The new Republican House majority had no sooner settled into their offices than they proposed savage restrictions of women's reproductive rights. Americans might question the GOP actions, since the new laws have nothing to do with Republican campaign promises to create jobs and reduce the Federal deficit. But it's consistent with their archconservative ideology, yet another brutal attack in the three-decades-old Republican war on women.
During the Reagan regime, conservatives developed an ideology with three essential elements: unlimited military spending, unwarranted faith in the free market, and exaggerated emphasis on "traditional" values. Whatever we may think of the intellectual merits of their strategy, it reaped political rewards, producing twenty years of Republican Presidents. The GOP tenets recognized changing social mores: the desire of Southern Whites for an alternative to the Democratic Party they had come to see as favoring people-of-color and "undesirables;" the longing of many Americans for a simpler time; and widespread rural anger at coastal "elites" and their so-called "sixties values."
Contemporary Republicans are still promoting the ideology that has worked for them if not for Americans, in general. Republicans maintain that it's essential for the U.S. to have the world's largest military. And, despite the disastrous consequences of the Regan-Bush economic policies, the GOP dogmatically pursues the same flawed notions: low taxes for the wealthy, limited government, and an unregulated market place. And Republicans persist with their traditional values agenda.
There's no reason to believe the GOP traditional values agenda has broad political appeal. Over the past decade attitudes about abortion have remained relatively static: three quarters of Americans believe that abortion should be available in some circumstances and only one quarter feels it should not be permitted at all. But abortion foes are primarily Republicans and, therefore, abortion has become a litmus test for GOP candidates; if a politician is not aggressively "pro life," there is little chance that he or she can achieve national power in the GOP -- that's one of the reasons why New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg isn't touted as a possible 2012 Presidential candidate.
Abortion and rejection of same-sex marriage are the most visible manifestations of the Republican traditional values agenda. They are the banners that herald a conservative world-view that is radically different from that of progressives. In his landmark book, Moral Politics University of California Linguistics Professor George Lakoff examines the elemental differences between Republicans and Democrats. Most Republicans/conservatives favor a "strict father" family system, while most Democrats/progressives support a "nurturant parent" model. Lakoff explains how these alternative worldviews shape the divergent opinions about hot-button issues such as reproductive rights and pay equity.
Men and women are viewed quite differently in the competing worldviews. The conservative "strict father" family model casts the man as the unquestioned leader of the family: father, breadwinner, and protector. Women are subordinate to men, caregivers for the children and father.
This deep-seated paternalism has prompted Republican opposition to legislative measures to promote gender equality including ratification of the CEDAW treaty (Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women). At the November 18, 2010, Senate CEDAW hearing, only Steven Groves from the archconservative Heritage Foundation spoke in opposition. Groves claimed CEDAW has a clandestine pro-abortion agenda, "[seeks] the modification of the roles of men and women as husbands, wives, caregivers, and breadwinners," and "supports the concept of 'comparable worth' to address allegations of gender discrimination in compensation." As a consequence, no Republican Senator supported the ratification of CEDAW and it never came up for a full Senate vote.
The Republican traditional values agenda is the bulwark of their three-decades-long war against women, an absolute repudiation of the notion of gender equality. There are three aspects of this campaign of which the attack on reproductive rights is the most visible. Conservatives believe that women's access to contraception and reproductive services has undermined the family. Recognizing that a strong majority of Americans wants abortion to remain legal and affordable, Republicans have been chipping away at it bit by bit (That's the purpose of the "Smith bill" H.R. 3 and the "Pitts bill" H.R. 358.)
But there are two equally important wings of the traditional values agenda. Republican oppose pay equity. That's why they show so little regard for employment discrimination, the fact that women typically earn 23 percent less than men for comparable work.
Finally, Republicans seek to diminish the number of women in American politics and in the 2010 elections they turned back the tide of slow but steady progress. After the mid-term elections there were fewer women in the House of Representatives and fewer women in state legislatures.
In the final analysis, contemporary Republican ideology has three interlocked components: promoting a permanent state of war; favoring the interests of the rich over those of the poor; and relegating women to be second-class citizens whose rights are subordinate to those of men.
Bob Cesca: The Republican War Against Women
Cecile Richards: Why Title X is Critical
Joanne Bamberger: GOP Budget Wars on Reproductive Health
Liz Seccuro: Rape, the Republican Party and Rage
I was interested in your comments about the conservative "strict father" family model. I think that all that authoritarianism leads to codependency and cripples people's ability to lead a self-directed life. It especially doesn't work for women, because being in a non-equal position, having to ask permission of the husband as though he were one's father instead of one's equal partner, leads to resentment, which is taken out on the children. And furthermore, a person can only "play a role" for so long. At some point, the urge to be oneself is just too strong to sustain the role playing.
Plus the "forceable rape" clause is still in there. They said they would use the original Hyde Amendment wording, but the current bill as available to read still has not been altered. Meaning any woman who was drugged would not be considered to have been raped because she was not bodily forced to submit.
The three bills in Congress are particularly insidious. This IS an effort to disenfranchise women. We still don't have equal pay for equal work, and still do the majority of housework and childcare even when we are working.
One of the bills would disallow medical deduction for an abortion from your income even if you pay for it YOURSELF. None of this takes money out of YOUR precious pocket.
No federal funding ever means that people who can least afford it would HAVE to carry a child to term even if they couldn't support it, which may cause a women to lose her job. NO CHOICE..
And besides the disgusting attempt to redefine rape, there is the provision in Congressman Pitt's bill that would trump current law, allowing a doctor to not only deny an abortion to a dying pregnant woman BUT to also refuse to transfer that woman to a place where she might be able to receive an abortion. In fact, the hospital would not be required to do ANYTHING at all.
This is is heartless, hateful. Its about taking away our rights to control our own bodies and about relegating us to 2nd class citizens
MY BODY=MY CHOICE
RAPE=RAPE
http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/02/joe-pitts-protect-life-act-abortion
Also, are you suggesting that forcing black women to have children against their will is good for the black community?
Women don't get paid as much because, among other things
1. They have yet to equalize their involvement in the technology sector, where many of the higher paying jobs exist.
2. They have yet to equalize their numbers in the higher paying medical jobs, i.e. surgeons.
3. They do not participate in the more dangerous (and thus higher paying jobs).
4. Many postpone marriage and children until their 30's and hence, leave the marketplace or reduce their hours. The 30's is where you lay the foundation to become a partner in a law firm or establish yourself in the business world. Tough cookies that those jobs are going to those who choose to work the 80 hour weeks without vacation or time off for five years or more.
The bill re abortions does what we thought liberals wanted - Get government out of our bedrooms and not hold taxpayers responsible to pay for abortions for consenting adults or their irresponsible children who find themselves with an unwanted pregnancy. Exceptions for forcible rape, incest with a minor or threat to a woman's life are more than adequate and fair. Existing law requiring institutions not providing abortion services to send women to clinics that do, remain intact - you just cannot discriminate against them for choosing not to provide