Republicans Are Shocked The Public Is Mad At Them For Voting Against Franken’s Anti-Rape Amendment

[marmar]

from thinkprogress:



Republicans Are Shocked The Public Is Mad At Them For Voting Against Franken’s Anti-Rape Amendment

Last month, 30 Republican senators voted against Sen. Al Franken’s (D-MN) amendment that would punish defense contractors “if they restrict their employees from taking workplace sexual assault, battery and discrimination cases to court.” His amendment was inspired by Jamie Leigh Jones, who was gang-raped by her co-workers while working for Halliburton/KBR in Baghdad in 2005, and then had to fight her employer for justice.

The GOP senators who sided with defense contractors at the expense of women — such as John Thune (SD) — have been facing an intense backlash. David Vitter (LA) refused to give a rape victim a straight answer when she confronted him about his vote, claiming that he is “absolutely supportive of any (rape) case like that being prosecuted criminally to the full extent of the law.”

Politico reports that Republicans are now scratching their heads at why the public is so incensed about their “no” votes:

Privately, GOP sources acknowledge that they failed to anticipate the political consequences of a “no” vote on the amendment. And several aides said that Republicans are engaged in an internal blame game about why they agreed to a roll-call vote on the measure, rather than a simple voice vote that would have allowed the opposing senators to duck criticism.

As BarbinMD writes, “Seriously? They voted against an amendment that was prompted by the brutal gang-rape of a young woman by her co-workers while she was working for a company under contract for the United States government, after which she was locked in a shipping container without food or water, threatened if she left to seek medical treatment, and was then prevented from bringing criminal charges against her assailants. And they failed to anticipate the political consequences?”

Thune is also claiming that Franken doesn’t really care about Jones and other rape victims whose employers have blocked them from seeking justice; he and other Democrats just wanted to “create a vote which they could use to attack Republicans.”

So basically, the only lesson they learned is that next time, they have to hide their votes when they decide to screw over women’s rights. That way, they can support their allies in the contracting business and the public will never find out.


http://thinkprogress.org/2009/11/13/republicans-franken-shocked/

[KarenS]

1. I was very surprised to receive

a snail-mail response from Senator Jon Kyl triggered by my email to him,,,,
there was a letter from him explaining that the Obama Administration did not support this amendment and that this was an unnecessary or redundant item,,,,
also included were at least 6 or 7 news articles showing how he stands for victims and against crime.

The envelope was just stuffed with all of this and I thought he seemed very defensive about it,,,,
Hopefully he received many complaints such as mine.

Did I hear anything back from McCain?? nope.

[laughingliberal]

2. "...Democrats just wanted to 'create a vote which they could use to attack

Refucklicans.'"

There's that party of personal responsibility again.

[healthy4now]

3. Halliburton Gang 'Rape is okay'

These Senators are not bad people, they just don't understand
that gang rape is bad. If they wish to run for reelection, I
suggest that as a precondition, so they properly understand
all the consequences of being a victim of gang rape, they be
subjected to the inmates one of our more notorious
correctional institutions, so they be on the receiving end of
some multiple, hard truths. 

[marmar]

4. Sorry, but some of these senators really are bad people.

nt

[niyad]

8. welcome to DU--no, some of these senators are scum, period.

your idea, however, is a good one, and something I have been recommending for some time for all these people. it shouldn't be limited just to those running for re-election, but to all who voted pro-rape.

[krispos42]

5. They see the world through a very narrowly focused political lens

And are immune to caring about the human consequences of their actions.


Psychopaths, all of them! :grr:

[kathysart_decoration]

6. women and rape

The only reason they are "shocked" is that they fear
and hate women and believe that if a woman is raped it is her
fault - she must have asked for it - AND they assume that
everyone feels this way and makes these assumptions -
including women. It is that simple.

[MadMaddie]

7. Yep! That about sums it up!

Welcome to DU!!:hi: