Binders full of women, empty of ideas

By Nathan Rothwell

Romney's gone viral (again). Just not in the way he wants.

Those in the market of turning soundbites into Internet memes were not disappointed by last night’s presidential debate.

President Obama and Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, squared off in a town-hall style debate on Tuesday where they fielded questions from the audience. Both were asked by a young woman how their respective administrations would tackle inequalities in the workplace – specifically, the fact that women on average make only 72% of what their male counterparts earn.

Both candidates gave wildly different answers. For his part, President Obama mentioned the very first bill he signed into law upon becoming President in 2009; the Lilly Ledbetter Act, which gives women full opportunity to sue their employers if they experience undue discrimination. As Obama explained, before the Act passed women who were being unfairly paid had only 180 days to discover the discrimination and file a lawsuit. Even if they had no way of discovering the discrimination until after this 180-day period, they were out of luck. The Act signed by Obama allowed for a new 180-day period to begin each time a woman received a paycheck that unfairly paid her lower wages based solely on her gender. 

While Obama directly answered the question of unequal pay by referencing the Lilly Ledbetter Act, Romney dodged it almost entirely when given a chance to respond. Instead, he revealed that he initially couldn’t find enough capable women to serve in his Cabinet upon becoming governor of Massachusetts in 2003, and in doing so coined the phrase “binders full of women”:

“…I said, ‘Well gosh, can’t we find some women that are also qualified? And so we took a concerted effort to go out and find women who had backgrounds that could be qualified to become members of our cabinet. I went to a number of women’s groups and said ‘Can you help us find folks?’ and they brought us whole binders full of women.”

As the New Yorker put it, Romney’s “binders full of women” phrase provoked instant fascination with debate-watchers nationwide. Facebook groups, Tumblrs, and Twitter accounts devoted to Romney’s inartful phrase captured the attention of thousands, and could very well spell doom for Romney in the polls. Yet as much fun as it is to poke fun at the imagery, Romney’s answer should sound alarms among voters for two important reasons.

Ann Coulter: "Civil Rights are (only) for Blacks"

By Nathan Rothwell

Conservative darling Ann Coulter, who I can’t believe is still allowed on TV, made remarks this morning that hopefully disqualify her from future public appearances.

(h/t to C&L's Videocafe for the video)

Appearing on This Week with George Stephanopoulos to promote her latest book in a 75,869-part series that blames liberalism for any and all of America’s woes, Coulter claimed that gay people, women, and immigrants have “commandeered” the “civil rights experience” in America. 

When Stephanopoulos pressed her on the matter, the following exchange actually, and almost unbelievably, took place:

STEPHANOPOULOS: Immigrant rights are not civil rights?

COULTER: Umm…  [pause] No. I think civil rights are for blacks.

Coulter’s remarks were part of a discussion of the Republican and Democratic parties’ attempts to earn the Hispanic vote. President Obama leads Republican challenger Mitt Romney 70% to only 22% according to Latino polling group Latino Decisions, while a more recent poll conducted by Fox News Latino gives Obama a 60% lead to Romney’s 30%. No matter whom you believe, Romney is still doing worse than John McCain (31%) in 2008, and George W. Bush (44%) in 2004.

While Coulter is not an elected Republican official or official Romney campaign spokesperson, comments she made several weeks ago paint the picture that she’s trying very, very hard to influence his campaign with her own ideas. So while I have a hard time believing Mitt Romney wants any part of Coulter’s “civil rights are only for blacks” comment, I’m happy to hold her to the standard of Romney spokesperson, since she seems to fancy herself one.

There are two major problems with Team Romney’s Coulter’s statement. The first, obviously, is that civil rights aren’t just for African-Americans – they’re for everyone.

Misogynous notions about rape and pregnancy rampant among the right

Todd Akin is getting a real kicking from his own party over remarks he made in which he claimed that women rarely get pregnant from being raped. Not stopping there, he added, "From what I understand from doctors... if it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down." 

However, wouldn't it be strange if the same party that has pulled Akin's funding and called for him to step down from the Missouri Senate race he is trying to win, actually had some of the same crazy ideas about rape and pregnancy? On second thought, where did Todd Akin get the strange idea that a woman cannot get pregnant from rape? And where did he get the idea that there are shades of rape? It is not just your imagination. Misogynous ideas about rape and the apparent mystery of female conception are rampant in the right wing, even amongst elected officials. Rachel Maddow points out that the third bill that House Republicans introduced after taking over the chamber in 2010 would have essentially created a new category of rape, called "forcible rape," which is the term Mike Huckabee used when asking Akin what he meant by "legitimate rape." To which Akin replied, yes. Sure does seem awful similar to "legitimate rape."

Kudos to Rachel Maddow and her excellent research staff.

"Small Government" Kansas Republicans pass sweeping abortion bill

Looks like another victory for conservatives who cry for smaller government... except for when it serves their agenda of stripping women of their health rights.

Shit. Toto ... I think we're still in Kansas.

John Celock has more at HuffPo:

The passage sets the stage for Kansas to potentially enact one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the United States, coming a year after the state passed measures severely limiting the types of buildings that could house abortion clinics. The bill now heads to the state Senate for consideration. Gov. Sam Brownback (R) told HuffPost in February that he would sign the bill, which he said he had not read.

The bill contains provisions to prohibit tax deductions for abortion insurance coverage and abortion services; to provide for a sales tax on abortion; to establish a personhood stance for when life begins; to limit late-term abortions; to prohibit state employees from performing abortions during the workday; and to mandate that doctors tell women that abortion cause breast cancer along with other state-approved health issues.