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House GOP’s New Anti-Abortion Strategy: Let’s Try NOT Talking About Rape

by FilomenaBrother Posted on January 28, 2014

Mother Jones

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Three years ago, House Republicans pushed a bill to permanently eliminate taxpayer funding for abortions. The proposed legislation included an exception for women who had been raped—but only if it the rape was “forcible.” That language—and later, off-color comments about abortion and rape by two GOP Senate candidates, Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock—kicked off a national backlash against the Republican party. So this year, the House GOP is trying a new strategy: introducing almost the exact same bill to limit abortion rights, while hoping that cutting out controversial rape provisions will limit the political blowback.

To that end, the GOP-run House of Representatives will vote late Tuesday afternoon on the 2014 version of the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, a bill that would permanently ensconce the Hyde Amendment—a temporary measure that has been around since the 1970s and bans federal funding for abortions—in federal law. The bill doesn’t just ban federal funding for abortions, though—it also promises to limit Americans’ ability to buy private-sector health insurance that covers abortion.

Like previous versions of the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act that passed the House in 2011 and 2012, this year’s measure has no chance of becoming law so long as Democrats hold the Senate and President Barack Obama occupies the White House. The bills, introduced by Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), are designed to signal the Republican party’s priorities to its most hardcore supporters—and more broadly, to provide a taste of what the GOP would have to offer if it gained control of the Senate and the White House. (House Republican leaders have given this year’s version of the bill the number H.R. 7; the low number is a symbolic nod to its high priority.)

Previous versions of Smith’s bill have cost the party politically. The 2011 version launched the “forcible rape” furor. And this year’s bill, which Smith introduced last May, appeared again to raise questions about what counts as rape. An earlier version of the proposal would have required the IRS to verify that a woman claiming a medical expense deduction for abortion on her tax return was not committing fraud. Women may only claim these deductions if their abortions were the result of rape, incest, or life-threatening medical situations—leading anti-abortion activists to assail the bill’s sponsors for mandating IRS “rape audits.”

The bill the House will vote on Tuesday drops the “rape audits” provision. But Sharon Levin, the director of federal reproductive health policy for the National Women’s Law Center, says this is more of a face-saving measure than an improvement.

“They took out the provision that the public had been focused on to make this more palatable, politically,” she says. “The core of what this bill is about has not changed—making it as difficult as possible for women to get access to abortion.”

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House GOP’s New Anti-Abortion Strategy: Let’s Try NOT Talking About Rape

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Rand Paul: There’s No GOP War on Women, But Remember the Lewinsky Scandal?

by Shelby Morris Posted on January 27, 2014

Mother Jones

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In 2011, after Republicans in Congress introduced a bill that would ban taxpayer funding for abortions except in cases of “forcible rape,” Democrats adopted a new line of attack: the GOP was waging a “war on women.” Instead of changing their policies, Republicans changed the subject, arguing that the sexual behavior of individual Democratic politicians—such as Anthony Weiner—proves the GOP “war on women” is a fiction.

On Sunday, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) became the latest GOPer to adopt this strategy, arguing on Meet the Press that former President Bill Clinton’s affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky means Democrats are in no place to cry foul about the Republican party platform.

Paul made the comments after host David Gregory highlighted a moment in a September Vogue profile of Paul in which Kelley Paul, the senator’s wife, said, “Bill Clinton’s relationship with Monica Lewinsky should complicate his return to the White House, even as first spouse. I would say his behavior was predatory, offensive to women.”

Gregory asked Paul if Bill Clinton’s sexual behavior in the White House would be fair game in a 2016 race involving Hillary Clinton. Here’s Paul’s response:

I mean, the Democrats, one of their big issues is they have concocted and said Republicans are committing a war on women. One of the workplace laws and rules that I think are good is that bosses shouldn’t prey on young interns in their office.

And I think really the media seems to have given President Clinton a pass on this. He took advantage of a girl that was 20 years old and an intern in his office. There is no excuse for that, and that is predatory behavior, and it should be something we shouldn’t want to associate with people who would take advantage of a young girl in his office.

This isn’t having an affair. I mean, this isn’t me saying, “Oh, he’s had an affair, we shouldn’t talk to him.” Someone who takes advantage of a young girl in their office? I mean, really. And then they have the gall to stand up and say, “Republicans are having a war on women”?

When Democrats say there’s a “war on women,” they are not criticizing the personal conduct of GOP lawmakers. They’re talking about Republican policymakers’ sustained attacks on women’s reproductive rights. It’s hard to see what Bill Clinton’s sexual conduct tells us about today’s battles over reproductive rights policy—especially when he hasn’t held elected office for nearly fourteen years.

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Rand Paul: There’s No GOP War on Women, But Remember the Lewinsky Scandal?

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Dems plan to talk about climate action during August, Republican deniers plan to talk nonsense

by bfys19 Posted on July 29, 2013

Dems plan to talk about climate action during August, Republican deniers plan to talk nonsense

By John Upton

Shutterstock

Democrats are betting that Americans are smart enough to understand climate change.

Democrats are planning to talk, talk, and talk some more about climate change while Congress is recessed for the month of August.

The planned chorus of warnings about the dangers of global warming is intended to generate support for President Obama’s climate plan, including proposed regulations on coal-burning power plants. The Democrats also plan to mock their Republican counterparts for saying really stupid stuff about the climate. From Politico:

The full-court press shows that liberals have learned from past August congressional recesses, when Republicans, aided by the tea party, out organized Democrats and managed to demonize cap and trade and blame them for high gas prices. …

The strategy is two-fold. First, liberals hope to better articulate the threats posed by climate change to the average citizen, including sea level rise, drought and wildfires. Second, they plan to call out Republicans in Congress who are skeptical about climate change science. …

Organizing for Action, the successor to Obama’s campaign arm, is planning a “national action” day Aug. 13, which will focus on climate change.

Ivan Frishberg, climate change campaign manager at OFA, said the group is organizing events in the states and districts of the 135 lawmakers it has labeled “climate deniers” as part of the action day. The events are aimed at “holding them accountable” for questioning climate science, he said.

The official Republican plan is to avoid the topic of climate change, but some GOP members of Congress just can’t seem to stop saying dumb things on the topic. From a followup article in Politico:

Republican strategists have laid out an aggressive game plan for seizing the high ground on energy during the August recess: talk about gas prices and jobs, jobs, jobs.

But some Republicans are straying from the script, spouting off instead about the Book of Genesis, claims about scientific conspiracies and arguments that the Earth is cooling. And they show no signs of stifling their skepticism — even at the risk of providing a stream of YouTube-worthy sound bites that play into Democrats’ own strategy, which includes painting the GOP as the anti-science party. …

On the other hand, scoffing at climate science is popular enough with the party base that many congressional Republicans hesitate to openly challenge the skeptics. One longtime Republican operative explained that even GOP lawmakers’ most extreme statements about climate change “play well” among conservatives.

Still, some Republicans are sounding the alarm.

“It’s dawning on us that we’re going to lose people who are focused on the future — that would be young people — if we continue in this disputing of the science,” said former Rep. Bob Inglis (R-S.C.), who wants his party to support a carbon tax as a more free-market alternative to Obama’s proposed regulations. “We’re going to lose credibility. We’re going to lose the sense that we have anything to offer.”

Sing it, Democrats.

John Upton is a science fan and green news boffin who tweets, posts articles to Facebook, and blogs about ecology. He welcomes reader questions, tips, and incoherent rants: johnupton@gmail.com.

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Dems plan to talk about climate action during August, Republican deniers plan to talk nonsense

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The EPA gets a new boss — finally

by Abraham Lowe Posted on July 19, 2013

The EPA gets a new boss — finally

By Lisa Hymas

Reuters/Jason RobertsGina McCarthy got a thumbs-up from the Senate. It just took four and a half months.

It’s been 136 days since President Obama nominated Gina McCarthy to head the U.S. EPA. It’s been even longer, a record-breaking 154 days, since the agency had a permanent administrator.

Now, finally, she and the agency are out of limbo: The Senate confirmed McCarthy by a vote of 59-40 on Thursday.

Senate Republicans had thrown a tantrum over her nomination and blocked it in various ways — not because she’s unqualified (she’s highly qualified, and she’s even worked for Republicans like Mitt Romney) but because they just really don’t like the EPA.

Ultimately, though, as part of a broader deal on confirmation of Obama’s nominees, Republicans let her go through.

Now the really hard part begins: Trying to implement Obama’s climate plan, most notably controversial regulations on carbon emissions from new and existing power plants, plus everything else on the EPA’s plate, all with a shrinking budget and in the face of GOP resistance.

Good luck, Gina!

Lisa Hymas is senior editor at Grist. You can follow her on Twitter and Google+.

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The EPA gets a new boss — finally

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Republican calls for climate action — and has to remain anonymous to keep job

by Veta68O Posted on July 11, 2013

Republican calls for climate action — and has to remain anonymous to keep job

By Lisa Hymas

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A Republican staffer at the U.S. House has written a fervent call for conservative action on climate change, winning second place in a young conservative writing contest sponsored by the Energy and Enterprise Initiative. But he won’t be collecting his prize in person. He’s afraid to reveal his name or face.

The piece was published yesterday on the Real Clear Science website under the pseudonym of Eric Bradenson. The author explains that he is “writing under a pen name to protect his boss and himself.” Here’s how his piece kicks off:

Someone in the GOP needs to say it: conservation is conservative; climate change is real; and conservatives need to lead on solutions because we have better answers than the other side.

… conservatives have long fought to protect the natural rights and property rights of individuals, living and unborn, from infringement by environmental degradation and pollution.

So why are so many Republicans in Congress taking a weed eater to what would naturally grow from the rich soil of conservatism?

“Bradenson” goes on to propose one climate solution: “a phase-out of subsidies for all sources of energy coupled with a revenue-neutral carbon tax swap.”

He’s probably wise to keep his identity hidden. Bob Inglis, a former Republican U.S. rep for South Carolina, called for a carbon tax and promptly got booted out of office. Now he runs the aforementioned Energy and Enterprise Initiative.

“Bradenson” notes that it’s “conservatives outside of Congress — the ones ‘with nothing to lose’ like Bob Inglis, George Shultz, Art Laffer and Kevin Hassett — [who] are paving the way for Republicans to take the small government, pro-growth conservative stand on climate change.”

We’ve also been hearing anecdotes about young conservatives who want the Republican Party to get real and address climate change. A long article in National Journal two months ago spotlighted some of them, and an article in ClimateWire this week does the same.

But if calling for a carbon tax — or even just calling for discussion of the possibility that 97 percent of climate scientists are on to something — is enough to get you ousted from the GOP establishment, you know the party has a long way to go.

Lisa Hymas is senior editor at Grist. You can follow her on Twitter and Google+.

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What’s up with Gina McCarthy’s nomination to head the EPA?

by muistenam Posted on July 2, 2013

What’s up with Gina McCarthy’s nomination to head the EPA?

By Claire Thompson

Reuters/Jason Roberts

Many of Obama’s nominees have not been popular with Republicans in the Senate, but Gina McCarthy has faced a particularly tough fight. GOP senators boycotted a committee vote on her nomination two months ago, mostly because of their knee-jerk hatred of all things related to the EPA (or, as some prefer to call it, the job-killing organization of America).

McCarthy has a reputation as a tough and experienced policymaker committed to fighting climate change, whose work as Massachusetts’ top environmental advisor contributed to the Supreme Court’s landmark 2007 ruling giving EPA the authority to regulate greenhouse gases. She’s worked for Republicans as well as Democrats and collaborated constructively with industry, but that background hasn’t calmed GOP worries about what the EPA might do on climate change.

Over recent months, McCarthy repeatedly assured senators that the EPA was not working on carbon regulations for existing power plants. But then last week, Obama announced in his big climate speech that he planned to order EPA to develop just such regulations. Politico reported last week that this could further endanger McCarthy’s nomination because GOP lawmakers might accuse her of misleading them or argue that she was out of touch and incompetent (although the only people Politico quoted to support that theory were an oil-industry lobbyist and a GOP energy strategist).

But now, a week later, Politico reports that, on the contrary, a McCarthy confirmation is looking increasingly likely. Enough Republicans are philosophically opposed to filibustering presidential nominees that Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee, says she isn’t concerned about having to lock up 60 filibuster-proof votes in McCarthy’s favor.

Some Republican senators, like Kelly Ayotte (N.H.), find McCarthy qualified and seem likely to support her. So do some fossil-fuel-friendly Democrats, reports Politico:

“My constituents are generally very upset with the EPA and [its] overreach and [its] overregulation,” Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) said.

“Having said that, I have honestly gotten nothing but positive comments back from the industry groups in Louisiana on Gina McCarthy herself. I mean, while the industry groups are very negative towards the EPA generally, they are very positive towards Gina McCarthy as a person … that could potentially find compromises on some of these things.”

Democratic Senate leaders plan to put McCarthy up for a vote sometime this month. As of Monday, EPA has been without a permanent administrator for 137 days, the longest period of time in its history. It’s been 119 days since McCarthy’s nomination, also a record delay.

Claire Thompson is an editorial assistant at Grist.

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What’s up with Gina McCarthy’s nomination to head the EPA?

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The GOP’s Modernity Gap

by Myrna Posted on June 9, 2013

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Republicans problem with young voters isn’t about stray stupid comments, writes Lloyd Green, but its retrograde approach to technology, culture and modernity.

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The GOP’s Modernity Gap

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GOP to Obama on Keystone: Don’t think about climate

by vserko45 Posted on May 27, 2013

GOP to Obama on Keystone: Don’t think about climate

By John Upton

tarsandsaction

The GOP asked Obama to please not listen to these people, arguing that climate change and Keystone XL are separate issues.

Many Americans are worried that if the Keystone XL pipeline is built, even more sludgy bits of what used to be Canada will end up going up in smoke and heating up the planet.

Now Republican lawmakers are asking the president in a letter to please not let himself be one of those people — because the pipeline and the climate are “wholly unreated.”

Environmentalists have been calling on Obama to reject the pipeline because the pollution produced when Canadian tar sands oil is burned after it’s refined along the Gulf Coast will hasten global warming. With Democratic support for the pipeline waning, Beltway chatter has suggested Obama might hedge his bets by approving the pipeline and simultaneously introducing new climate change regulations, as  The Hill reports.

In response, Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.) and 22 of their colleagues penned a letter urging Obama to not consider climate change when he makes his decision on Keystone.

“We are concerned by recent proposals that you pair approval of the Keystone XL pipeline with enactment of new environmental regulations and energy taxes,” the lawmakers wrote. “You should approve the Keystone XL pipeline project on its merits alone without suddenly moving the goal posts after more than four years of review by tethering its fate to wholly unrelated and economically disastrous new regulatory policies. The American people can afford no less.”

John Upton is a science fan and green news boffin who

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GOP throws tantrum over Obama’s EPA nominee

by SuzanneBl Posted on May 9, 2013

GOP throws tantrum over Obama’s EPA nominee

By Lisa Hymas

Reuters/Jason RobertsGina McCarthy — she’s just too EPA-ish.

Republicans on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee refused to show up for work Thursday morning, basically because they really don’t like the EPA.

The committee was scheduled to vote on the nomination of Gina McCarthy, President Obama’s pick to head the EPA. The vote had already been delayed three weeks to accommodate grumbling Republicans, according to committee chair Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.). Then, this morning, right before the scheduled committee hearing, the eight GOP members sent a letter saying they were going to boycott.

From Politico:

“This has nothing to do with Gina McCarthy,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who charged that the boycott has more to do with a desire to obstruct EPA’s role in climate change regulations. …

Committee ranking member David Vitter (R-La.) announced the boycott by all eight GOP members around 8:30 a.m., saying they would deny the panel a quorum because McCarthy and the EPA haven’t provided answers to the questions they’d posed.

Democrats have noted that the questions totaled more than 1,000 — what they call a record. Republicans also had five “requests” for EPA on issues such as how the agency handles outside groups’ threats of litigation — though Democrats said the GOP senators were actually asking the agency to offer major concessions in how it conducts public business. …

“As you know, all Republicans on our EPW committee have asked EPA to honor five very reasonable and basic requests in conjunction with the nomination of Gina McCarthy which focus on openness and transparency,” the GOP members wrote. “While you have allowed EPA adequate time to fully respond before any markup on the nomination, EPA has stonewalled on four of the five categories.”

John Walke sums up the Republicans’ logic at NRDC’s Switchboard blog:

[A] group of eight conservative Senators has staked their opposition to McCarthy on a mixed procedural-political syllogism that could fit on a bumper sticker: “Transparency good; EPA not transparent; therefore McCarthy bad.” …

The Republican Senators’ demands are less about transparency than wrapping anti-health grievances and obstructionist tactics in the pleasing garb of transparency concerns.

Walke then painstakingly explains why the GOP’s demands are ridiculous.

This little episode doesn’t bode well for McCarthy’s nomination — or the health of the Senate. From Politico again:

[The GOP boycott] prompted new calls by some liberals for changing the Senate’s filibuster rules — a tacit admission that McCarthy will have trouble getting 60 votes when her nomination finally heads to the floor.

“You know why some of us are going to be in favor of reforming the rules of the Senate? It’s because of abuses like this,” Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) said.

Boxer added, “This is outrageous. Get out of the fringe lane.”

Lisa Hymas is senior editor at Grist. You can follow her on

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GOP throws tantrum over Obama’s EPA nominee

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The GOP’s three-step plan for being loved

by ansonsten Posted on February 15, 2013

The GOP’s three-step plan for being loved

By Philip Bump

Congressional Republicans, like middle-school English teachers, are mad that people don’t think they’re cool. In quiet moments in institutional restrooms, they look into mirrors for a bit longer than normal, hands under the faucet, leaning in. “What is it?” they wonder, eyes scanning their faces. That’s when someone else walks in. “Hey.” “Oh, hey,” the Republicans reply, eyes dropping, hands washing each other vigorously.

Like many of those unsteady educators, the GOP has decided to do something about its popularity problem. Middle-school teachers buy sports cars and new jeans. Republicans try to develop new messaging. Politico outlines the GOP’s three new rules. Let us assess them.

Rule one: Stop talking like the world is going to end. Budgetary politics is important to the GOP, but voters are going to stop voting for a party that talks about gloom and doom around the clock.

“I think that we need to make being fiscally conservative cool,” said Rep. Candice Miller (R-Mich.), chairwoman of the Administration Committee and a close ally of Majority Leader Eric Cantor.

Yes. Stop talking like the world is going to end! You know how the Republicans are always like, “Oh, man, this climate change thing could really be apocalyptic and we’re not doing anything about it,” etc., etc. Stop doing that, Republicans!

And Rep. Miller has a great idea. A great idea. Make fiscal conservatism cool! Why didn’t you guys think of that before? I mean, I know that in 2005, someone presented Cheney with “Operation: Shades” which would have put that plan into motion and he didn’t jump on it, but why didn’t you do it once he and the other guy got out of office? Honestly, if you started now, you could have fiscal conservatism lookin’ cool by April. It’s like Hawaiian shirt day at Initech. Mix it up, and you’ll get the kids’ respect.

elsie

The new-look GOP

Rule two: Stop repealing regulations no one has heard of. It’s nice to be the party of cutting red tape, Republicans say, but no one has heard of boiler MACT or utility MACT. So spending time throwing these bills on the floor is absolutely useless. Package regulation cutting together, and explain that people’s energy will be cheaper, Republicans say.

“Does anyone have any idea how this fits their family? No. No one has any idea what that is,” said Rep. James Lankford (R-Okla.), a member of leadership who is leading the agenda-crafting effort. “Just an individual bill that deals with one regulation that people can’t connect to? No more of that.”

No one knows what that is. How are people supposed to hate “boiler MACT” if they don’t know what it is, guys? You’re not going to look “cool” eradicating some Johnny Lame-o like “utility MACT.” The key is to lie about about what you want to do! Make it sound horrible and then people will be super-grateful you stabbed it to death in subcommittee.

Like boiler MACT. So this is a totally stupid proposal from the EPA to establish new limits on pollution from industrial boilers. It is hella dumb because it would only prevent 8,100 deaths a year while making super-cool big factories have to upgrade their steam-production systems.

Let’s compare these two statements. Which one is “cool”? Which one is “square”?

We are pushing to stop the EPA’s boiler MACT rule because our allies in big business don’t want to incur one-time costs simply for the greater health of the public; rather, they’d prefer to continue to externalize the costs of that pollution into children’s lungs.
Yo, the big government has this new law that will make all your stuff way more expensive and does no one any good except China. That is wack; visit GOP.com/stoptheantibusinessagenda for the D/L. (That means “details.”)

The second one is the “cool” one. That, people can “connect to.”

Rule three: Sand down the party’s rough edges. Pass education bills and immigration legislation. Stop screaming about red ink and spending too much. This one is going to be tough, since House Republicans haven’t been able to pass a bill called the Violence Against Woman Act for more than a year.

By “sand down the party’s rough edges,” Politico really means “stop being racist and sexist.” Racism and sexism are not cool.

These are all super-good ideas, even if they’re just the summaries Politico wrote based on what it heard about the GOP gathering. Imagine how great the things Republicans actually said must have been!

I would like to offer a note of caution, though, which may dampen optimism about this plan just a little bit.

Even a middle-school teacher dressed in the coolest clothes, listening to the hottest music, playing the latest video games is not going to be seen as very cool and will not be very popular if he spends his entire class period screaming at his students, trying to show each of them how stupid they are, marginalizing nearly half of them, and suggesting that a few be sent to detention indefinitely.

Oh, sorry. Fixing those sorts of things fell under “sand down the rough edges.” You’re all covered then.

Philip Bump writes about the news for Gristmill. He also uses Twitter a whole lot.

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