And yet our local MSM has yet to cover this story . . .
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-workerswhile 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.â€
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?â€
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.â€
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.
he and other Democrats just wanted to “create a vote which they could use to attack Republicans.
Well, there’s an easy way to avoid those attacks – use your common sense and side with the rape victims instead of jerking your knee and voting no just because Stuart Smally wrote the amendment.
I love how they try to corner Franken as a comedian (like there is anything wrong with that) but never mention his Harvard Degree.
Difficult for me to understand kneecapping someone for being a “comedian” — when there is a strong tie to humor and intelligence. (I could then go off on a particular party’s lack of humor/intelligence too… as depicted by the general audience that have no idea they are being mocked by Billionaires for Wealthcare at the Tea Parties.)
Which would you rather have in office? Someone that has the ability to look at a problem from many different angles, discern, and communicate that problem in a way that many can understand (comedian/writer/Harvard Grad) or a puppet that allows their movements to be dictated by the higher ups motivated by greed, C-Street ideology?
I envy MN for their Senator for they elected the more evolved.
Ooops. I have to take this comment back for correction:
“I envy MN for their Senator for they elected the more evolved.” and elaborate that being Franken, not Bachmann. I don’t envy the St. Cloud region for voting in that piece of wrk.
“I envy MN for their Senator for they elected the more evolved.”
I couldn’t agree more. Now if we could only get Steve Martin to move to SD and run for Senate, we would be set!
Wouldn’t that be ‘Crazy’ and ‘Swinging’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9SaKYFR6ms&feature=related
Weeks ago I emailed KSFY, KELO, and KDLT asking why they hadn’t covered Thune’s pro-rape vote. Still awaiting answer. (crickets)
I wonder why more people DIDN’T email all of our local MSM TV outlets asking them the same?