Tag Archives: Ethnicity

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

The Latest Empty Gesture


By

Republican Candidates Ignore Their Party’s Record When It Comes To Domestic Violence

Republican candidates facing persistent unpopularity with women continue to do whatever they can to muddy the waters on their anti-women policy positions. Last month, we documented how several GOP candidates for Senate came out in support of over-the-counter birth control–a move designed to look accommodating but in fact would be a tax on women.

Now they are at it again. This time, numerous conservative candidates are putting out advertisements highlighting their work to protect women from domestic violence. But just like before, these claims obscure the real records of many GOP officeholders, who have a consistent record of opposing common sense policies to further protect women from violence.

Here are some examples of positions that these candidates won’t be talking about in their new ads:

1. Voting Against Reauthorizing The Violence Against Women Act. A majority of the Republicans in the House voted to oppose renewing the Violence Against Women Act last year. After nearly a year of Republican obstruction on the measure, the House of Representatives finally voted to renew VAWA and pass a bipartisan Senate-approved version of the bill. But even as the bill passed, there were 138 votes against the bill, all from members of the GOP. Even a watered-down version of the bill offered by Republicans failed to gain the support of their conference.

2. Taking Away Free Screening And Counseling From Survivors Of Domestic Violence. Under the Affordable Care Act, survivors of domestic violence are now entitled to free screening and counseling as a preventative service, critical to improve both health and safety. Survivors of domestic violence are more likely to have chronic health conditions and use the emergency room more frequently, and are more likely to have HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases because they lack the power to negotiate condom usage. Identifying current or past violence can help prevent further abuse and lead to improved health status. But of course, with a party platform to repeal the ACA, Republicans would effectively remove that vital service.

3. Defending Easy Access To Guns By Domestic Abusers And Stalkers. Weak gun laws leave too many women facing a fatal end to domestic abuse. In all but nine states, you can be convicted of stalking and still walk into a store, pass a background check, and buy a gun. The consequences are horrifying: more women have been murdered by an intimate partner with a gun since 2001 than the total number of U.S. troops killed in action during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars combined. Several leaders have proposed laws to close these gaps, but conservative members of Congress beholden to the gun lobby refuse to help. The only time they seem to moderate their position defending stalkers is when it becomes too publicly humiliating — like when Gabby Giffords called out Arizona GOP Candidate Martha McSally.

BOTTOM LINE: The GOP candidates touting their work to prevent domestic violence on the airwaves are obscuring the truth about the GOP’s real record on Capitol Hill. The reality is that Republicans have disputed the reauthorization of VAWA, continue to support giving stalkers easy access to guns, and would remove preventative health services for survivors of domestic violence. The attempts to brush over those facts are just the latest empty gesture to appeal to voters during election season, and they won’t trick anyone.

Like CAP Action on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Petition update – R.J. Larizza: Order a Coroner’s Inquest into the Death of Michelle O’Connell

1 Comment

Gov. Scott orders new investigation into Michelle O’Connell’s death

Oct 06, 2014 — I have huge news to share with you that brings us closer to finally getting justice for my sister Michelle O’Connell. Thanks in large part to your support, Gov. Rick Scott has just… Read more

Read more
~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

One Year Later ~~~ What Conservatives have cost Americans


By

A Year After The Government Shutdown, Conservatives Haven’t Learned Their Lesson

Today marks the one-year anniversary of when federal offices began closing due to a Republican-forced government shutdown — that lasted 16 days — in an effort to pursue their extreme ideological agenda. A quick reminder of what the government shutdown costs America:

  • $24 Billion: What the shutdown cost the economy.
  • $2.5 Billion: What the shutdown cost taxpayers.
  • 120,000 Jobs: The number of jobs lost due to the shutdown.
  • $414 Million: The estimated lost revenue to parks and surrounding communities due to the closure of 401 national parks.

Despite the deep unpopularity of the government shutdown shenanigans among the American public, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has promised more of the same if the GOP takes control of the upper chamber in 2015.

“The typically reserved McConnell laid out his clearest thinking yet of how he would lead the Senate if Republicans gain control of the chamber. The emerging strategy: Attach riders to spending bills that would limit Obama policies on everything from the environment to health care, consider using an arcane budget tactic to circumvent Democratic filibusters and force the president to “move to the center” if he wants to get any new legislation through Congress. McConnell risks overreaching if he follows through with his pledge to attach policy riders to spending bills. If Obama refuses to accept such measures, a government shutdown could ensue. Republicans bore much of the blame for last year’s government shutdown, and their fortunes rebounded only when the administration bungled the rollout of Obamacare…But asked about the potential that his approach could spark another shutdown, McConnell said it would be up to the president to decide whether to veto spending bills that would keep the government open.

This is a stark reminder of how much is at stake this election cycle. But the implications go beyond just government shutdown threats. A Republican-controlled Senate would also mean:

  • A Senate focused on creating an economy that only works for the wealthiest and select few, instead of an economy that works for everyone.
  • A Senate focused on taking away people’s healthcare and gutting environmental safeguards that provide vital public health protections.
  • A Senate focused on obstruction of progressive appointments to the executive and judiciary, which will impact voting rights, marriage equality, health care, immigration and more.
  • A Senate focused on overblown Administration scandals instead of addressing the serious issues facing Americans.

BOTTOM LINE: One year after the shutdown, it’s clear conservatives haven’t learned their lesson. Americans want a Senate that works for them, not one that holds them hostage for political reasons.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

The Little Red State That Could

1 Comment

By

What Other States Can Learn From Kentucky

Despite its deep red perception, common sense policies implemented in Kentucky are succeeding and helping improve the lives of people throughout the state.

COMMON CORE:

Today, the Kentucky Department of Education released data showing improvements in student performance and college/career readiness, after three years of implementing the Common Core standards. Despite the Tea Party-driven controversy over the standards, early adopters like Kentucky are showing their potential, and educators are saying the standards are going well.

  • College/career readiness has jumped to 62.3 percent, from 47.2 after 2012, the first year of implementation. Before the new standards were implemented, that number sat at just 34 percent.

AFFORDABLE CARE ACT:

Kentucky has also found success with its implementation of the Affordable Care Act. As with Common Core, it was an early adopter of the program.

BOTTOM LINE: Kentucky shows that no matter if your state is red, blue, or purple, common sense policies like Common Core and the Affordable Care Act work when they are not obstructed by conservatives determined to make anything a failure for political purposes.

Like CAP Action on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!