I don't believe that I am being hyberbolic when I say that there is a strategic attack underway against a woman's right to contraception and abortion, among other things. The reverberations of that attack have been felt keenly here at DKos but the heartening news is that there is some pushback in the wider public.
Sandra Fluke is a wonderful symbol of this fight. Her treatment by Rush Limbaugh and, more importantly, Darryl Issa, has resulted in attention to the Republican agenda towards women.
I don't care what Rush Limbaugh says, the GOP is waging a War on Women. At the national level, there was the narrowly-defeated Blunt Amendment. At the local level, in Virginia, there is HB 1 and HB 462.
For those of you who aren't familiar, HB 1: Rights of unborn children. Provides that unborn children at every stage of development enjoy all the rights, privileges, and immunities available to other persons, citizens, and residents of the Commonwealth.
For those of you who aren't familiar, HB 462: every pregnant female shall undergo transabdominal ultrasound imaging and be given an opportunity to view the ultrasound image of her fetus prior to the abortion. The medical professional performing the ultrasound must obtain written certification from the woman that the opportunity was offered and whether the woman availed herself of the opportunity to see the ultrasound image or hear the fetal heartbeat.
(Note: this is an expanded version of a diary that I posted earlier today)
Chris Matthews on the interview:
"He got his media training, didn't he?"
Translation: Boy did he do a good job of not talking about the abortion or personhood bills!
transcript of some of McDonnell's answers below the Orange Squigglies of Feminism ...
From the Interview
Rush Limbaugh's Comments re: Sandra Fluke
McDonnell on Rush Limbaugh and Mitt Romney's reaction to Limbaugh...
Well there's a lot of comment, I think, probably on the right and the left about social issues that people probably say things that they shouldn't and I think, uh, Rush Limbaugh, uh, said things he probably shouldn't. He apologized for it. We see a lot of things in debates here in Richmond and in Washington where people on the left say things as well.
Governor McDonnell, I can't think of any attack coming from the left against Republican women. In my recollection, while she was widely derided, Sarah Palin was never called a "prostitute".
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The War on Women
McDonnell on criticisms of GOP stance on social issues ...
I can only say that I think that those kinds of over-the-top condemnations have no place. I talk all the time in Richmond about having more civility. We need to be fighting for our principles on both sides, but let's do it, and this is for all Americans, let's do it in a civil way. And I would say Andrea really, that this started probably a month ago when President Obama decided to have, uh, essentially an attack on religious freedom ...
Governor McDonnell, admit that your problem is with the
Affordable Care Act and that you and the GOP are fighting a rear-guard action against it, please.
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Virginia HB 462
McDonnell on HB 462 ...
23 states already have a bill that requires requires women to be offered the ability to see an ultrasound before making a life-changing decision. When that bill goes into effect, I think it will be in the mainstream of the states in that regard. But listen, uh, what women really want and what men want is they want to know their son's gonna get into college and have a reduced tuition. They want to know how their sons and daughters are gonna be able to get a good job when they get out. They want to know how this crushing national debt of $15 trillion is going to be kept in check so we don't become, uh, like Europe.
Governor McDonnell, where, exactly, did you go to Medical School? And by what right does the party of "smaller government" assert itself between a patient and their doctor.
Bob McDonnell's Master's Thesis at Regent University
From The Washington Post:
At age 34, two years before his first election and two decades before he would run for governor of Virginia, Robert F. McDonnell submitted a master's thesis to the evangelical school he was attending in Virginia Beach in which he described working women and feminists as "detrimental" to the family.
He said government policy should favor married couples over "cohabitators, homosexuals or fornicators." He described as "illogical" a 1972 Supreme Court decision legalizing the use of contraception by unmarried couples.
McDonnell's 93 page thesis, available at the Regent University Library, contained a 15 point action plan that the GOP should follow to protect American families. McDonnell served 14 years in the Virginia General Assembly. During that time, he pursued at least 10 of the policy goals he laid out in that research paper, including abortion restrictions, covenant marriage, school vouchers and tax policies to favor his view of the traditional family.
McDonnell also voted against a 2001 resolution supporting the end of wage disparities between men and women.
How a Virginia Republican Views the Debate on HB462
This is just too painful to transcribe. Suffice it to say that Del. Dave Albo (R-42) is sadly out of touch with the concept of transvaginal ultrasound. He spends several minutes laughing and joking about HB 462, referring to "trans-v this" and "trans-v that", and its effect on his sex life.
How Protests Are Handled in Virginia These Days
JCWilmore brought us the story of
candlelight vigil called
TAKE BACK THE RIGHT: Candlelight Vigil & Speak Out for Women. Capitol Police officers and State Troopers were joined by a SWAT team to keep an eye on the group.
"What I saw that night at the State Capitol was a massive overreaction by Capitol Police and a really disturbing attempt by the McDonnell administration to use the State Police SWAT team to intimidate peaceful protesters through the display of overwhelming force."
On March 3, lowkell brought us
this rec-listed diary about a protest by the group
Speak Loud With Silence, who successfully staged a peaceful
silent protest of Virginia legislators. I am told that there was also a heavy police presence on hand for this protest.
"Thanks to my friend JR Tolbert for the images from Richmond, the first of which he annotated, "#waronwomen rally in Richmond for women's health," and the second "SWAT team dispersed the peaceful crowd." Also, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports, "Thirty women's-rights demonstrators were arrested this afternoon in a protest at the state Capitol that drew hundreds of protesters and Virginia State Police in riot gear." Why? "Capt. Raymond Goodloe of the Virginia Division of Capitol Police...said those arrested were likely accused of either trespassing or unalawful assembly." Uh huh."
JCWilmore also brought us video of the March 3 protest and arrests in
this diary, which contains a longer video. Among the things that the video reveals is that State Troopers were called for very quickly.
"I hope you will watch my video and share it with friends. Please pay close attention to the various titles and timestamps, particularly around 3:18. You will see the precise moment when the decision was made by the Capitol Police to unleash the State Police against the protesters."
Democrats Object to the March 3 Arrests
Delegate Delores McQuinn (D-70th, Richmond City) Statement on Arrest of Women’s Rights Protestors
Richmond—“Today’s arrests at the Capitol are just the latest example of government overreach that we’ve seen in recent weeks. The men and women who marched on Capitol Square have a right to peacefully protest without the threat that they will be arrested for exercising that right.
At several recent women’s rights events, there has been an overabundance of police presence. In fact, the Capitol Police Tactical Team has been at all of the events. I have never seen a similar police presence when guns rights advocates assemble on Capitol Square on Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday. We must ask the question: what are they so afraid of? Women demanding the right to be treated with respect shouldn’t illicit arrest.
I fully, adamantly support the right for all persons to peacefully protest the actions of their government. I know that I’m not the only legislator who is listening to these women as they fight to maintain the same level of dignity and compassion shown to their male counterparts.
Today’s actions are a sad reminder that our progress towards equality for all Virginians has not been achieved.”
STATEMENT OF DELEGATE SUROVELL ON THE ARRESTS OF PRO-CHOICE PROTESTORS ON STEPS OF VIRGINIA STATE CAPITOL
Women fought for decades to achieve equality with men and the right to control their personal medical decisions. My mother was legally prohibited from attending most Virginia universities or professional schools, was unable to buy a car without the signature of a man, or choose when she wanted to have a child when she reached adulthood in Virginia in 1962. Thanks to the victories won by women over the last forty years, my three daughters will have choices and opportunities in life that my mother, my grandmothers, and their predecessors could have never dreamed of founded. These opportunities are founded upon economic equality and the right to decide when to give birth to a child.
The ultrasound bill is three steps backwards for Virginia women. Forcing women who have been diagnosed as carrying an anecephelatic or non-viable fetus to undergo a second ultrasound and place a picture of it in her medical records for seven years or longer is state sponsored torture.
These arrests vividly evidence the depth of the anger, betrayal, and dismay that Virginians feel by the passage of House Bill 462 by both chambers. Earlier this session, the Republican majority in the House of Delegates refused to schedule the Equal Rights Amendment for a hearing even after it has been passed by the Virginia Senate. The Commonwealth's decision to send in police with riot gear and arrest unarmed peaceful protestors demonstrate the depth of paranoia that Virginia Republicans continue to feel about women given equal rights to men in the law. The arrest of women and men exercising their Constitutional rights on the steps of the Capitol of the state that is the home for the author of the First Amendment is especially ironic.
The protests and arrests are also evidence that there will be electoral consequences in Virginia in 2012 and 2013 for anyone who voted in favor of ultrasound or anti-contraception legislation this session.
This Says It All