The Ladies Fight Back Against The Republican Party War Against Women

It would be a mistake to think the GOP War On Women is primarily about misfits like Todd Akin (and Paul Ryan who has cosponsored some of the most viciously misogynistic legislation with Akin ever seen in the history of the U.S. Congress). The entire deranged party has lost its way and has allowed itself to be turned into some kind of Bronze Age patriarchal parody by the mullahs of the religionist right. Satirist and social activist Lizz Winstead is the mind behind the new website, Lady Parts Justice and the video up top is their first effort to focus attention on sociopaths like Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell and his love affair with forced ultrasounds and other Big Government fascists trying to impose their religious beliefs on women's health with "creepy laws."

Although anti-Choice freak Chris Smith (R-NJ) saw his No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, which went on about "legitimate rape," die in committee in 2010, it was co-sponsored by 186 right-wing crackpots including Akin and Ryan, of course, but also Boehner, Cantor, Steve King, Dan Lungren, Patrick McHenry, Buck McKeon, Joe Pitts, Denny Rehberg, Mike Rogers, Jeff Flake, Ed Royce and two dozen fanatical anti-Choice "Democrats" (Jason Altmire, Dan Boren, Bobby Bright, Chris Carney, Travis Childers, Jerry Costello, Mark Critz, Henry Cuellar, Kathleen Dahlkemper, Lincoln Davis, Joe Donnelly, Steve Driehaus, Brad Ellsworth, Paul Kanjorski, Dan Lipinski, Jim Marshall, Mike McIntyre, Charlie Melancon, Solomon Ortiz, Collin Peterson, Nick Rahall, Mike Ross, Gene Taylor, and Charles Wilson-- all of whom were either defeated for reelection or forced to retire with the exception of Critz, Cuellar, Donnelly, Lipinski, McIntyre, Peterson and Rahall).

It was re-introduced when the GOP took over the House and passed on May 4, 2011 251-175, although references to "legitimate rape" were excised from the bill. It subsequently died in the Senate. In the House every single Republican backed it-- including the ones with their own lady parts-- and 16 anti-Choice Democrats voted for it, including Joe Donnelly (Blue Dog-IN), who's running for Senate now and might have worked with his Republican allies to pass it had he been in the Senate then. Thanks DSCC for the wonderful candidate! Other Democrats who voted with the GOP in their war against women-- making it an officially "bipartisan" effort include Jim Matheson, Mark Critz and Mike McIntyre, all of whom are on DCCC life-support-- millions of dollars for their dying campaigns, dying because progressives don't want to hold their noses and vote for these reactionaries even one more time.

King Of Animal Cruelty

I don't have a dog, which makes me sad. I grew up with dogs, first Princess and then Autumn Haze. Now I travel too much to have one. But I love dogs and every morning I go for a hike and bring a pocketful of the best quality pure dried duck breast strips to give to Gabby, Murphy, Osa, Licorice, Louie and a few who's names I don't know but who live on my route. I usually stop and exchange some good vibes with them. My pals!

There are a lot of reasons to detest Rep. Steve King (R-IA) and there always have been. He's behind almost every rotten thing the GOP has been up to, especially the most mean-spirited stuff, like demanding women who are raped bear the child of the rapist and insisting that if someone can't read English they shouldn't be entitled to vote. Needless to say he's one of the most virulently antigay Members of Congress, absolutely fanatical about it. Most of his colleagues-- not including Michele Bachmann-- consider him a crackpot and an embarrassment. He's so horrible in fact, that we're actually asking people to contribute to Christie Vilsack, his opponent and a moderate Democrat and member of the New Dems-- the only one of that breed we're actually trying to help get elected. As I mentioned yesterday, King is the leader of the pro-cruelty to animals caucus. His record is astoundingly anti-animal, more so than anyone else in Congress. And his latest stunt is to try to legalize dog fighting.

Tuesday is primary day in Washington state and I got an e-mail from the Humane Society urging me to support Darcy Burner. Darcy is a dear friend and someone who has been endorsed by Blue America for many reasons. The Humane Society just gave us another one. Executive Director Sara Amundson: "We are grateful for Darcy’s support of humane issues and for her work to create a more humane society." Steve King was graded a ZERO by the Humane Society. Here's the Washington's House delegation's scores. Opposing cruelty to animals is bipartisan. As you can see, Republican Dave Reichert has a 100% rating, just like 3 of the Democrats, Norman Dicks, Jay Inslee and Jim McDermott. The only Democrat with a really bad and failing rating is New Dem corporate hack Rick Larsen (38%), who is campaigning for Darcy's New Dem opponent, shady multimillionaire Suzan DelBene, who was pointedly not endorsed by the Humane Society.


Here are the 2011 ratings by the Humane Society for the incumbents that the Blue America challengers are running against. If you want to help protect dogs and cats from cruelty, you might want to replace these heartless lugs with candidates who feel the same way you do about it. I asked Rob Zerban, the guy taking on Paul Ryan, what he thinks about Ryan's atrocious record on animalsafety. "My wife and I joke that we treat our two dogs like they're our children. They mean the world to us, and for Congressman Ryan to have such an abysmal record in protecting animals like them is simply unconscionable. Ryan has only a 13% score when it comes to stopping animal cruelty. This F rating is disturbing, and I believe treating animals with compassion is one of many issues that reflects upon someone's character. We can see Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney display selfish tendencies and his lack of compassion explains his cuts to the budget when it comes to the seniors, students, women, and middle class families in his district." These are Rob's 2 pooches, Barley and Hops:


Buck McKeon (CA-0%)- Lee Rogers
Ed Royce (CA-13%)- Jay Chen
Mike Coffman (CO-38%)- Joe Miklosi
Sandy Adams (FL-13%) and John Mica (FL-25%)- Nick Ruiz
Justin Amash (MI-13%)- Trevor Thomas
Charlie Bass (NH-63%)- Ann Kuster
Frank Guinta (NH-13%)- Carol Shea-Porter
Tom Reed (NY-0%)- Nate Shinagawa
Patrick McHenry (NC-25%)- Patsy Keever
Joe Pitts (PA-13%)- Aryanna Strader
Eric Cantor (VA-13%)- Wayne Powell
David McKinely (WV-13%)- Sue Thorn
Paul Ryan (WI-13%)- Rob Zerban

I'll leave you with a one-liner from Lizz Winstead from Hardball on Steve King: "Steve King must look at those SPCA 'dogs-in-crates' ads as porn for him." And here he is (the ugly one on the left):

Your Nightly Boehner

We're getting close to having the money we need to put the BeatBoehner ad up on TV in western Ohio for another week. Please consider contributing to our effort by donating to the Blue America PAC. All the money you give the PAC on this page goes directly into airtime. Meanwhile, Big Ed has played the ad every day this week. He knows the White House has been coming around-- unlike the DCCC-- in taking on Boehner, not in some abstract manner, but in regard to Boehner's own constituents. Watch Ed with Lizz Winstead doing the job the DCCC and DNC ought to be doing (instead of wasting their time coddling treacherous Blue Dogs who consistently vote with Boehner against the interests of working families). And as a bonus... remember that dipshit VP Bush I had? Well his son is an even more pathetic 'tard-- and, of course, he's running for Congress... in Arizona.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Yesterday Justin Coussoule was at the Huber Heights Democratic Club taking it right to Boehner with the voters of the 8th. Here's what he had to say:

I just want to say a few things about the race. The big thing about this race is viability. I’d like to bust a few myths the first myth is that this is a Republican District. It’s not a Democratic District either, but it is an overwhelmingly Independent District-- 220,000 Independents; 104,000 Dems; 99,000 Republicans.

The second myth is that John Boehner is overwhelmingly beloved … If you look at the Republican primary in May, Boehner had two challengers for the first time ever. And one out of six Republican primary voter cast their vote for someone other than their 20 year incumbent, Minority Leader, John Boehner-- 16% of Republicans in the primary, voted against him. So, he doesn’t even have his “base” shored up. Even they are losing faith.

The last myth is that Democrats cannot compete in this district. But Democratic candidate for governor, Ted Strickland, in 2006, got 44% in the 8th District. And in 2008, Rich Cordray got 44%. These well funded professional campaigns did 5% better than they shot for. Just imagine what a well funded, professional campaign that shoots for 51% might actually do.

The other thing people say, “Well, Justin, doesn’t Boehner win two-thirds of the votes, cycle after election cycle?” And yes, that’s true, but he has not faced a real challenger in ten terms. People haven’t had a choice. And the good news is, there is a base. In every cycle, 33% or 34% of people in the 8th District vote against John Boehner. We could run a mop and a bucket with a “D” on it and probably get 33%. So there is a base to go up from. We are not starting from zero in this race, like a lot of people think.

Like most people, I value my vote. If I go into the booth, and it is the first time I see a name of a Democratic candidate person I’ve never heard of before, I might just vote for the devil I know, John Boehner, rather than a person I’ve never heard of. So the challenge in this race, and what we’ve not done in 20 years, is to get the Democratic name out, the challenger, and give voters one or two takeaways so they are comfortable with voting for an alternative. They are comfortable because they feel, “OK, this person is qualified, I’ve heard of this person.” …

But, here’s a thought: If you think it is tough running against John Boehner, try being represented by him. (Applause) … As much as it is about policy and politics in this race, it is also about public service. We don’t have a public servant, right now, representing the 8th District. We have a professional golfer and a coin operated one at that. … I don’t think there is a single issue that working middle class people think about and care about that John Boehner is aligned with. His priorities lie with the corporate CEO’s and the super rich-- who is out on the golf course with, raising money. And, of course, that money is not used for his own race, instead, he gives it to other Republican candidates. That is why he is the Minority Leader. Boehner bought his position, and he will buy the Speaker’s Chair, if the Republicans win the majority and if he wins reelection.

People say, “Justin, why did you get into this race. You are not a politician, why do you want to take this fight on?” I believe we get the government we deserve and my wife and our children, and my neighbors and their children, and people across 8th District, deserve a lot better than John Boehner. This race is about what we learned in fifth grade civics class-- that a government of the people, by the people and for the people doesn’t just happen. We have to fight for it, we have to earn it.

I’m in this race, because I believe what I learned at West Point. Leaders of character choose the harder right over the easier wrong. You do the right thing, even when no-one is watching. And public service is synonymous with selfless service.

I’m in this race, because we get the government we deserve, and we deserve better.

People ask: “How can we help?” You can spread the word, you can tell five friends or family members. You can join our facebook, twitter. You can wear my T-shirt or put a bumper sticker on your car, a sign in your yard, and encourage other people to do the same. Do underestimate the power of “word of mouth” in the District. You can donate your time. We need people to make phone calls and to knock on doors. … We need to get the word out … They say you need to hear a word or name seven times before you remember it. …

Many people need one takeaway: Justin Coussoule, he is a West Point guy, a veteran, I like him. Justin Coussoule, he is the guy from the blue collar family, his dad was a roofer, he talks about the need to make things again in this country, to refocus on jobs and the economy, I like him. Or, Justin Coussoule, he has a pretty wife. Whatever it is-- people seeing or hearing the name seven times, and one takeaway. It’s as complicated and as simple as that.

One of the many lessons of leadership from West Point is that good leaders march to the sound of the gun. They arrive on the battlefield and they don’t delay, they head to the decisive point and they fight to win. They march to the sound of the gun. The guns have been raging in the 8th District for 20 years now. It is time for all of us to answer their call.

Thanks so much everybody.