“War on Women” – Fallacy or Fact?

I had my heart set on writing about the above subject since it is a hot topic these days. And this being a political issue, I expect it to linger much longer, at least for as long as the campaign season continues. But then, the thought that Mothers’ Day celebration is on May 13, and it happens to fall under this MegaScene issue of May 1st to 15th, made me ponder. Is a Mothers’ Day tribute more significant and appealing than this hot button topic on women issues? Some deliberating went quietly through my mind and before long, I found myself writing on the subject Democrats chose to call, “Republicans’ War on Women.”
War on Women is a slogan Democrats have crafted to call attention to the Republicans’ position and votes against legislations that benefit or protect women. One such legislation is the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act that the Democratic Congress successfully passed against all but 4 Republican “nays.” President Obama signed it into law in 2009 and has become the first key piece of legislation passed by the Obama administration. It also marked the beginning of a long and bitter opposition of the Republicans to every policy and legislation emanating from the Obama administration, making it nearly impossible for this President to make good on many of his campaign promises. Today, Republicans like former Congressman Peter Hoekstra, who is campaigning to unseat Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan) have no qualms about repealing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act when elected.
It’s outrageous how Republicans like Hoekstra think that a law that guarantees equal pay for equal work is a nuisance as he had described it and should therefore be repealed. Mark Brewer, chair of the Democratic Party in Michigan said, “When women are discriminated against, and paid less for the same job, it damages our economy and our community. Repealing this absolutely critical protection for women would be yet another blow against middle class families fighting to make ends meet.”
As if to prove the tenacity of President Obama, despite his rivals’ oppositions to his every move, this President mustered enough votes to pass the Affordable Health Care Act to the great chagrin of Republicans started vilifying it by calling it Obamacare. Today, this same law which awaits implementation in 2014 is being challenged by its enemies all the way to the Supreme Court. Opponents of the law are challenging its mandate and want it overturned because requiring every person to buy healthcare insurance against his or her will is, in their opinion, unconstitutional.
Though President Obama and his fellow Democrats expressed confidence that the Supreme Court will uphold the law, they don’t have a recourse should it get partially or fully overturned. It would be a huge blow to the President, especially because the decision will come in June, almost in the hills of election. This healthcare reform law has been so demonized, assaulted and misinterpreted by the Right that to a largely misinformed public, this Affordable Care Act will be better dead than alive.
Then came the one-year extension of the current rates of federally funded student loans, which the Republican Congress passed despite the threat of veto from the President. The Republican-backed bill will be paid for with funds from the Affordable Care Act, by stripping funding for breast and cervical cancer screenings for women and funding for increasing child immunization and for screening newborns for things like hearing loss. House Democrats introduced their own measure, which would cancel tax subsidies for big oil companies as a way to pay for freezing student loan rates at current levels.
War on women maybe an exaggerated slogan by Democrats but it’s fair game in politics besides, both parties are guilty of this kind of rhetoric anyway. During the debates on Health Reform the Republican-generated slogans “Death Panel” and “They are killing grandma” referring to consultation on advanced care and end- of-life planning considerations, etc. wasn’t simply an exaggeration, it was a distortion of the truth.
The question is, if Republicans are correct about Democrats fabricating these women issues for political gain, are Republican policies beneficial to women? Is reversing or repealing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act going to help women? Is this issue really nothing more than a nuisance, aimed at distracting the people from priorities Congress ought to concentrate on as Hoekstra and like-minded Republicans claim? Is the US Budget Commission not telling the truth when it released a 77 cents- to- a- dollar report on the ratio of women and men’s salary? Doesn’t the report prove that women are indeed paid less than men for the same work the former do?
Is taking away free breast and cervical cancer screenings going to benefit women in any way, shape or form? Is the Party that would rather cancel this preventative care to women who cannot afford it than take back the subsidies and tax breaks for the billion dollar oil corporations a better Party to take the reins of government?
Has any significant legislation been passed by this Congress at all, whose only goal has always been to block Barack Obama’s programs regardless of the advantages they might bring to the American people?
Is it too hard to distinguish fact from fallacy in this regard? Why any woman would still vote Republican despite the Party’s prejudice against women is beyond me. I know this is a strong statement and I’ll probably earn more political enemies than I can imagine but it’s my honest belief that if we’re paying attention to these debates and know how to separate the din from the real voices, reason will speak to us in a more audible and coherent way.
Yes, I’m a woman and being one, I care about policies that affect me, my health and my family. I want to see my daughter, nieces and granddaughters enjoy the rewards of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. I want them to have access to a good healthcare, one that does not discriminate against anyone based on gender, race, and economic and social status. I will vote against anyone and anything that threatens to take away these blessings of democracy from us. I hope all women do too.
A very happy and blessed Mothers’ Day to all mothers in thoughts, in words and in deeds!