GOP War on Women: Senate Republicans filibuster birth-control bill

Oh, lord, the Arizona Daily Star’s creative headlines writer strikes again. Why hasn’t this editor been fired for incompetence?

The print edition of the Star today (as opposed to the online version) contains this story caption to an AP report: Democrats fail in birth-control reversal. Oy!

Screenshot from 2014-07-17 12:35:07The only factually accurate headline for this story is “Senate Republicans filibuster birth-control bill.” In a real democracy, the bill actually passed the Senate with a majority of votes, 56-43.

And to AP reporter Donna Cassata: you should not suggest or imply that 60 votes is required or regular in the Senate. This is a GOP abuse of the Senate filibuster rules to obstruct legislation, an historic abuse unmatched in American history. Your reporting does not even use the word “filibuster,” nor does it point out the historic abuse of the Senate filibuster rules by the GOP.

Like all AP (All Propaganda) reporting, it is framed around the GOP talking points:

GOP senators said Wednesday’s vote was simply a stunt, political messaging designed to boost vulnerable Democratic incumbents. The GOP needs to gain six seats to seize control.

“Democrats are just trying to win an election,” Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., said bluntly.

But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said the Republicans were the ones “out of touch with reality.” He promised that Democrats would continue to press the issue.

* * *

Democrats hope the issue has enough life to energize female voters in the fall, when Republicans are threatening to take control of the Senate.

Women have proven crucial in electing President Obama and members of his party. And Democrats desperately need a strong turnout as they defend 21 Senate seats to the GOP’s 15, many in Republican-leaning states where Obama’s abysmal approval ratings are a likely drag.

* * *

The four-term Murray and Colorado’s Mark Udall, who is in a tight race, joined forces in pushing the legislation that would have reversed the court’s decision by providing access to contraception through insurance plans at businesses that object on religious grounds.

The Protect Women’s Health from Corporate Interference Act is meant to restore the contraceptive coverage requirement guaranteed by the Affordable Care Act and protect coverage of other health services from employers who want to impose their beliefs on their employees by denying benefits. Read the full bill text here.

The Senate’s action comes at the same time that Todd “legitimate rape” Akin from the 2012 election is suddenly back in the news. Akin unapologizes:

Todd Akin takes it back.

He’s not sorry.

Two years after the Missouri Republican’s comments on rape, pregnancy and abortion doomed his campaign and fueled a “war on women” message that carried Democrats to victory in the Senate, one of the few regrets he mentions in a new book is the decision to air a campaign ad apologizing for his remarks.

“By asking the public at large for forgiveness,” Akin writes, “I was validating the willful misinterpretation of what I had said.”

Riiight. “My ignorant comment was just misunderstood.” I’m pretty sure women understood you loud and clear.

Remember that whole GOP rebranding thing? Yeah, they lied. This is the same old dead-ender GOP.

h/t graphic: Donate to the Democrat of your choice, but donate! #StandWithWomen against #HobbyLobby #RememberInNovember http://pic.twitter.com/UzmGSm5ZjE

1 thought on “GOP War on Women: Senate Republicans filibuster birth-control bill”

  1. Thanks for catching that up-is-down headline. Here are some other headlines in other news sources for the same AP story:
    “Republicans block Senate bill designed to override Hobby Lobby ruling”
    “Senate Republicans Block Contraception Coverage Bill”
    “GOP scuttles birth control measure”
    “GOP halts mandate on birth control”
    A few other papers use the “Democrats fail . . .” meme like the Star, but they’re in the minority.

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