WOW! Women Organizing Women Your Ohio Democratic Women’s Caucus (ODWC) Update
Happy Women’s History Month! Today is International Women’s Day. Please take a moment to reflect on where we’ve been, where we’re going, and what’s at stake if we don’t come together this year to stop the Republican War on Women.
Click here to read the White House Women’s History Month Proclamation, and then check out this graphic showingthe timeline of attacks on women’s rights and women’s health we’ve seen over the last year. We will stop them in their tracks! Together, we can make every day Women’s Day.
In This Issue Past Events Upcoming Events Talking Points: Rush Limbaugh On the Issues: Blunt Amendment On the Issues: More Attacks on Women Presidential & Senate Races Dessert
Past Events This past Friday, almost 1,000 Democrats from across Ohio came together for the annual Ohio Democratic Party Legacy Dinner. Guests heard from speakers such as Governor Ted Strickland, Cuyahoga County Executive Ed Fitzgerald, and of course our keynote speaker DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz. We came together to get fired up, and people noticed! Don’t miss these two stories highlighting the amazing energy of our Legacy Dinner: o How Ohio Democrats Got their Groove Back (Atlantic) o Ohio Dems Amp Up Against GOP on Manufacturing, Women (Real Clear Politics) The Saturday after Legacy Dinner, over 180 women gathered for our Women’s Brunch with special guests Ohio Supreme Court Justice Yvette McGee Brown and DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz to learn how we can fight back in the War on Women and why women are key to winning Ohio in 2012. Thanks to everyone who made this event a great success!
Upcoming Events Wednesday, March 14 – Join the Fairfield County Democratic Party and the Fairfield County Democratic Women’s Caucus for a Women’s Health Panel. Hear from experts on topics such as why women’s health is so political; what’s changed for women under the Affordable Care Act; how can we engage more young women in the fight to protect our rights and our health care options; and more! Held at Ohio University – Pickerington.RSVP here. Wednesday, March 21 –Women’s Emergency Lobby Day, “Storm the State House: Lobby for Women’s Lives.” Click here for more information and Facebook RSVP. Saturday, March 24 – It’s going to take every one of us doing more than we’ve ever done before to stop the Republican War on Women and elect Democrats up and down the ballot. Make sure your skills are honed and you know all the different ways you can get involved in campaigns this year! Join us for Women Volunteers in Action, a day of training to increase women’s grassroots leadership in the party. To sign up, click here. Campaigns are encouraged to have their field staff and/or volunteers attend. For more information on sending your staff, contact Lauren Harmon at [email protected].
Would you like to have your event listed here? Please contact Lauren Harmon at [email protected]
Talking Points: Rush Limbaugh’s Shameless Attacks on Women In case you missed it, last week just as we were about to send out the WOW, it broke that Rush Limbaugh had shamelessly called law student Sandra Fluke terrible names in front of millions of people—just for having the gall to testify before Congress that the health insurance at Georgetown Law School, a Jesuit university, ought to cover contraception. Here’s a timeline of events in the scandal so far.
Since then, the pressure has been growing for advertisers to stop supporting Limbaugh’s misogyny—including fromright here at the Ohio Democratic Party. So far 45 sponsors and counting have taken their advertising dollars elsewhere, including Youngstown-based PageOne Advertising.
This issue has been all over the news, so make sure you have the latest talking points to let your friends and neighbors know why this behavior is so disgusting, and is part of a larger pattern for the Republican Party:
Rush Limbaugh’s America is not the America where we want to raise our daughters.
Connect: We all want to live in a country where our mothers, sisters and daughters are valued and respected.
Define: In Rush Limbaugh’s America, it’s okay to call a young woman you disagree with a “slut” and “prostitute” in front of millions of people and demand she create a sex video for you to watch.
Discredit: Limbaugh didn’t just attack law student Sandra Fluke 46 times in three days and demand to watch her having sex—he incited his millions of listeners to join in.
Expose: Rush Limbaugh and the politicians too scared to denounce him—like Josh Mandel and Mitt Romney—want to put women in their place. That’s what this is all about.
Contrast: Americans are joining together to speak out because Rush Limbaugh’s America isn’t the America where we want to raise our daughters. His values are not what we want to instill in our children.
Call to Action: Let’s stand up for an America where every girl can grow up believing she can be anything—not an America that stands by when Limbaugh and his right-wing allies like Josh Mandel try to put her back in her place.
[Talking points courtesy of Message Matters listserv.]
On the Issues: Blunt Amendment Although Republicans in the Senate tried to ram through the so-called Blunt Amendment, which would allow any employer anywhere to deny coverage of any medical condition for any “moral” reason. This could mean employers refusing to cover cancer screenings because they’re too expensive!
Democrats in the Senate stopped this legislation. Here are some news clips on how Democrats held the line: A Bad Amendment Defeated (New York Times editorial) Women’s Caucus Chair Applauds Defeat of Blunt Amendment, Calls for an End to Extreme Attacks on Women’s Rights in Ohio (ProgressOhio Blog) EMILYs List President Stephanie Schriock: “Let’s Be Blunt, Roy” (Huffington Post)
Absentee Treasurer -SLASH- Senate Candidate Josh Mandel has been silent on the issue. Mitt Romney, on the other hand, probably wishes he had been. After Romney said on ONN that he doesn’t support the amendment, Romney’s campaign staff immediately issued a statement that the question had been confusing and he in fact doesfavor the legislation. Not willing to let that flip-flop fly, Ohio women leaders called Romney out on a call with Ohio and national media highlighting the candidate’s extreme positions and continued hypocrisy.
On the Issues: More Attacks on Women House marks International Women’s Day with hearing on “Arrest Grandma” Act (NARAL Blog for Choice) Bill to Defund Planned Parenthood Likely Unconstitutional (Plunderbund)
Presidential Race
Ohio Democratic Party Statement on Republican Primary In Ohio, Fierce Primary Fight May Hurt GOP’s Chances for the Fall (Washington Post PostPolitics) Romney-Santorum Scuffle on Contraception Aids Democrats (Fox News) DNC Video: What Romney will Take Away from Women
Senate Race Ohio Democratic Party Statement on the Results of Senate Primary DSCC Statement on Ohio Senate Race Remarks: Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern Denounces Josh Mandel for Opposition to Auto Rescue, Anti-Middle Class Agenda
News Clips House Democrats Raise $1.1 million in ‘War on Women’ Campaign (Huffington Post) The Economic Impact of the Pill (New York Times Economix)
Dessert Much as male lawmakers have been doing for women, Ohio’s own State Senator Nina Turner is championing a vitally overlooked MEN’S health care issue: Viagra.
“The men in our lives, including members of the General Assembly, generously devote time to fundamental female reproductive issues—the least we can do is return the favor,” Turner said in a release. “It is crucial that we take the appropriate steps to shelter vulnerable men from the potential side effects of these drugs.”
Sen. Turner has received a great deal of national attention for her tireless efforts on behalf of vulnerable men everywhere to make sure they understand the consequences of their actions. Here’s just a bit of the press: nd Senator Proposes Men Get 2 Opinion for Impotence Drugs (Dispatch) Viagra Would Need Sex Therapist’s Approval Under Ohio Bill (Bloomberg) Ohio Senate Bill Offers Male Lawmakers a Taste of their Own Medicine (Talking Points Memo)
Lauren Harmon Women's Caucus Director Ohio Democratic Party (614) 221-6563 (office) (614) 216-5197 (cell) @LaurenHarmon @OhioDemWomen Paid for by the Ohio Democratic Party Chris Redfern, Chairman 340 E. Fulton St. • Columbus, OH 43215