The Ladies Get Slapped Down By Conservatives... Again

After over a century of opposition from conservatives here in the U.S.-- and many centuries of opposition worldwide to political equality for women-- Congress passed the 19th Amendment that gave women the right to vote on June 4th, 1919. A year later, on August 18, 1920, it was ratified-- Tennessee being the 36th state to go for it (that was the number needed at the time), 50-99. The amendment itself had been written in 1878 (by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton) and introduced by Aaron Sargent, a Republican senator from California. Conservatives defeated it 34-16 the first time it was voted on and just kept on defeating it year after year. Ultimately it took 41 years for Congress to give the franchise to citizens of the females persuasion, although some states enfranchised women earlier, like California and Washington and most western states gave women the vote before the Constitution mandated it. But six of the most backward states in the country opposed ratification long after women were given the right to vote. A half dozen of the most right-wing, anti-democracy states in the country didn't ratify until relatively recently, Mississippi being worst of all-- March 2, 1984! The other states that felt women shouldn't be allowed to vote until recently were Florida (1969), South Carolina (1969), Georgia (1970), Louisiana (1970), and North Carolina (1971).


This week President Obama was still doing battle against conservatives who are as determined as ever to control women as though their were chattel. "Tomorrow, Congress is going to have a chance to vote on the Paycheck Fairness Act," he told the media. "I don't have to tell you how much this matters to families across the country. All of you are working day in, day out, to support the basic principle, equal pay for equal work... Congress has to step up and do its job. Women are the breadwinners for a lot of families, and if they're making less than men do for the same work, families are going to have to get by for less money for childcare and tuition and rent ... Everybody suffers."

This afternoon the Senate took up the Paycheck Fairness Act which would require employers to demonstrate that any salary differences between men and woman doing the same work are not gender-related and prohibits employers from retaliating against employees who share salary information with their co-workers. It would require the Labor Department to work harder to eliminate pay disparities. Women may have gotten the right to vote in 1919 but they still make 77 cents for every dollar that men make in the same job. And the Republican Party filibustered it to death. The final vote for cloture to end the GOP filibuster was 52-47. The vote was strictly along party lines, with the two Independent senators, Bernie Sanders (VT) and Lieberman (CT) voting with Democrats andMark Kirk (R-IL) not voting. Majority Leader Harry Reid changed his vote so that he could bring the bill up again.

The leaders of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) and Keith Ellison (D-MN) blasted the GOP filibuster against equality. Raúl: “Republicans are standing against public opinion, common sense, and fifty years of advances in gender equality. Now everyone in this country who pays women less than men for the same job knows who their friends are in Washington. This is an open insult to every working woman and man in this country, not only because it means families earn less for their honest labor but because it creates inequality between colleagues where none should exist. Shame on everyone who votes for discrimination in the workplace.” Keith: “The idea that a woman would be paid less than a man for the same work is grossly unfair. Why would anyone subvert the democratic process to pay women less than men? Women lose significant income during their lifetimes due to pay inequity. This unfairness extends to the children, elderly parents and families who rely on women for support. This unequal treatment has to end.” And this was President Obama's statement:

This afternoon, Senate Republicans refused to allow an up-or-down vote on the Paycheck Fairness Act, a commonsense piece of legislation that would strengthen the Equal Pay Act and give women more tools to fight pay discrimination. It is incredibly disappointing that in this make-or-break moment for the middle class, Senate Republicans put partisan politics ahead of American women and their families. Despite the progress that has been made over the years, women continue to earn substantially less than men for performing the same work. My Administration will continue to fight for a woman’s right for equal pay for equal work, as we rebuild our economy so that hard work pays off, responsibility is rewarded, and every American gets a fair shot to succeed.