’re talking about equal pay for equal work. We’re talking about getting treatment after being raped. We’re talking about access to birth control for poor women. We’re talking about interfering in the doctor/patient relationship and requiring physicians to deny needed care or to carry out pointless and unnecessary procedures on women. There is the status quo, and then there is this avalanche of legislation that will make things worse for women.
The more the Republicans stomp their feet and complain that they don’t have an agenda to harm women, the more we know it’s true.
Two things:
1.) A lot of pwoggies stomp their feet on this issue as well. IOW: “Why are we concerned about these issues when we can get on to the REAL issues like taxes and spending cuts?” They irritate me just as much as McCain.
2.) Video evidence:
Because, as we all know, issues having to do with women’s health and personal medical decisions aren’t real issues.
(Sadly, the most recent battles in the war on women have been seen as “distractions” by some supposed progressives as well.)
two comments in this thread and both slam anonymous progressives. Who are these people?
Sorry, I didn’t take notes so that I’d have a handy list of names to show to people who have somehow never noticed something that happens all the damn time.
There are — naturally — disagreements about how to prioritize political battles. But there are certain obvious patterns about the sorts of battles that are most likely to be described as “distractions”. There’s a long history of choice and other “women’s issues” being in that category.
The same people who mock people who are concerned about pot legalization. Well, not always the same, but there’s a lot of overlap. I haven’t seen it much in bloggers, usually just idiotic commenters. And usually idiotic commenters who are anti-Obama.
distractions? I haven’t even seen that line on the Great Orange Satan (which has everything) must less here
appears to be exhibiting what the shrinks call projection…a dysfunction commonly associated with ratpublican rhetoric.
he really should have retired, he’s now become a very bad parody of himself.
I’ve noticed that the bigger a negative a right-wing effort turns out to be for them, the more likely it is that they will eventually decide that it’s a distraction, not serious, just political noise, etc, etc. (At the same time they almost always continue the effort itself, just more quietly.)
Funny, that.
So he lists all that legislation to show how trivial it is (e.g. state sponsored rape in VA)??? can you say clueless
There’s also what isn’t said in such rants. Republicans can’t counter the “War on Women” meme by talking about policy, because they advocate no policies that are specifically designed to benefit women. None. At all.