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While Michigan Republicans dismantle the middle class, Democrats are trying to actually solve problems

By on May 10, 2013 in Gun Control, Michigan Democrats, Michigan Republicans, War on Women

Actions speak louder than words

As Michigan Republicans continue their corporatist agenda of eviscerating the middle class, destroying unions, harming public employees and taking women’s rights back to the middle of the last century, Michigan Democrats are proposing important pieces of legislation that solve actual problems.

The first comes from Representatives Jim Townsend, Vicki Barnett, and Andy Schor. They are introducing a package of legislation designed to reduce gun violence in our state and to increase public safety. A separate package of bills will be introduced by State Representatives Gretchen Driskell, Jeff Irwin, Adam Zemke and state Senator Rebekah Warren that will reverse some of the restrictions Republicans have put on women’s health care, educate women about health care options, support rape survivors and address health care inequities women face.

Details after the jump.


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Obama gives speech to Planned Parenthood that conservatives said he cancelled

By on April 26, 2013 in Barack Obama, Planned Parenthood, President Obama, War on Women

“Planned Parenthood is not going anywhere”

President Obama delivered remarks to the national Planned Parenthood conference today. He had been scheduled to deliver them earlier in the week but, instead, delayed his speech to spend more time with the victims of the explosion in West, Texas. When it was announced that his original speech was cancelled, the anti-Choice group Susan B. Anthony List declared victory (as did others).

They were, of course, quite wrong.

Details and a full transcript of his speech after the jump.


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GOP Congressman Tim Walberg “explains” his offensive vote against the Violence Against Women Act

By on March 25, 2013 in Lies, Michigan Republicans, War on Women

Sugarcoating an odious vote doesn’t make it palatable

Earlier this month, I wrote about Congressman Tim Walberg’s lying about his vote against the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). He claimed in an interview that he had, in fact voted FOR the VAWA. As it turns out, he voted for a watered-down House version but voted against the version that eventually passed.

I wrote to my Congressman about this and, this weekend, received a reply. You can read his offensive response after the jump.


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UPDATED – Women betrayed: TEN female House Republicans vote against the Violence Against Women Act

By on February 28, 2013 in Republican-Fail, Republicans, War on Women

Thanks for nothing, ladies

UPDATE: I mistakenly identified only nine women members of Congress that voted against the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. The number is actually TEN. Thanks to Kathy Kramer in the comments who pointed out my oversight.

The U.S. House of Representatives today passed the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (VAWA) which had lapsed in 2011. Renewal of the VAWA was repeatedly voted down by Republicans for nearly two years. The version the House passed today was a comprehensive bill that extended protections to Native American women, lesbians & gays, and immigrants. It was passed after a watered-down Republican version was rejected. Because the bill they passed had already passed the Senate, it now goes to President Obama for his signature.

When the bill passed the Senate, every single woman in the Senate voted for it. However, among the 138 House members who voted against it today, all whom were Republicans, there were nine women who joined them.

See the full list after the jump.


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Michigan GOP continues trying to make a safe and legal medical procedure difficult to get

By on February 17, 2013 in Michigan Republicans, War on Women

Another day, another battle in the Republican War on Women

Last December, in a rare veto of Republican legislation by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, bills changing the operating structure of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan were shot down. The reason Governor Snyder gave was that he objected to language in the bill that would require women to purchase a separate abortion coverage rider on their insurance if they wanted that coverage. It would not be part of the basic insurance coverage, unlike, say, Viagra or Cialis for men is. He said that the legislation went “too far in two ways.…


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Another day, another couple more battles waged in the Michigan GOP War on Women

By on February 6, 2013 in Michigan Republicans, War on Women

They aren’t giving up so neither can we

With the pushback they received after their explosive inflamed duck session and their loss of six seats in the state House of Representatives, you would think Michigan Republicans would be taking a breather, girding themselves for the battles ahead.

And you would be wrong.

On the contrary, fresh from the winter break, they came roaring back in and in the first few weeks, have shown that they aren’t satisfied in winning the War on Women in Michigan. They appear to believe there is so much more crushing of women’s rights and paternal “protecting” to be done.

Details after the jump.


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Paycheck Fairness Act introduced again — Will the GOP win this battle in the War on Women, too?

By on January 25, 2013 in Conservatives, Republican-Fail, Republicans, War on Women

Sometimes it’s hard to believe it’s 2013…

The button shown above is the actual one that was worn by my mother when she marched, with me at her side, with 85,000 others in Chicago, during a rally for the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) in 1980. 59¢ was how much women in 1980 earned for every dollar a man made for the same job.

Today that number is 77¢. In 33 years, women have only gained 18¢ in their struggle for paycheck fairness. At that rate, to paraphrase Laurie Anderson, it will be the year 2055 before they make a buck. That is, unless Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski and Connecticut Congresswoman Rose DeLauro have anything to say about it.

Much, much more after the jump.


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2012: The Year of Michigan Women in Politics

By on December 29, 2012 in Debbie Stabenow, Michigan, Michigan Democrats, Michigan Republicans, Pete Hoekstra, Planned Parenthood, War on Women

Chapeau: doffed

2012 was a year full of politics in Michigan. As a political writer, particularly one writing from the progressive side of things, I never had a single day where there wasn’t something happening in Michigan worth writing about. We weren’t far into 2012 before I realized that women were standing up and speaking out in larger numbers and with a louder, stronger voice than any other group of people in our state. So much so that I have taken to calling 2012 the Year of Michigan Women in Politics.


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The New York Times tells Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder: End the War on Women, veto the abortion bills

By on December 28, 2012 in Rick Snyder, War on Women

The next move is yours Governor. The entire world is watching.

There are three bills sitting on Michigan Governor Rick Snyder’s desk awaiting his signature to become law. Or, preferably, to be vetoed into the rubbish bin of Michigan history where they below. The three bills are Senate Bill 1293, Senate Bill 1294 and House Bill 5711. The three bills will make Michigan one of the (if not THE) most regressive states in the country with regard to women being able to obtain a safe, legal abortion.

I want to emphasize one of the words in the last sentence because it is very important: LEGAL.

Abortion has been legal in this country for 39 years. This medical operation to prevent a nonviable bundle of tissue cells from developing inside a woman’s uterus into a human has been legal for 39 years. The anti-abortion forces in this country, not content to simply not have abortions themselves, have spend nearly four decades making access to this legal medical procedure nearly impossible. In Michigan, they are about to see this wish come true.

Think about it: what other medical procedure can you think of that has been legislated nearly out of existence despite being legal?

The New York Times has a brilliant and scathing op-ed piece today titled “An Affront to Michigan Women”. It is aimed directly at Michigan Governor Rick Snyder.

Some excerpts and further commentary after the jump.


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Michigan Republicans sneak through legislation to limit women’s access to abortion services during Right to Work madness

By on December 8, 2012 in Conservatives, War on Women

While you were looking over THERE…

While the spotlight and media attention was focused on the outrageous anti-worker legislation that Republicans jammed through the legislature last Thursday, they also made sure to throw in some equally outrageous attacks in their War on Women. Bills were passed as part of their overhaul of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan that include prohibitions on access to abortion for Michigan women. Additionally, they passed a bill that will force ALL women covered by health insurance in Michigan to purchase separate riders covering abortion services.

Details after the jump.


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