Hillary Clinton -- Not Joe Biden -- Can Bank the Women's Vote in 2012 Elections | Violence Against Women Act

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Daily French Roast

Anne is reading …

Anne supported Hillary Clinton for president in 2008. She has called more than once for President Obama to put Hillary Clinton on the 2012 ticket as vice president, to insure that Obama is reelected for a second term. We’re presently not focused on the 2016 election, but rather, the current Republican War on Women.

There is no doubt that having Hillary Clinton and not Joe Biden running as vice president this year insures a turnout among Democratic women and independent voters, too.  Joe Biden cannot — and will not of choice — focus on rallying single women to vote. 

We can argue that the failure of single women to vote is part of the reason we’re in this horrible mess with women’s rights. AOC will do all we can to mobilize single women in 2012, but we WANT Hillary Clinton running for vice president, not Joe Biden. In fact, we are ready to petition Hillary Clinton for vice president.

 

We echo Maureen Dowd’s Don’t Tread on Us column:

Women have watched a chilling cascade of efforts in Congress and a succession of states to turn women into chattel, to shame them about sex and curb their reproductive rights. They’ve seen the craven response of G.O.P. candidates after Limbaugh branded a law student wanting insurance coverage for birth control pills, commonplace for almost five decades, as a “prostitute” and “slut.”

If women are so vulnerable, they may need one of their own.

Is she inevitable?

American women know that all the gains we’re made are up for grabs by Republicans. We have a RIGHT to an American vice president who is committed to women’s emancipation.

More DFR

“We’re mad, and we’re tired of it,” said Senator Maria Cantwell.Stephen Crowley/The New York Time Laws protecting women, originally enacted with broad bi-partisan support, are now the subject of fierce debate in the Republican War on Women. Today’s anti-woman menu du jour includes the Violence Against Women Act, a federal law signed into effect by President Clinton in 1994, providing $1.6 billion to help investigate and prosecute violent crimes against women. In 2000 the act was reauthorized by Congress, as it was again in 2005.

NYTimes writer Jonathan Weisman reported today that Democratic women senators would march together today, demanding quick action on its extension.

Alaka’s senator Lisa Murkoswki is warning Republicans that they are being successfully painted as anti-woman, with potentially severe consequences. Senator Jeff Sessions, Republican of Alabama, opposes the latest version of the bill, after supporting it in the past.

The legislation would continue existing grant programs to local law enforcement and battered women shelters, but would expand efforts to reach Indian tribes and rural areas. It would increase the availability of free legal assistance to victims of domestic violence, extend the definition of violence against women to include stalking, and provide training for civil and criminal court personnel to deal with families with a history of violence. It would also allow more battered illegal immigrants to claim temporary visas, and would include same-sex couples in programs for domestic violence.

The Greater New York City affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure announced that it has cancelled the Annual Awards Gala originally scheduled for May 17, 2012. A Grantees’ Breakfast is scheduled instead, with tickets controlled by organizers. NYC Komen exects say they’re uncertain about an ability to fundraise at this time. And they can’t control the ticket purchasers — opening the door to some ugly incidents at the big party.

Anne — along with other Pa citizens and people across America — has joined forces with these three busy moms who have strong views about what’s happening to the women of Pennsylvania at the hands of Republican legislators.

For good reason, most AOC writing focuses on the women’s rights assault of the day in America. Just trying to track the legislation is a nightmare. What’s lost in calling out one vaginal probe and personhood bill after another is the personal side of feminism and women’s rights in America.

Please check in at the Unite Against the War on Women national Facebook page and Unite Women’s new website. Follow on Twitter as @NatlWOW.

In Pennsylvania, link here for April 28th’s Unite Against the War on Women Harrisburg march.

Pa Press | If you are a member of the Pa press, Anne is happy to talk to you in her role as media liaison for the Pennsylvania march. Contact her here.