In a climate that has become exponentially more explosive for the Democratic party around women’s reproductive freedom in the last couple of days, Jennifer Brunner has issued a statement supporting those of us who are fed up with being told that women can always be put last, that our rights can be horse-traded away “for the greater good.”
“COLUMBUS – Ohio Secretary of State and U.S. Senate candidate Jennifer Brunner today called the House passage of a last-minute anti-choice amendment to health reform an insult to Ohio women and an assault on the right to privacy — and strongly urged the Senate to protect a woman’s right to choose. Brunner said that while passage of the health care reform bill is on balance a positive step, it is critically important that America not allow the anti-choice forces to achieve through Congressional statute what the courts have repeatedly refused – the elimination of a woman’s right to choose.”
Read the whole thing at http://jenniferbrunner.com/index.php/news/index_new/
Already, a lot of Ohio Democratic women are seething about being told to accept an anti-choice extremist for secretary of state and help out so we can win the apportionment board. It feels like the tinder is very dry.
It’s essential that we as Democratic women speak out for our rights and NOT be quiet, and Jennifer is doing that.
That leads me to something that has really turned me off her opponent. We know he is pro-choice, but he has failed to put his position on the issue up on his website. Needless to say, there’s nothing right now on his site about this issue that everyone’s talking about — or even the passage of the health-care bill — just a nice, safe statement commending veterans going into Veterans Day. That’s terrific, but that’s not an area where we need a fighter. I’m sure Rob Portman honors veterans too. Once again, Lee Fisher won’t stick his neck out or take any risk, and we’re fighting for our lives — we need risk-takers.
Lee Fisher has been promoting himself as the “women’s’ candidate since last winter, yet his campaign and supporters are trying to push the woman candidate out of the race, even while he won’t speak out on an issue that’s likely on most Democratic women’s minds today. I’m baffled as to how he thinks he would be able to mobilize and energize large numbers of women to campaign or vote for him – after having taken a dynamic and exciting woman candidate out of the race – while failing to speak up loudly on their behalf. Women are just fed up and the Stupak Amendment brought it in the open. This vote in Congress points to exactly why we need many more women there, because if we were closer to parity, maybe our voices would be listened to.