Rather than apologizing during an interview on Fox and Friends this morning, Trump doubled-down on his offensive remarks saying, “She was the worst we ever had. She was a winner, and she gained a massive amount of weight, and we had a real problem. We had a real problem with her.”
We need a president who lifts up and respects America’s women and girls; one who makes them proud of what they see when they look in the mirror and inspires them to believe the person looking back may one day be president, too. That’s certainly not Donald Trump.
Check out today’s coverage:
Vox: Trump responds to claims that he fat-shamed a Miss Universe winner by … fat-shaming her again
ABC News: Trump on Former Miss Universe Machado: ‘She Gained a Massive Amount of Weight’
TPM: How One Former Miss Universe Became A Symbol Of Trump’s Sexism
NPR: In Post-Debate Interview, Trump Again Criticizes Pageant-Winner’s Weight
Cosmopolitan: Former Miss Universe Alicia Machado Won’t Be Defined by Donald Trump’s Fat-Shaming
BuzzFeed: On Howard Stern, Trump Called 1996 Miss Universe An “Eating Machine”
USA Today: Meet Alicia Machado, the pageant queen Trump called ‘Ms. Housekeeping’
New York Times: Shamed and Angry: The Beauty Contestant Donald Trump Mocked for Her Weight
New York Magazine: How Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump Made Alicia Machado the New Khizr Khan
Washington Post: Miss Universe winner criticized by Trump as ‘fat’ featured in new Clinton video
Yahoo: Trump Doesn’t Regret Calling Beauty Queen Alicia Machado ‘Miss Piggy’
Guardian: Alicia Machado, Miss Universe weight-shamed by Trump, speaks out for Clinton
Daily Beast: Donald Trump Told Miss Universe Alicia Machado: Do Sit-Ups or You’re Fired
Mashable: Former Miss Universe Alicia Machado just became Donald Trump’s nightmare
USA Today: Donald Trump: It’s fine to describe ex-Miss Universe as ‘Miss Piggy’
New York Times: The Morning After the Debate, Donald Trump Goes on the Attack
]]>“Tonight, Trump laid out a half-baked ‘maternity leave’ plan that would only help the children of the rich and actually lower wages for working mothers. Let’s be clear: this is not a real paid leave plan. It’s just a political stunt designed to cover up Trump’s history of disrespecting women in the workplace.Trump has insulted, ridiculed and disparaged women for decades and even lied about providing paid leave for his own employees. The Trump campaign is hoping that one fact-free, condescending speech will erase their candidate’s decades-long contempt for working women and their families. Unfortunately for Trump, mass amnesia is not a viable electoral strategy.”
Donald Trump: “I think that putting a wife to work is a very dangerous thing.” “I think that putting a wife to work is a very dangerous thing. If you’re in business for yourself, I really think it’s a bad idea. I think that was the single greatest cause of what happened to my marriage with Ivana.” [ABC News, 1994]
Donald Trump on working women: “I have days when I think it’s great, and then I have days where if I come home…and dinner’s not ready, I go through the roof, okay?” “I think I’m probably mixed. I have days when I think it’s great, and then I have days where if I come home — you know, I don’t want to sound too much like a chauvinist, but when I come home and dinner’s not ready, I go through the roof, okay?” [ABC’s Primetime Live, 3/10/94]
Donald Trump: Pregnancy is “certainly an inconvenience for a business.” TRUMP: “Well, you know, pregnancy is never–it’s a wonderful thing for the woman, it’s a wonderful thing for the husband, it’s certainly an inconvenience for a business. And whether people want to say that or not, the fact is it is an inconvenience for a person that is running a business.” [NBC’s Dateline, 10/3/04]
Donald Trump said a lawyer who requested a medical break to pump breast milk for her infant daughter was “disgusting.” “Donald J. Trump seemed irritated. He had been grilled for two hours in a lawsuit over a failed Florida real estate project, and he told the lawyer that her questions were ‘very stupid.’ When the lawyer, Elizabeth Beck, asked for a medical break, Mr. Trump and his lawyers objected, demanding that the deposition continue. Ms. Beck said it was urgent — she needed to pump breast milk for her 3-month-old daughter, and she took the pump out to make her point. Mr. Trump erupted. ‘You’re disgusting,’ he told Ms. Beck, in a remark that is not disputed by either side. He then walked out of the room, ending the testimony for the day.” [New York Times, 7/28/15]
Donald Trump: If Ivanka was sexually harassed, “I would like to think she would find another career or find another company.” “What if someone had treated Ivanka in the way Ailes allegedly behaved? His reply was startling, even by Trumpian standards. ‘I would like to think she would find another career or find another company if that was the case,’ he said.” [USA Today, 8/1/16]
Donald Trump on workplace sexual harassment: “You can go through the process. You can also change. You can do both. Uh, you can do one, the other, or both.” TRUMP: “You can go through the process [if faced with workplace sexual harassment]. You can also change. You can do both. Uh, you can do one, the other, or both. And I think it depends on the individual. You understand what I mean by that, right?” RUCKER: “Yeah.” TRUMP: “One, the other or both.” RUCKER: “And is there one that’s preferable, in your mind?” TRUMP: “I think it’s gotta be up to the individual. I think it depends on the individual. It also depends on what’s available. There may be a better alternative, then there may not. If there’s not a better alternative, then you stay. But it could be there’s a better alternative where you’re taken care of better. But some people don’t like staying in an atmosphere that was so hostile. You understand that?” [The Washington Post, 8/2/16]
Donald Trump said it was “very sad” that some women were “complaining” about being sexually harassed by Roger Ailes. TODD: “Finally, Roger Ailes? Is he helping you? Is he advising you?” TRUMP: “Well, I don’t want to comment but he’s been a friend of mine for a long time and I can tell you that some of the women that are complaining, I know how much he’s helped them and even recently and when they write books that are fairly recently released and they say wonderful things about him and, now all of a sudden, they are saying these horrible things about him, it’s very sad because he’s a very good person.” [NBC’s Meet The Press, 7/24/16]
Wayne Barrett’s Trump: The Deals and the Downfall: Donald Trump tried to get “Playboy to do a spread called ‘The Girls of Trump,’ wooing his most shapely staffers… into posing for the magazine.” “He even tried to get Playboy to do a spread called ‘The Girls of Trump,’ wooing his most shapely staffers, including a former beauty queen secretary, into posing for the magazine with a sliding scale of offers on everything from full nude to breast to ‘wet-lip’ shots. It was all part of the rakish ethos of phony glamour that he consciously fostered, even to the extent of concealing from public view a very efficient secretary with a pimplish facial condition.” [Trump: The Deals and the Downfall, 1992]
Associated Press: Donald Trump claimed he offered on-site childcare for his employees, but the programs were for patrons of Trump’s hotels and golf club, “not for Trump’s employees.” “The billionaire real estate mogul, who previously voiced his opposition to government-funded universal pre-K programs, said in Newton, Iowa, in November 2015 that he had visited many companies that offered workers on-site child-care centers — and added that he offered such programs himself. […] But the two programs Trump cited — ‘Trump Kids’ and ‘Trumpeteers’ — are programs catering to patrons of Trump’s hotels and golf club. They are not for Trump’s employees, according to staff at Trump’s hotels and clubs across the country.” [Associated Press, 8/11/16]
Associated Press: There was “no evidence” that Donald Trump provided on-site childcare service for his employees. “When Donald Trump vowed this week to make child care more accessible and affordable, it was just the second time during his White House campaign that he’s talked about an issue that affects millions of working Americans with young children. The first came months ago in Iowa, when the eventual Republican nominee touted his own record as a business owner during a candidate Q&A, telling voters he provided on-site child-care service for his employees. There is no evidence, however, that any such programs exist.” [Associated Press, 8/11/16]
]]>Tonight, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump will take the stage for the second general election presidential debate. While the focus is rightfully on the fallout resulting from the videotape of Trump’s vile statements and behavior toward women from 2005, the truth is Trump’s record, policies and treatment of women have always been awful. Republican officials are dropping Trump left and right, but his words and actions are not new. For decades, Trump has treated women—including many of his own employees—as objects that he can grope, mock and demean.
Below is just some of what we know in brief.
Trump reportedly turned the set of “The Apprentice” into a hypersexualized, hostile environment. Former crewmembers and contestants from the show told the Associated Press that Trump rated female contestants by the size of their breasts” and openly discussed “which ones he would like to have sex with.” On set, he said it was “to be expected” that “all of the women on ‘The Apprentice’ flirted” with him and he said to one of them, “It must be a pretty picture, you dropping to your knees.”
In 1996, Trump was one of the executive producers of the Miss Universe competition. After Miss Venezuela, Alicia Machado, won the competition, as her boss Trump began a highly public campaign of bullying and body-shaming her. He accused her of gaining weight, calling her “Miss Piggy” and an “eating machine.” He forced this 18-year-old young woman to exercise in front of a horde of reporters. Machado reports that the experience left her psychologically scarred for years.
Trump told Miss Australia Jodie Seal to “suck your stomach in. Suck your gut in,” and, according to Seal, spent much of the pageant insulting the other girls.
On The Howard Stern Show, Trump boasted that he “could have” slept with Princess Diana.
He has repeatedly bragged about his sex life and the number of women he’s dated, saying “I’ve never had any trouble in bed, but if I’d had affairs with half the starlets and female athletes the newspapers linked me with, I’d have no time to breathe.”
After buying the Miss USA pageant, Trump said he would make the “bathing suits to be smaller and the heels to be higher.”
When Howard Stern when asked if he would “bang” Mariah Carey, Trump responded “I would do it without even hesitation.”
In 2013, he said Kim Kardashian has “gotten a little bit large. I would say this, I don’t think you should dress like you weigh 120 pounds.”
Trump once said a lawyer who requested a medical break to pump breast milk for her infant daughter was “disgusting.”
He also said that pregnancy is “certainly an inconvenience for a business.”
And although he claimed that he provided employees with on-site childcare, there’s no evidence that he actually did; the programs he cited are programs for guests of Trump’s hotels–not for employees.
Trump’s own childcare plan would disproportionately benefit the rich; it was panned as doing “nothing for those most in need” and as “totally useless to the families that need it.”
When asked about what would he do if his daughter Ivanka were sexually harassed in the workplace, he said, “I would like to think she would find another career or find another company.” Obviously, not all women have the option of leaving a career or a job.
Trump has said that “putting a wife to work is a very dangerous thing.” He’s also said that if he comes home “and dinner’s not ready, I go through the roof, okay?”
He said he “won’t do anything to take care of [kids]. I’ll supply funds and she’ll take care of the kids. It’s not like I’m gonna be walking the kids down Central Park.”
Trump stated in March that “there has to be some form of punishment” for women who get abortions.
Governor Mike Pence has said he wants to send Roe v. Wade “to the ash heap of history where it belongs.”
Pence signed into Indiana law earlier this year a bill that would ban women from seeking abortion based on a fetal diagnosis of physical or mental disability and require women to seek funerary services for a fetus, no matter if an abortion or miscarriage, at any point in time in the pregnancy. The law was blocked by a federal judge in June 2016.
In Congress, Pence sponsored legislation that would make it legal for hospitals to deny abortions to pregnant women with life-threatening conditions and supported a federal ban on abortions after 20 weeks.
Pence cosponsored a bill that would define certain rape cases as “forcible rape,” redefining “rape” in the case of federal funding for abortions in cases of “forcible” rape only.
Trump has suggested he would support shutting down the government in order to defund Planned Parenthood, saying Planned Parenthood was “disgusting and absolutely they should be defunded.”
In 2011, Politico declared that “Nobody hates Planned Parenthood quite as much as Mike Pence” and wrote he was “on a one-man crusade to deny all federal funding to [Planned Parenthood]—not just the money it gets for reproductive health and family planning services, but every penny it gets for anything.”
Donald Trump is unfit to be president. Can you imagine Mitt Romney engaging in such overtly misogynistic and boorish behavior? Or Ronald Reagan? Or Barack Obama? I don’t know about you, but I prefer a president who respects half the population, rather than one who fantasizes about groping them.
For decades, Trump has disrespected women in the workplace, and shamed and insulted them in the media. The Washington Post’s report on Trump’s vile comments in 2005 is just the latest evidence that Trump sees women as nothing more than sexual objects to serve his pleasure. This is who Donald Trump is. In his personal life, Trump has bullied women and created toxic workplaces where he thinks all women should flirt with him. As a politician, he has proposed a set of policies that would strip women of their most basic rights. Trump and his trifecta of cronies — Roger Ailes, Rudy Guiliani, Roger Stone — represent the last gasp of a misogynistic, Mad Men world where women are second-class citizens and men can get away with anything. The contrast couldn’t be starker between the two candidates who take the stage tonight.
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Jeb’s offensive comments are just the latest in a string of top Republicans who have revealed their extreme belief that women’s health issues aren’t worth real investment or attention.
It’s not just health issues where the GOP heavy-hitters shorthand women. From equal pay to violence against women, the Republican presidential candidates all give the same out of touch, out of date answers that we’ve come to expect from the Republican Party on issues affecting more than half our population.
Donald Trump suggested that he would support shutting down the federal government in order to defund Planned Parenthood. “Donald J. Trump suggested he supported shutting down the federal government to stop funding for Planned Parenthood in the wake of videos that show officials with the group discussing fees for tissue from aborted fetuses. In an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt on Monday, as the Senate voted down a measure to stop federal financing for the group, Mr. Trump called the clips ‘disgraceful.’ Mr. Trump cited the efforts to shut down the government in order to halt funding for the Affordable Care Act, a movement in 2013 led by Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas and a candidate to be the party’s presidential nominee, and suggested that tactic should be used again. ‘I think you have to in this case also,’ Mr. Trump said, noting that in the instance involving Affordable Care Act, ‘the Republicans decided not to stick together and they left a few people out there like Ted Cruz.’” [New York Times, 8/4/15]
Jeb Bush: “The next president should defund Planned Parenthood.” “GOP presidential candidate Jeb Bush on Tuesday said the next president should defund Planned Parenthood. In an on-stage interview at the Southern Baptist Forum, Bush was asked if Republicans should make funding for Planned Parenthood an issue as more controversial videos exposing its practices are leaked. ‘We should, and the next president should defund Planned Parenthood,’ he said, adding that he defunded the non-profit when he served as governor of Florida.” [The Hill, 8/4/15]
Jeb Bush: “I’m not sure we need half a billion dollars for women’s health issues.” “Bush said the argument against that effort would be that it’s a ‘war on women.’ ‘You could take dollar for dollar–although I’m not sure we need half a billion dollars for women’s health issues–but if you took dollar for dollar, there are many extraordinarily fine community health organizations that exist to provide quality care for women on a wide variety of health issues,’ he said.” [The Hill, 8/4/15]
As governor, Jeb Bush engaged in anti-choice activism that “shocked some state officials who believed he was reaching beyond the powers of his office.” “Jeb, meanwhile, declared in 2003 that he was ‘probably the most pro-life governor in modern times.’ As governor, Bush signed a law to create ‘Choose Life’ license plates in Florida, the proceeds from which flow to anti-abortion advocacy organizations. He also aggressively intervened in two high-profile cases to prevent a mentally disabled rape victim and a 13-year-old girl from being able to have abortions. In the former case, involving a 22-year-old rape victim who was both pregnant and developmentally disabled, Bush asked a court to appoint a guardian to represent the woman’s fetus. […] In 2005, Bush fought to prevent a pregnant 13-year-old girl, who was a ward of the state, from having an abortion. He was overruled by a judge, and CNN later reported that Bush’s ‘abortion activism shocked some state officials who believed he was reaching beyond the powers of his office.’” [Huffington Post, 3/25/15]
Jeb Bush diverted funds from family planning services into abstinence-only education, “Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida lost $124,000 last year from its family planning division. Bush diverted the funds to abstinence-only educational programs. Now teens who use Planned Parenthood have a $15 co-pay and must pay $7 for birth control. ‘We do charge the teens now,’ said LaWanda Walker, public affairs coordinator for Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida. ‘That we really, really hate. You need to be able to have services and make it convenient.’” [St. Petersburg Times, 1/29/03]
Jeb Bush vetoed funding for family planning services provided to poor women through Planned Parenthood. According to the St. Petersburg Times, “Even the most powerful state lawmakers were hit by Gov. Jeb Bush’s vetoes on Friday. The Republican governor vetoed $ 290-million in the state budget that lawmakers passed this spring, including more than $ 25-million for projects in two counties – Manatee and Sarasota – represented by Senate President John McKay. […] The cuts also included $ 302,843 for family planning services provided to poor women through local Planned Parenthood affiliates, money that had been provided each year for more than a decade. The share earmarked for Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida, which includes the Tampa Bay area, was $ 125,800 for services for 1,258 women. The other regional affiliates affected by the cuts are based in Jacksonville and Naples. ‘Many of our patients have no health insurance nor are eligible for Medicaid. They absolutely depend on clinics like ours,’ said Barbara A. Zdravecky, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida.” [St. Petersburg Times, 6/16/01]
Jeb Bush: “What’s the Paycheck Fairness Act?” “‘What’s the Paycheck Fairness Act?’ Bush asked, in an exchange captured by the liberal opposition research outfit American Bridge. Once the man he was speaking with defined it as a bill that would ensure that women get ‘equal pay for equal work,’ Bush took issue with his phrasing. ‘Equal pay for the same work, not for equal work — I think that’s the problem with it. I think there’s a definition issue,’ he said, before declining to say whether or not he thought Land should support the legislation.” [The Hill, 10/15/14]
Jeb Bush “chose not to veto” a Florida law “forcing single mothers seeking to give their children up for adoption to publish their sexual histories in a newspaper.” “While Jeb Bush was governor of Florida, the state approved a law forcing single mothers seeking to give their children up for adoption to publish their sexual histories in a newspaper in an attempt to contact the children’s fathers — even if the mothers were rape victims or minors. The measure, passed in 2001 and soon nicknamed the ‘Scarlet Letter’ law, wasn’t actually signed by Bush — though he chose not to veto it, either — and was repealed in 2003 after courts found it to be unconstitutional. But the bizarre and anachronistic policy, flagged by the Huffington Post’s Laura Bassett Tuesday in a review of Bush’s past rhetoric and policies toward single mothers, could be a problem for the presidential hopeful who once bemoaned that the GOP is viewed as an ‘anti-woman’ party.” [Vox, 6/9/15]
Jeb Bush wrote that a “sense of ridicule” should be a deterrent to women having children out of wedlock. “Public shaming would be an effective way to regulate the ‘irresponsible behavior’ of unwed mothers, misbehaving teenagers and welfare recipients, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) argued in his 1995 book Profiles in Character. In a chapter called ‘The Restoration of Shame,’ the likely 2016 presidential candidate made the case that restoring the art of public humiliation could help prevent pregnancies ‘out of wedlock.’ ‘One of the reasons more young women are giving birth out of wedlock and more young men are walking away from their paternal obligations is that there is no longer a stigma attached to this behavior, no reason to feel shame. Many of these young women and young men look around and see their friends engaged in the same irresponsible conduct. Their parents and neighbors have become ineffective at attaching some sense of ridicule to this behavior. There was a time when neighbors and communities would frown on out of wedlock births and when public condemnation was enough of a stimulus for one to be careful.’” [Huffington Post, 6/9/15]
Scott Walker supported legislation to ban abortion after 20 weeks. “Shifting his tone to reassure social conservatives, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker declared Tuesday that he intends to sign a state law in the coming months that bans abortion after 20 weeks. In an open letter to the Susan B. Anthony List, the likely Republican presidential candidate also said that he supports ‘similar legislation’ now stalled in Congress.” [Politico, 3/3/15]
Scott Walker opposed abortion, including in instances of rape and incest. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, “Walker opposes abortion, including in instances of rape and incest.” [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 10/3/10]
Scott Walker declared himself “100 percent pro-life” and pledged to seek a complete abortion ban. “For his part, Walker has said repeatedly he opposes abortion, even in cases of rape and incest. He declares himself ‘100 percent pro-life.’ And to Pro-Life Wisconsin, an organization that opposes abortion without exception, Walker pledged to seek a complete abortion ban. We asked Jill Bader, Walker’s campaign spokeswoman, about Barrett’s ad and she said it accurately states Walker’s position.” [Politifact, 10/26/10]
Scott Walker signed a budget that “eliminated over $1 million in state funding to Planned Parenthood clinics.” “A fifth Planned Parenthood health center closed in Wisconsin on Thursday due to state budget cuts that directed family planning money away from the provider. The Fond du Lac clinic did not provide abortion services. It offered birth control, sexually transmitted disease testing and treatment, pregnancy tests, annual exams and breast cancer screenings to over 1,000 patients a year. A spokesperson for the clinic blamed the closure directly on Gov. Scott Walker (R), whose 2011-2013 budget eliminated over $1 million in state funding to Planned Parenthood clinics.” [Huffington Post, 9/25/14]
Scott Walker bragged about having “defunded Planned Parenthood” in Wisconsin. “A few weeks before the November election, in an interview with The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the governor sidestepped questions about his earlier opposition to abortion, and declined four times to answer directly when asked if abortion should be prohibited after 20 weeks — a position he had previously embraced. He also declined to restate his earlier opposition to abortion in cases of rape and incest. But in a breakout speech in Iowa on Jan. 24, he drew loud applause from the crowd of conservative activists when he declared that he had passed ‘pro-life legislation’ in Wisconsin and ‘defunded Planned Parenthood.’” [New York Times, 2/22/15]
Scott Walker supported “personhood” legislation. “Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin spoke directly into the camera in a 30-second spot last fall and called abortion an ‘agonizing’ decision. He described himself as pro-life but, borrowing the language of the abortion rights movement, pointed to legislation he signed that leaves ‘the final decision to a woman and her doctor.’ That language was gone when Mr. Walker met privately with Iowa Republicans in a hotel conference room last month, according to a person who attended the meeting. There, he highlighted his early support for a ‘personhood amendment,’ which defines life as beginning at conception and would effectively prohibit all abortions and some methods of birth control.” [New York Times, 2/22/15]
Scott Walker: Forced mandatory ultrasounds were “just a cool thing out there.” “I’ll give you an example. I’m pro-life, I’ve passed pro-life legislation. We defunded Planned Parenthood, we signed a law that requires an ultrasound. Which, the thing about that, the media tried to make that sound like that was a crazy idea. Most people I talk to, whether they’re pro-life or not, I find people all the time who’ll get out their iPhone and show me a picture of their grandkids’ ultrasound and how excited they are, so that’s a lovely thing. I think about my sons are 19 and 20, you know we still have their first ultrasound picture. It’s just a cool thing out there.” [NPR, 5/27/15]
Scott Walker supported a 20-week abortion ban with no exceptions for rape or incest. “Gov. Scott Walker said Monday he will sign a proposed 20-week abortion ban whether or not it includes an exemption for cases of rape or incest. […] Walker, who had previously expressed support for the bill that’s on a fast track in the Wisconsin Legislature, said it didn’t matter whether there was an exemption. As introduced, there is none in the bill.” [Chicago Tribune, 6/1/15]
Scott Walker repealed a Wisconsin law allowing victims of pay discrimination to seek damages in state courts. “On Thursday, with little fanfare, Wisconsin governor Scott Walker signed a bill repealing the state’s 2009 Equal Pay Enforcement Act, which allowed victims of workplace discrimination to seek damages in state courts. […] The Equal Pay law wasn’t just about women—it also offered protection from discrimination based on race, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, and other factors. But it was enacted largely in response to a large gap between men and women’s compensation, one that was worse than average in Wisconsin—in 2009 the state ranked 36th in the country in terms of workplace gender parity.” [Daily Beast, 4/7/12]
Scott Walker signed legislation that put limits on attorney’s fees victims could recover in equal pay lawsuits. According to the International Business Times, “The law approved by Walker removes the ability for victims of wage discrimination to go to court for compensatory and punitive damages, although they still have the ability to seek back pay. Hynes noted that Walker previously signed legislation that puts a limit on the amount of attorney’s fees victims can recover in lawsuits, making it even less likely that wronged employees will take their cases to court.” [International Business Times, 4/9/12]
Mike Huckabee said that reproductive freedom was worse than the Holocaust. “He blamed the legalization of abortion and same-sex marriage on the failure of pastors to become active in politics. Huckabee said Americans have ‘blood on our hands’ for failing to criminalize abortion and contended that reproductive freedom is much worse than the Nazi Holocaust.” [Right Wing Watch, 11/25/14]
Mike Huckabee supported “personhood” legislation that would outlaw common forms of birth control. “Former Arkansas Gov. and Fox News host Mike Huckabee (R) will be the keynote speaker at an anti-abortion event in Jackson, Mississippi next week. Huckabee will help raise money for Personhood Mississippi, a radical group that is trying to amend the state constitution to give every fertilized eggs full rights. […] Personhood USA and its affiliates are fringe anti-abortion groups that are determined to redefine life as beginning at the moment of fertilization, effectively outlawing contraceptives like birth control pills.” [ThinkProgress, 8/31/11]
Mike Huckabee supported fully defunding Planned Parenthood. “My fight to defund Planned Parenthood continues. With Democrats in the House vowing to block Republican attempts to defund Planned Parenthood. We must make clear to Republican Leaders that pushing to fully eliminate all funding for Planned Parenthood is a grassroots priority for millions of Conservatives across the nation.” [Mike Huckabee Facebook page, 8/15/13]
Ben Carson likened abortion to “human sacrifice.” “Ben Carson, retired neurosurgeon-turned-conservative rock star — and an open follower of the Christian faith — likely ruffled liberal feathers with his most recent comment on abortion, during which he likened it to the biblical act of sacrificing humans. He made the remark during an appearance on the Christian broadcast outlet, DoveTV, after host Perry Atkinson suggested that America could receive great blessings from God by outlawing abortion. […] ‘It’s interesting,’ Mr. Carson said, Raw Story reported, ‘that we sit around and call other ancient civilizations ‘heathen’ because of human sacrifice, but aren’t we actually guilty of the same thing?’” [Washington Times, 7/2/14]
Ben Carson supported defunding Planned Parenthood. “Congress must act NOW! Please sign my petition to Congress demanding that they stop all public funds to Planned Parenthood.” [BenCarson.com, accessed 8/5/15]
Ted Cruz opposed abortion even for victims of rape and incest, and referred to birth control pills as “abortion-inducing drugs.” “Cruz, like Akin, opposes abortion for victims of rape and incest. He also labels forms of contraception such as Plan B ‘abortifacients’, which isn’t scientifically or medically correct. At the Value Voters Summit last fall, Cruz repeatedly referred to contraception as ‘abortion-inducing drugs.’” [PBS, 3/23/15]
Ted Cruz supported the Life at Conception Act. According to Pro Life Alliance, “With the general election now past, come January several newly elected pro-life champions will be joining the fight on Capitol Hill for a Life at Conception Act. One of those champions will be Ted Cruz from Texas whose strong support for the Life at Conception Act contributed to his success.” [Pro Life Alliance, 11/9/12]
Ted Cruz was an original cosponsor of the Senate version of legislation designed to defund Planned Parenthood. “This bill ensures that Title X family planning grants are used for their intended purpose and are prohibited from being used by organizations that provide abortions or fund those that do. ‘Planned Parenthood and organizations like it that profit off the destruction of innocent life do not deserve one more dime from American taxpayers. I have been proud to lead the charge against the funding of the big-abortion industry since my first days as a state legislator, and I am honored to continue this fight by reintroducing the Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act. This legislation would simply clarify the original intent and spirit of the law to ensure that Title X federal funded grants will no longer be awarded to ‘health care’ providers that fail to protect life by providing abortions,’ Black said.” [LifeNews, 1/8/15; S. 582, 2/26/15]
Ted Cruz supported a federal ban on abortions after 20 weeks. According to the Indianapolis Star, “Gov. Mike Pence and a group of other possible Republican presidential contenders have thrown their support behind a federal ban on abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and other possible Republican contenders wrote to U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, in support of his proposed ban, which is based on the disputed premise that a fetus can feel pain at that stage.” [Indianapolis Star, 9/17/14]
Ted Cruz said that taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood was an “assault on our liberties.” According to a transcript of an interview with Sen. Ted Cruz on American Family Radio obtained via Right Wing Watch, “Cruz: […] You and I are both strongly pro-life, have been fighting to defend the right to life for many years, the idea that we are facing an administration that is so radical that they will do anything they can to defend and expand the taxpayer money to pay for Planned Parenthood and to fund the abortion industry, that is really dismaying and it is typical of the assault on our liberties that is proceeding relentlessly everyday under the Obama administration.” [Right Wing Watch, 3/13/12]
Ted Cruz voted against the Paycheck Fairness Act multiple times. According to the Congressional record, Ted Cruz cast two “nay” votes against the Paycheck Fairness Act, legislation that would strengthen protections for victims of wage discrimination on the basis of sex. [S. 2199, 4/1/14; Senate roll call vote 260, 9/10/14; Senate roll call vote 262, 9/15/14]
Ted Cruz voted against reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act. “The Senate overwhelmingly voted to pass the Violence Against Women Act today, 78-22. Opposition to the bill came entirely from Republicans, including both Texas Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn. Sean Rushton, a spokesman for Cruz, said the new senator has led the fight against violent crime in Texas, especially sexual predators. ‘Nevertheless, he voted against this federal law because stopping and punishing violent criminals is primarily a state responsibility, and the federal government does not need to be dictating state criminal law,’ Rushton said.” [Houston Chronicle, 2/12/13, Senate roll call vote 19, 2/12/13]
Ted Cruz claimed that stopping violence against women was not a federal concern. “Sean Rushton, a spokesman for Cruz, said the new senator has led the fight against violent crime in Texas, especially sexual predators. ‘Nevertheless, he voted against this federal law because stopping and punishing violent criminals is primarily a state responsibility, and the federal government does not need to be dictating state criminal law,’ Rushton said.” [Houston Chronicle, 2/12/13]
Marco Rubio supported bills that would ban abortions after 20 weeks after conception. “The Weekly Standard reported three weeks ago that Rubio agreed to shepherd the bill, and Rubio attributed delays to anti-abortion senators’ attempt to identify which clause of the Constitution would allow lawmakers to implement a 20-week abortion ban nationwide. Rubio and 27 other Republican senators signed onto a bill from Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) in 2011 that would require lawmakers to point to which piece of the Constitution allows government expansion — and he said adherence to that idea is causing the slowdown, not cold feet. Rubio said ‘certainly’ the Constitution would allow a federal law banning abortions after 20 weeks — it’s just a question of which portion of the document. Rubio is also a co-sponsor of a bill from Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) that would ban abortions after 20 weeks in the District of Columbia, an issue he said that is more easily constitutionally settled given the District’s federal status.” [Politico, 7/24/13]
Marco Rubio said it was “settled science” that “human life begins at conception.” “Sick of taking flak for his climate-change denial, Senator Marco Rubio tried to change the topic (a classic crisis-management move) by accusing his critics of hypocrisy (another classic). It’s hypocritical, Mr. Rubio told Sean Hannity on Wednesday, for ‘all these people’ to ‘wag their finger’ at him about ‘science and settled science’ — because there’s another area of settled science they don’t like to discuss. ‘Let me give you a bit of settled science that they’ll never admit to. The science is settled, it’s not even a consensus, it is a unanimity, that human life begins at conception. So I hope the next time someone wags their finger about science, they’ll ask one of these leaders on the left: ‘Do you agree with the consensus of scientists that say that human life begins at conception?’ I’d like to see someone ask that question.’” [NY Times, 3/15/14]
Marco Rubio voted in favor of a failed measure to defund Planned Parenthood. “Sen. Marco Rubio stuck around Washington today to cast a vote to defund Planned Parenthood, a measure that failed to get 60 votes to advance. Rubio was scheduled to be in Manchester, N.H., for a candidate forum but did not want to miss the vote, which follows the release of covert videos about Planned Parenthood. Rubio will participate in the forum via video, as will Sens. Ted Cruz and Rand Paul.” [Tampa Bay Times, 8/3/15]
Marco Rubio voted to defund Planned Parenthood. “Rand Paul has previously voted to defund Planned Parenthood and said he would ‘stop the flow of tax dollars to groups who perform or advocate for abortion.’ Marco Rubio joined Paul in the vote to defund the health provider, and has made no secret of his plans to further restrict access.” [Salon, 2/27/15; Senate roll call vote 60, 4/14/11]
Marco Rubio repeatedly voted against equal pay legislation, calling it “a welfare plan for trial lawyers.” “Republicans, seeking to mitigate the fallout after recent debates over women’s health have cast them in a harsh light among female voters, were careful not to be seen as rooting against the cause of equal pay. Instead, they decried the bill as a political stunt. ‘It’s pure election-year politics,’ said Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL). ‘This bill reads more to me like some sort of a welfare plan for trial lawyers.’” [Talking Points Memo, 6/5/12; Senate roll call vote 115, 6/5/12; Senate roll call vote 103, 4/9/14; Senate roll call vote 260, 9/10/14; Senate roll call vote 262, 9/15/14]
Marco Rubio claimed the push for fair pay legislation was “about scoring political points.” In an official press release, Rubio said, “Once again, Senate Democrats have wasted the American people’s time by holding yet another show vote that proves any sense of urgency they have is about scoring political points instead of solving the problems that threaten America’s future.” [Official Marco Rubio Press Release, 6/5/12]
Marco Rubio voted against the Violence Against Women Act. “Why it matters: Ryan is one of three current members of Congress frequently mentioned as a potential 2016 presidential candidate. The other two — Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) — both voted against reauthorizing VAWA, citing a preference that such decisions be made locally.” [Washington Post, 2/28/13]
Rand Paul sponsored an anti-abortion “personhood” bill that could outlaw forms of emergency contraceptives. “Paul, a likely Republican presidential candidate, sponsored an anti-abortion bill in 2013 that defines life as beginning at fertilization. Democrats say the so-called ‘Personhood’ measure would outlaw Plan B and other emergency contraceptives.” [CNN, 9/30/14; S. 583, 3/14/13]
Rand Paul believed life began at conception. According to the 2010 Rand Paul for U.S. Senate website, Paul wrote: “I would support legislation, a Sanctity of Life Amendment, establishing the principle that life begins at conception. This legislation would define life at conception in law, as a scientific statement.” [Rand Paul for U.S. Senate – Issues: Abortion, Archived 8/26/10]
Rand Paul voted to defund Planned Parenthood. On April 14 2011 Paul Voted for an amendment that, according to Congressional Quarterly, would have “direct[ed] the House clerk to make a correction in the enrollment of a bill (HR 1473) to provide $1.055 trillion in discretionary funding for fiscal 2011, and insert a section that would bar the use of funds made available in the bill to the Planned Parenthood Federation of America Inc. or its affiliates.” The amendment was defeated by a vote of 42 to 58. [Congressional Quarterly, 4/14/11; Senate Vote 60, 4/14/11]
Rand Paul cosponsored a bill to defund Planned Parenthood. “Defunding Planned Parenthood is now a centerpiece of the Republican agenda going into the summer congressional recess, and some hard-liners have said they are willing to force a government shutdown in October if federal support for the group is not curtailed. ‘The time has come to have a full-throated debate about this, and the time has come to end all taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood,’ Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), a presidential candidate and co-sponsor of the Senate bill, said Monday. ’It’s about time we had a debate in our country about this, and it’s about time we said enough is enough.’” [Washington Post, 8/3/15]
Rand Paul voted against the Paycheck Fairness Act multiple times and compared equal pay legislation to the Soviet Politburo. “Paul, a staunch libertarian, said passing a law that would have given judges more leeway to determine if a woman had been paid unfairly would be a step toward reviving the Soviet Union’s notorious central governing body here. The United States’ free market, he argued, works much better at setting wages at the appropriate level. ‘Three hundred million people get to vote everyday on what you should be paid or what the price of goods are,’ Paul told reporters on Capitol Hill. ‘In the Soviet Union, the Politburo decided the price of bread, and they either had no bread or too much bread. So setting prices or wages by the government is always a bad idea.’” [Huffington Post, 6/5/12; Senate roll call vote 115, 6/5/12; Senate roll call vote 103, 4/9/14; Senate roll call vote 260, 9/10/14; Senate roll call vote 262, 9/15/14]
Rand Paul voted against reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act. “Why it matters: Ryan is one of three current members of Congress frequently mentioned as a potential 2016 presidential candidate. The other two — Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) — both voted against reauthorizing VAWA, citing a preference that such decisions be made locally.” [Washington Post, 2/28/13; Senate roll call vote 19, 2/12/13]
Chris Christie had an “unprecedented anti-abortion position for a New Jersey governor.” According to the Record, “Ironically, Christie has staked an unprecedented antiabortion position for a New Jersey governor. He was the first governor to oppose abortion rights since the Supreme Court’s 1972 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing most abortions. In January 2011, Christie attended a State House rally on that decision’s anniversary, declaring ‘every life is precious and a gift from God.’ He also cut $7.5 million for family planning clinics, including some run by Planned Parenthood. These positions have never hurt Christie politically, but his critics have never attacked him in a concerted advertising blitz, either.” [The Record (NJ), 10/24/12]
Chris Christie endorsed a 20-week abortion ban. “New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) on Monday joined other potential 2016 Republican presidential candidates in endorsing a ban on abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. ‘I am proud to be a pro-life Republican,’ Christie said in a statement to the anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony List, which solicited endorsements of the legislation from Republicans. ‘I believe that every life is an individual gift from God, and that no life is disposable.’ The 20-week ban would block abortions at least two weeks before the fetus is viable outside the womb. Such a restriction appears to defy the Supreme Court, which decided in Roe v. Wade in 1973 that women have a right to seek an abortion until the fetus is viable, at around 22 weeks to 24 weeks.” [Huffington Post, 3/30/15]
Chris Christie’s funding cuts for women’s health services caused 6 clinics to close between 2010 and 2014. “Chris Christie, who last week prodded Republicans to drop anti-abortion rhetoric to appeal to more voters, has steadily weakened access to the procedure in New Jersey. Even with a Democratic-controlled legislature committed to reproductive rights, the second-term governor’s annual funding cuts for women’s health services have prompted at least six clinics to close since 2010, according to lawmakers.” [Bloomberg News, 7/28/14]
Chris Christie vetoed “two sensible reforms that would help prevent women from getting cheated in their paychecks.” “Gov. Chris Christie says he’s committed to pay equity for women. So why, for the second time, has he killed two sensible reforms that would help prevent women from getting cheated in their paychecks? […] One bill, called the Wage Transparency Act, Christie outright vetoed. It would have required state contractors to make their gender, race and wage information publicly available, as federal contractors will soon have to. Christie argues the state’s prevailing wage law already requires wage reporting. But it doesn’t cover all public contractors. And we have yet to see any evidence that doing so would be too ‘costly and burdensome’ for business, as Christie claims. Weinberg’s other bill, the Unfair Wage Recovery Act, Christie’s conditional veto has rendered toothless. Under this reform, a woman who suddenly discovers she is being paid less than male co-workers would have had the opportunity to seek all the back pay she is owed, without hitting an arbitrary statute of limitations.” [Star-Ledger, 8/14/14]
Chris Christie vetoed legislation to create a pilot program to protect victims of domestic violence. “Lisa’s Law passed the Legislature in January and would have established a pilot program in Ocean County to electronically monitor offenders of domestic violence restraining orders and notify their victims once they got close. Christie vetoed the bill under the condition that the Attorney General’s office study whether the technology is available and can be implemented in New Jersey. The deadline to report back to Christie was in May; it was released on Wednesday night. […] Assemblyman Ronald S. Dancer, R-Ocean, first introduced the bill in 2009. He said if legislators want to find the perfect technology for monitoring then it could be another several years before Lisa’s Law goes into effect. He wants it signed into law this year.” [Asbury Park Press, 10/6/14]
John Kasich signed into law a bill banning abortion after 20 weeks with no exceptions for rape or incest. “Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) signed a bill on Wednesday that bans abortions after 20 weeks if the fetus is determined to be viable, making Ohio the latest in a series of states to ban late-term abortions. The Ohio bill contains no exceptions for rape or incest and only a very narrow exception for health of the mother, which means that an Ohio physician must be able to prove in court that he performed a late-term abortion to save the woman’s life. If a doctor violates this rule, he could be arrested and lose his medical license.” [Huffington Post, 7/21/11]
John Kasich signed into law a bill that enacted strict abortion restrictions, including mandatory ultrasounds. “Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) signed stringent abortion restrictions into law as part of his state’s budget Sunday night, just days after Democratic Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis thrilled abortion rights groups nationwide with her successful filibuster against proposed anti-abortion regulations in her home state. The provisions in Ohio will make it more difficult for family planning groups to receive funding for preventive care; require ultrasounds for anyone seeking an abortion; and limit abortion providers’ ability to get transfer agreements with public hospitals.” [Washington Post, 7/1/13]
John Kasich signed legislation essentially cutting off Planned Parenthood from $1.4 million in federal family-planning dollars. According to the Columbus Dispatch, “In all, Kasich vetoed 22 items, including some earmarks. However, Ohio State University’s STAR House, which helps homeless youth, kept its $665,000 per year in funding. Significant abortion provisions in the budget were not changed. The bill essentially cuts off Planned Parenthood from about $1.4 million in federal family-planning dollars by re-prioritizing who can receive the money. Under the bill, abortion clinics must have a transfer agreement with a hospital, but they are prohibited from signing one with a public hospital. The bill also requires a doctor to perform an external ultrasound prior to an abortion to search for a heartbeat, and if one is found, the doctor must inform the woman. The doctor also must tell the woman the likelihood of the fetus surviving to a full term, and the bill redefines a fetus as ‘developing from the moment of conception,’ rather than when a fertilized egg has been implanted in the uterus.” [Columbus Dispatch, 7/1/13]
Women working in Gov. John Kasich’s office were paid an average of $9.81 per hour less than men. “A newspaper investigation has found the average pay gap between men and women in the offices of four of Ohio’s five elected statewide officials has grown to as much as almost $10 an hour, as it’s shrunk to under a dollar across the rest of state government. Women working in Republican Gov. John Kasich’s office earn $9.81-an-hour less, on average, than men, the Dayton Daily News analysis published Sunday showed. That’s the highest gender pay gap among statewide officeholders, according to the newspaper’s study of Ohio Department of Administrative Services data. The gender gap compares to $3.99-an-hour under former Gov. Ted Strickland.” [Associated Press, 4/12/14]
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Female Reporters:
Rand Paul shushed CNBC reporter Kelly Evans during a tense interview. “Evans: Obviously the big news of the day here is the proposal with you and Barbara Boxer that would allow our companies which have about $2 trillion worth of cash overseas, to bring it home, a one-time holiday, I think at a 6.5 percent corporate tax rate. Senator, I’m sure you know that most of the research on this indicates that these actually cost more money over the long term than they save. Are you saying that your plan will be different? Paul: Well that is incorrect. Let’s go back again. Your premise and your question is mistaken. Evans: All right. Paul: Most of the research doesn’t indicate that. In fact, there is a prominent study by Robert Shapiro looking at the holiday in 2005, when we lowered the rate to five percent, and his conclusion was that it brought $300 billion of new capital home. And then it brought it about $30 billion of new tax revenue. The whole purpose of doing this is to bring money home. There’s two trillion – Evans: Right, but it works that first year, senator. But their concern is down the road. Paul: Hey, let me finish. Hey, hey, Kelly. Evans: I’m sorry, go ahead. Paul: Calm down a bit here, Kelly. Let me answer the question.” [“Closing Bell,” CNBC, 2/2/15]
Rand Paul lectured NBC anchor Savannah Guthrie on how to conduct an interview. “GUTHRIE: Once drastically wanted to cut defense spending and now you want to increase it 16%. I just wonder if you’ve mellowed out. PAUL: Before we go through a litany of — why don’t you let me explain instead of talking over me, okay? Before we through a litany of things you say I’ve changed on, why don’t you ask me a question, have I changed my opinion. GUTHRIE: Have you changed your opinion? >> PAUL: That would be sort of a better way to approach an interview. GUTHRIE: Is Iran still not a threat? PAUL: No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, listen. You’ve editorialized, let me answer a question. You ask a question and you say, ‘Have your views changed?’ Instead of editorializing and saying my views have changed.” [“Today,” NBC, 4/8/15]
Megyn Kelly to Rand Paul on his interviews with Kelly Evans and Savannah Guthrie: “Those women were not yelling at you.” “PAUL: When an interview’s contentious and when an interview is full of a lot of opinion and editorializing and it’s a long-winded question that’s setting you up to say, well, you know, you’ve been beating your wife all these years and when are you going to stop beating your wife? It’s very difficult in those contentious interviews. I don’t think it makes for good TV on both sides. And I do lose my cool. And I lost — I do lose my temper some time. And I should be better at that, but the thing is you don’t get any visual clues. And it’s much harder to have, I think usually when you’re sitting down with someone it’s easier to have a reasonable conversation. But you’ve watched TV. You see TV where it’s just yelling back and forth. And I don’t think people like that necessarily. But, you know, I wasn’t -KELLY: Those women were not yelling at you. They were not yelling at you. PAUL: Well, I wasn’t yelling at them either. Basically it was a talking over each other kind of thing.” [“The Kelly File,” Fox News, 4/8/15]
Megyn Kelly asked Rand Paul if he regretted his behavior. “KELLY: But do you regret it? PAUL: I don’t think it makes for good TV. KELLY: Do you regret shushing the one reporter and jumping on it — Savannah Guthrie’s not exactly known for her, you know, aggressive unfairness.” [“The Kelly File,” Fox News, 4/8/15]
Megyn Kelly, to Rand Paul: “The question some people are asking about you is whether you’re ready for primetime.” “KELLY: I know but we only got a few minutes with you. So, we got to get in, we got to get out. I’ve got eight minutes with you. So, there’s not a lot of time for niceties. You know, you understand the position the reporters are in. PAUL: I do. KELLY: And the question, I’m going to get to the woman thing in a minute. But the question some people are asking about you is whether you’re ready for primetime because it’s only going to get worse. You know it’s only going to get worse. It’s going to get more contentious. When you get up on that stage for those presidential debates you’re going to get pounded. It’s going to be ugly. That’s the way the process works now. And you told Hannity last night you can’t get overly emotional. Did you get overly emotional?” [“The Kelly File,” Fox News, 4/8/15]
Other testy moments:
Rand Paul, to CNBC contributor John Harwood: “Don’t you have something better to read than a bunch of crap from people who don’t like me?” “‘Don’t you have something better to read than a bunch of crap from people who don’t like me?’ he snapped at John Harwood, a journalist for CNBC and for The New York Times, when asked in 2013 about a former aide with a history of racially provocative remarks.” [New York Times, 4/8/15]
Rand Paul said accusations of plagiarism against him were the work of “a bunch of hacks and haters.” “Well, we’re going to have to footnote things, like I say. But here’s the problem, George. Ninety-eight percent of my speeches are extemporaneous. I spoke for 13 hours on the floor extemporaneous. And so it is a little bit hard to footnote things accurately. And I will give you an example. I love the quote from Niall Ferguson, you know, referring to the president, saying, the deficit is declining, and now Ferguson says, yes, from super-enormous to really, really gigantic. And I love the quote. But is that enough or do I have to say, as I heard or read on an AP story about Niall Ferguson, or as I heard when he was on with George Stephanopoulos? I mean, there is a sort of a certain degree when we’re going to say, is that nitpicking? So is referring to the person enough or do I have to refer to the original source, where I got the quote from, the person? In an academic paper, even if you paraphrase something, don’t even use the same words, anything paraphrased has to be sourced. So when I wrote scientific papers, I sometimes had statements with eight footnotes for one sentence. Is that what you want me to do for my speeches? If it’s required, I’ll do it. But I think I’m being unfairly targeted by a bunch of hacks and haters. And I’m just not going to put up with people casting aspersions on my character.” [“This Week,” ABC, 11/3/13; 131103_27_27146_PAUL]
Rand Paul hung up on radio host Howie Carr after a heated conversation. Paul’s appearance on the Howie Carr radio show in January of 2015 was heated and confrontational, with the candidate repeatedly having to take back his words and abruptly hanging up at the end. [Howie Carr Show, 1/7/15; 150107_JF_856_A]
Politico: “Reporters who cover Paul have called him ‘thin-skinned,’ ‘sensitive,’ ‘wary’ and ‘prickly.’” “Reporters who cover Paul have called him ‘thin-skinned,’ ‘sensitive,’ ‘wary’ and ‘prickly.’ Others say he and his team will blame the media for his own mistakes, at some points freezing out reporters for perceived slights.” [Politico, 4/6/15]
Politico: Rand Paul “lashed out” during a Yahoo! News interview when asked about his position on U.S. aid to Israel. “When Yahoo! News asked Paul whether he still believed the United States should stop sending federal aid to Israel, he denied he’d made the proposal. After being pointed to interviews and videos showing that he had said as much previously, Paul lashed out. ‘You can mistake my position, but then I’ll answer the question,’ Paul said. ‘That has not been a position — a legislative position — we have introduced to phase out or get rid of Israel’s aid. That’s the answer to that question. Israel has always been a strong ally of ours and I appreciate that. I voted just this week to give money — more money — to the Iron Dome, so don’t mischaracterize my position on Israel.’” [Politico, 4/6/15]
Associated Press: Rand Paul “grew testy” when pressed on abortion exceptions during an interview. “Paul has said previously the issue is too divisive to expect changes in federal abortion law. That has led some religious conservatives to raise questions about his commitment to their cause despite a voting record in their favor. Paul grew testy when pressed in the interview on the question of exceptions. ‘I gave you about a five-minute answer. Put in my five-minute answer,’ he said.” [Associated Press, 4/8/15]
]]>The Economy:
Women’s Equality:
Bipartisanship:
ISIS:
Making human rights a foreign policy priority.
Building on a lifetime of advocacy for human rights, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton affirmed that American foreign policy would “reflect our deep commitment to the cause of making human rights a reality for millions of oppressed people around the world.” One of Secretary Clinton’s first steps to secure human rights as a pillar of foreign policy was joining the United Nations Human Rights Council, reversing the Bush administration’s policy of shunning the organization. She pledged to focus her energy as Secretary of State on human rights and, through the Human Rights Council, the U.S. deepened international engagement on efforts to fight human rights violations.
Defending free expression and speech.
Hillary Clinton upheld that universal rights “include freedom of expression and freedom of belief, even if our words or beliefs denigrate the humanity of others. Yet, while we are each free to believe whatever we choose, we cannot do whatever we choose, not in a world where we protect the human rights of all.” She stood by those “who exercise their fundamental freedoms of expression and assembly in a peaceful way, whether in person, in print, or in pixels,” and fought powerfully for those who support expanding human rights and individuals working to advance democracy.
Upholding the fundamental freedom of the press.
Hillary Clinton hosted the first World Press Freedom Day by the U.S. to “champion those who stand for media freedom – and let us continue to expose those who deny it.” As Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton went on Russian radio to express “support for independent media…at a time when free expression is under threat” and denounced the murders of journalists in Russia. She praised the “brave men and women” of independent media “who risk their lives every day to keep the rest of us informed, to keep governments accountable and societies more democratic, prosperous and successful.”
Promoting religious protection and tolerance.
Hillary Clinton underscored the responsibility governments have in standing up for the rights of all people as religious freedom is threatened. She challenged other countries, such as China, by calling for “protection of rights of minorities in Tibet and Xinxiang; for the rights to express oneself and worship freely.” In 2011, Hillary worked with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and other nations to secure adoption of the U.N. Human Rights Council resolution “[c]ombating intolerance, negative stereotyping and stigmatization of, and discrimination, incitement to violence and violence against, persons based on religion or belief.”
Giving a voice to the vulnerable and marginalized.
Hillary Clinton launched an assistance fund for embattled nongovernmental organizations that supported much needed “legal representation, communication technologies like cell phones and internet access, and other forms of quick support.” She appointed the first Special Advisor for International Disability Rights to increase protection for “one group of people whose human rights are still denied in too many parts of the world today. In many ways, they are an invisible minority.” As Secretary of State, she spoke out against regimes who arbitrarily detain and arrest artists, activists, lawyers, and intellectuals in their countries.
Advocating globally for LGBT rights.
Hillary Clinton championed LGBT rights internationally and declared to the world that gay rights are human rights and human rights are gay rights. In partnership with other countries, she worked to support LGBT advocacy and pass the first United Nations resolution highlighting “the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons.” As Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton forcefully spoke out against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and denounced countries who criminalize homosexuality.
Setting an example internationally.
Hillary Clinton helped set an international example by participating in the U.N. Universal Periodic Review of America’s human rights record, stating, “By holding ourselves accountable, we reinforce our moral authority to demand that all governments adhere to obligations under international law.” Hillary also included the U.S. for the first time in a country report on human trafficking and helped launch a website to provide NGOs, scholars, and citizens with “information they need to hold governments accountable.”
Continuing work to make human rights a human reality.
When Hillary Clinton was asked what was next for her, she said, “I would go back to being a voice for the voiceless, standing up against conditions that just leech the life out of children and oppress women and prevent people from fulfilling their God-given potential.” In 2013, Hillary was honored by Jeb Bush for her public service and dedication “to serving and engaging people across the world in democracy.” She outlined a vision for the future where the U.S. can “show the world that free people and free markets, human rights and human dignity, respect for our fellow men and women, is our core strength.” Hillary launched efforts to address the “unfinished business of the 21st century” – seeking women’s full participation in society – and give future generations of Americans a chance at success.
]]>Hillary Clinton made promoting women’s rights a signature part of her tenure as Secretary of State. She elevated their role in peacekeeping efforts and helped inaugurate Georgetown’s Institute for Women, Peace, and Security. Recently, she spoke about security through inclusive leadership, saying, “Today marks a very important next step. Shifting from saying the right things to doing the right things. Putting into action the steps that are necessary to not only protect women and children but to find ways of utilizing women as makers and keepers of peace.” As Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton fought to do just that.
Elevated Role of Women as Peacekeepers
Under Hillary Clinton, “tradition-bound” bureaus and agencies were pushed “to think differently about the role of women in conflicts and peacemaking.”
In her book Hard Choices, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wrote, “We had to push tradition-bound bureaus and agencies to think differently about the role of women in conflicts and peacemaking, economic and democratic development, public health, and more. I didn’t want [the Office of Global Women’s Issues] to be the only place where this work was done; rather I wanted it to be integrated into the daily routine of our diplomats and development experts everywhere.” [Hard Choices, pg. 567, 2014]
Sec. Clinton “funded aid programs to train women leaders in developing countries for government, civil society, and peace negotiations.”
“Last week, Georgetown University inaugurated a new Institute for Women, Peace, and Security to research the role of women in mitigating global conflicts. The institute was first announced by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who made promotion of women’s rights a signature part of her tenure. Clinton funded aid programs to train women leaders in developing countries for government, civil society, and peace negotiations. Ambassador Melanne Verveer, who will head the Georgetown institute – and ran Clinton’s office for Global Women’s Issues – clearly hopes to build on that legacy in her new role.” [Trudy Rubin, Philadelphia Inquirer, 2/28/13]
Sec. Clinton promoted investing in women and girls because they “build peace and prosperity and political stability for everyone.”
“The United States is committed to making women and their advancement a cornerstone of our foreign policy not just because it’s the right thing to do. Investing in women and girls is good for societies, and it is also good for the future prosperity of countries. Women drive our economies. They build peace and prosperity and political stability for everyone—men and women, boys and girls.” [Statement on International Women’s Day, state.gov, 3/8/12]
Sec. Clinton: “When women participate in peace processes, they tend to focus discussion on issues like human rights, justice, national reconciliation, and economic renewal.”
In her book Hard Choices, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wrote, “When women participate in peace processes, they tend to focus discussion on issues like human rights, justice, national reconciliation, and economic renewal that are critical to making peace. They generally build coalitions across ethnic and sectarian lines and are more likely to speak up for other marginalized groups. They often act as mediators and help to foster compromise. Yet despite all that women tend to bring to the table, more often than not they’re excluded. Of the hundreds of peace treaties signed since the early 1990s, fewer than 10 percent had any women negotiators, fewer than 3 percent had any women signatories, and only a small percentage included even a single reference to women. So it’s not too surprising that more than half of all peace agreements fail within five years.” [Hard Choices, pg. 571, 2014]
Sec. Clinton pushed equal participation for women in peace efforts in countries affected by war, insecurity, and violence.
According to the State Department website, the National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security (NAP) “seeks to ensure that women participate equally in preventing conflict and building peace in countries threatened and affected by war, violence, and insecurity. The Department’s implementation of the NAP demonstrates its commitment to furthering the promotion of gender equality in service of U.S. foreign policy and national security.” [“Department of State Implementation of the United States National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security,” state.gov, 8/15/12]
Sec. Clinton: “We must support women and girls” if we want to support “stable, peaceful societies worldwide.”
“So if we want to support strong democracies, thriving economies, and stable, peaceful societies worldwide, we must support women and girls. And that means focusing on a wide range of issues – from working to improve women’s leadership in industries where they are currently underrepresented, as Australia has pledged to do in the mining and construction industries, to enforcing and strengthening laws that guarantee women’s equal political participation, as Senegal has committed to do, to addressing once and for all the problem of nationality laws that discriminate against women and leave they and their families vulnerable to abuse and exploitation.” [Remarks at the Equal Futures Partnership Launch, state.gov, 9/24/12]
Coordinated National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security
Sec. Clinton coordinated the development of the National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security with USAID and the Defense Department.
In her book Hard Choices, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wrote, “I spent years trying to get generals, diplomats, and national security policymakers in our own country and around the world to tune in to this reality. I found sympathetic allies at the Pentagon and in the White House, including Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Michèle Flournoy and Admiral Sandy Winnefeld, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. State, USAID, and Defense got to work on a plan that would change the way diplomats, development experts, and military personnel interact with women in conflict and postconflict areas. There would be new emphasis on stopping rape and gender-based violence and empowering women to make and keep peace. We called it a National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security. In December 2011, President Obama issued an executive order launching the plan.” [Hard Choices, pg. 572, 2014]
Under Sec. Clinton’s leadership, America developed “its national action plan to promote the essential role of women when it comes to securing peace.”
According to a Courier-Journal op-ed by Kentucky state legislator Mary Lou Marzian, “With the leadership of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, America joined the ranks of more than 30 countries in developing its national action plan to promote the essential role of women when it comes to securing peace. All of this started with a movement of women that has risen up across the globe and has been developing through the United Nations.” [Mary Lou Marzian, Courier-Journal, 8/25/12]
The National Action Plan better coordinated U.S. efforts to implement a UN resolution on women and peacekeeping.
According to a State Department fact sheet, “In this process, the United States has reaffirmed its support for [UN Security Council Resolution] 1325 and decided to initiate development of a National Action Plan to better coordinate and advance our efforts. The plan will include regular consultation with civil society groups in countries affected by conflict in recognition of their knowledge and expertise in the promotion of peace. We also will continue to partner with other countries, bilaterally and multilaterally, in support of 1325 principles.” [“The United States and UN Security Council Resolution 1325: Promoting the Political Participation of Women in all Aspects of Peace and Security,” state.gov, 10/26/10]
Secured Support for UN Security Council Resolution 1325
Sec. Clinton helped lead the charge to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1325, “the first ever to recognize the role of women in restoring peace and maintaining security.”
According to Sec. Clinton’s remarks on making human rights a human reality, “We led the charge for the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, the first ever to recognize the role of women in restoring peace and maintaining security. We created a National Action Plan and encouraged others to do the same.” According to the United Nations, “Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) stresses the importance of women’s equal and full participation as active agents in the prevention and resolution of conflicts, peace-building and peacekeeping.” [Remarks on Making Human Rights a Human Reality, state.gov, 12/6/12; UN.org, accessed 6/24/14]
Made Fighting Sexual Violence a Peacekeeping Priority
Sec. Clinton achieved consensus in the UN to make ending sexual violence a priority for global peacekeeping missions.
In her book Hard Choices, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wrote, “A little more than a month after my trip to Goma, in late September 2009, I presided over a meeting of the United Nations Security Council focused on women, peace, and security, where I proposed making the protection of women and children from the kinds of rampant sexual violence I witnessed in the Congo a priority for UN peacekeeping missions around the world. All fifteen Council members agreed. It wasn’t going to solve the problem overnight, but it was a start.” [Hard Choices, pg. 282, 2014]
Sec. Clinton “led the unanimous adoption of UN Resolution 1888,” which mandated that “peacekeeping missions protect women and children from sexual violence during armed conflict.”
“Secretary Clinton has long worked to highlight the urgent need to end sexual violence against women and promote their in participation in peace and security. She led the unanimous adoption of UN Resolution 1888, the successor resolution to UNSCR 1325 and 1320.” According to the UN website, “Resolution 1888, as a follow up to Resolution 1820, mandates that peacekeeping missions protect women and children from sexual violence during armed conflict, and requests that the Secretary-General appoint a special representative on sexual violence during armed conflict (Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict).” [“The United States and UN Security Council Resolution 1325: Promoting the Political Participation of Women in all Aspects of Peace and Security,” state.gov, 10/26/10; UN.org, accessed 6/24/14]
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