Nancy Pelosi Rallies Base Over Birth Control Fight

WASHINGTON -- House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is firing up the Democratic base over a contentious hearing on birth control that left several congresswomen fuming.

In an email sent out late Thursday by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Pelosi urges supporters to sign a petition demanding that House Republican leaders let women have a voice in Hill discussions on women's health issues.

"We almost couldn’t believe it. Today, at a House Oversight Committee hearing, House Republicans convened a panel on denying access to birth control converge with five men and no women. As my colleague Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney asked, where are the women?" Pelosi says in the email. "Join me in our call to Speaker Boehner, Eric Cantor, Chairman Issa and all House Republicans to demand that women be brought to the table when discussing women’s health issues. Help us gather 50,000 signatures before Congress heads home tomorrow."

Democrats have already surpassed their goal -- a DCCC source said 95,168 people had signed the petition as of Friday morning. That level of response is "pretty massive" for just being overnight, said the source. The petition also collected 30,039 "likes" on Facebook.

Pelosi's email comes on the heels of Democratic lawmakers walking out of a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on religious liberty and birth control. They were protesting Chairman Darrell Issa's (R-Calif.) refusal to allow a progressive woman to testify in favor of the Obama administration's contraception rule. The morning panel at the hearing consisted exclusively of men from conservative religious organizations; a second panel included two women, but both were critics of Obama's birth control mandate, which does not exempt religiously affiliated employers from having to include contraception in employees' insurance coverage.

Comments

[Fogcatcher]

10:31 PM on 02/21/2012

It's time to call it a day Nan.... the days of playing politics are over....This has nothing to do with birth control and has everything to do with religious freedom... No longer will the people be fooled, birth control will remain forever, but your trying to fool the citizens of this nation is over!!!

[mrsrsw]

05:26 PM on 02/21/2012

Nancy dahhhling, if you want the Church to stay out of people's bedrooms, then quit trying to drag them into this by making them insure birth control against their faith tradition. You can't have it both ways.

[frdm399]

11:27 PM on 02/20/2012

Does this mean Mars is ready to go to war?

[The last sane American]

08:39 PM on 02/18/2012

Is anybody aware that two women testified on thee panel of a couple of days ago?

We have heard statements by several organizations that women were not allowed on the panel.

And Nancy Pelosi (but ever so carefully) implied that might be true.

There were two.

Seemingly the liberals relish the opportunity to lie to the American people.

[gilbskg]

08:57 PM on 02/18/2012

Yes, there were two women "allowed" to testify...for the Republicans. The woman the Democrats asked to be allowed to testify was not.

[pjburke]

09:33 PM on 02/18/2012

Two women were in the second panel. They were not primary witnesses, and many of the members had already left before that second panel was seated.

[Rixar13]

04:50 PM on 02/18/2012

This issue has long been settled but, now the GNOP wants to drag us back to the caves...

[Chucky Sly]

04:35 PM on 02/18/2012

The right hates her because she whips them every time they square up with her.
Easily one of the best speakers ever.
(There's some troll-food you, righties.)

[colleen10001]

03:19 PM on 02/18/2012

A COMPLETE LIE-WATCH. VIDEO ATTACHED!!Women were on PANEL:http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/pro-life-women-dont-count-cecile-richards-misleads-that-no-women-testified
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=uj1l8suFE68
IF THIS WAS VALUE TO YOUR POINTS YOU WOULDN'T HAVE TO LIE.

[gilbskg]

08:57 PM on 02/18/2012

No women who were not pro life were allowed to testify.

[franksnmail]

01:08 AM on 02/19/2012

Regardless Pelosi LIED - typical - she's a slug...

[pjburke]

09:34 PM on 02/18/2012

Women were in the second panel, not the first.

[Grichde]

01:13 PM on 02/18/2012

The Republicans fully support a woman's right to use birth control, they specially support liberals rights and they should have a life time supply for free. 

[ReMarker]

12:39 PM on 02/18/2012

Nancy, thanks for all you do.

[franksnmail]

01:08 AM on 02/19/2012

Yes - now go home....

[luv2lib]

11:31 AM on 02/18/2012

Republican politicians and their lemmings live in the dark ages. Rove and his like think they can pull crap on the American people all the time and not get caught, however, thanks to modern technology, they are finally being seen for who and what they really are, a corrupt bunch of worthlessness!

[sylvia wadlington]

11:11 AM on 02/18/2012

Why would they listen to a bunch of old religious men who don't have sex instead of mature, modern women who do and the gynecologists who advise them! Old men don't use birth control and they don't have babies. NO MEN should be allowed to decide women's health issues unless they are gynecologists. Having men of the church decide women's moral or health issues VIOLATES our civil rights.

Ladies, we are the largest voting block in America. It's time to band together and use our strengths to protect our families, our country and our rights.

Vote out all REPUBLICANS from local, state and federal government.
They are not our masters; we are free to vote for our rights and if we don't soon we won't have any!

[TAC]

10:44 AM on 02/18/2012

Each presidential election cycle the GOPers stir up something to get the Baggeez all het up to distract from real issues. Gay marriage was raised during the 2004 Kerry campaign and it certainly hurt. This time it's likely to backfire badly if the Dems only manage it properly and it sure looks like President Obama & team have a handle on it.

[rothladod]

11:11 PM on 02/18/2012

Ahh, Obama was the one that started this discussion on contraception two weeks ago with all employers are to provide it in his health care plan.

[TAC]

11:32 PM on 02/18/2012

He played them and they jumped in, hook, line & sinker...

[franksnmail]

01:09 AM on 02/19/2012

People like to ignore that.
It was just one of his games to distract attention from other garbage he is pulling...

[OldMacdonald]

10:13 AM on 02/18/2012

I wonder how the women are taking this on the con boards.

[TAC]

10:33 AM on 02/18/2012

The Stepfords?

[nonb]

09:16 AM on 02/18/2012

This is just one more conservative intrusion of Americans right to separation of church and state. The religious leaders, male or female, that are oppose to contraception could have a much more effective voice if only they would be more transparent about the role they personally have in sexual intercourse.

It is always confusing to me when the reports and comments about these contraception issues are only directed toward and considered to be a female problem. Why can’t we talk openly about the role of men as part of this contraception discussion? For every preventative measure taken there is a Man and a Woman present for the ultimate purpose. This is not only contraception for woman. This is equal contraception for men. For every conceptual notion of potential pregnancy there is a male present. Why won’t these men…all men…speak up for their roll and in defense of a preventative measure for a shared well-being? Just one time, I would like to hear a male voice say "I am in favor of contraception because it gets me “out of a bind” also. My sexual partner and I take equal responsibility for this decision." In our current, antiquated mindset, must the female get blamed for everything? When will the equality begin for females in America?

[Raccoon1]

09:48 AM on 02/18/2012

.............perhaps they could pass legislation that makes the father share equally in the responsibility for raising the child.

[SouthernYankeeBelle]

10:08 AM on 02/18/2012

Yes, start by telling potential fathers to use aspirins between their knees.

[rothladod]

07:37 PM on 02/18/2012

"Separation of Church and State" means that the State (Gov.) will make no laws on how a religious organization conducts its business. Obama started this (two weeks ago) by saying the Church will pay for contraception in the new health care law. Thus telling a religious organization what to do. Last time I checked Obama is not conservative.
And why do you blame the man? If it's all the mans fault then that would be called rape. Maybe more people (men and women) need to just keep there close on!

[pjburke]

11:26 PM on 02/18/2012

"Separatio­n of Church and State" means that the State (Gov.) will make no laws on how a religious organizati­on conducts its business."

False.

U.S. Supreme Court:

“When followers of a particular sect enter into commercial activity as a matter of choice, the limits they accept on their own conduct as a matter of conscience and faith are not to be superimpos­ed on the statutory schemes that are binding on others in that activity...­” -- Antonin Scalia
_____

Churches, synagogues, mosques, temples... almost always exempt.

Affiliated operations that are not churches, normally not exempt.

"Obama started this (two weeks ago) by saying the Church will pay for contracept­ion in the new health care law. "

False again.

The rule started TWELVE YEARS AGO with a rule issued by the EEOC.

28 states followed with similar laws.

Numerous court cases were litigated... all of which the Church lost.

"Thus telling a religious organizati­on what to do."

False... yet again.

The hospitals, colleges, and charity operations are not "the Church."

They are not even churches, themselves, at all. They are separate.

[mashtoe]

09:15 AM on 02/18/2012

What a joke. First of all, just remember Democrats support free trade with China which causes rising poverty which denies people the money they need for birth control.

[James Leo]

09:28 AM on 02/18/2012

WALMART started the China mess and the Walton Family are GOP doners.

[Raccoon1]

09:50 AM on 02/18/2012

Um, I believe the growth in Chinese goods sales in America happened during the administration of GWB.

[rothladod]

07:39 PM on 02/18/2012

Actually it was in the '90s-Clinton