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DWA Weekly Messaging and Clips
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DWA Weekly Message and Clips
Week of January 26, 2015
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GOP 2016ers "bogus" "senseless" Equal Pay Views
Six years ago, President Obama signed his first bill into law – the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which makes it easier for women to fight wage discrimination. The President and Democrats have been clear that pay equity is a top priority and that the status quo where women make 78 cents to the dollar is not only wrong, it hurts our economy.
Seems like a no brainer that equal pay should be a reality – women constitute nearly half of the nation’s work force, and women are their family’s primary breadwinner in 40% of U.S. households with children. So who is still standing in opposition to legislation that would move us closer to pay equity?
Republicans. Including those who are moving closer to presidential runs. They have made their positions clear by voting against, obstructing, and deriding equal pay legislation.
As the campaign heats up it’s a fair bet the candidates running for the Republican nomination will try to hide from, obscure, and blatantly lie about where they stand in a futile attempt to appeal to women voters but that won’t change the facts.
Take a look:
- Scott Walker repealed equal pay enforcement in Wisconsin and called it a “bogus issue.”
- Chris Christie: repeatedly vetoed equal pay legislation including bills that would have strengthened the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act for New Jersey women and required salary transparency for public contractors calling it “senseless bureaucracy.”
- Rand Paul has not only voted against the Paycheck Fairness act repeatedly but also compared it the Soviet Union’s Politburo and he was even critical of the very idea of equal pay for women.
- Marco Rubio voted against the Paycheck Fairness Act and said bringing up equal pay legislation is “wasting time.”
- Ted Cruz voted against the Paycheck Fairness Act and derided it as a “show vote.”
- Rick Perry vetoed an equal pay law meant to prevent wage discrimination against Texas women. Perry also suggested equal pay is not a “substantive” issue and called the focus on equal pay “nonsense.”
- Bobby Jindal voted against the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and opposed measures to bridge the wage gap in Louisiana.
- Jeb Bush when asked about the Equal Rights Amendment movement said “that's kind of a retro subject,” and when asked about the Paycheck Fairness Act first didn’t know what it was then seemed to deride it as a “definition issue.”
- Mike Pence has repeatedly voted against equal pay legislation.
- Mitt Romney refused to support equal pay legislation during his 2012 campaign and when Romney’s chief policy adviser was asked whether the Republican supported the Lilly Ledbetter Act you could hear a pin drop during the shamefully long silence before he said, “we’ll get back to you on that.” Needless to say, he didn’t offer much support.
It’s not surprising that the GOP presidential hopefuls oppose equal pay – it just reinforces what we already know about their 2016 field. They do not stand with women, they do not stand with middle class families, and they insist on blocking even the most commonsense measures to grow our economy.
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Women in the News
Rep. Tim Ryan says politics aren't behind abortion switch//Cleveland Plain Dealer
Niles-area Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan said in an interview Wednesday that his announcement that he now supports abortion rights was motivated by dealing with his wife's pregnancy last year, not politics. The thinking behind a column he authored in Tuesday's Akron Beacon Journal to announce his abortion switch "crystallized over the course of our own kid being born and going through that process," said Ryan, whose son, Brady, was born in June.
Exclusive: DSCC Hires National Political Director, Press Secretary//Roll Call
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee will add Simone Ward and Sadie Weiner to its senior staff roster, according to a Tuesday news release provided first to CQ Roll Call. Ward will serve as the committee’s national political director, and Weiner will take the role of national press secretary. “Simone and Sadie bring a wealth of knowledge in campaigns and elections to their roles, and they will be instrumental over the next two years as we seek to regain the majority in 2016,” said DSCC Chairman Jon Tester of Montana in a statement.
Newsweek women-in-tech cover ignites Twitter firestorm//The Chicago Tribune
The women-in-tech conversation hit the national spotlight Wednesday evening when Newsweek released its latest cover on Twitter. The image, of a cursor lifting the skirt of a blank-faced woman in red, drew a near-immediate firestorm on the social media network. “What Silicon Valley Thinks of Women” spends more than 5,100 words exploring the challenges facing female entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. The article touches on funding, sexual advances, harassment, confidence issues, mentorship and historical biases.
Medical Abortion Can Be Safer And Easier For Women — So Why Follow Old Protocols?//Yahoo! Health
Medical abortion, or the non-invasive administration of oral medication to terminate a pregnancy in the first trimester, is a procedure for those who learn early on that they are pregnant and elect not to carry the pregnancy to term. In fact, a new study shows that a regimen for medical abortion — which would only involve a woman having to go in to the doctor once, compared with twice under the current FDA rules — is effective and safe. Yet, medical abortion is the least-used form of abortion, accounting for only 16.5 percent of all abortions in the United States.
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MOBILIZE | ENGAGE | TRAIN
The Democratic Women's Alliance is the latest chapter in the Democratic Party’s long commitment to activating more women. DWA seeks to empower Democratic women to MOBILIZE, ENGAGE, and TRAIN each other and continue the conversation about women voters between elections.
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