Women and Politics

By WCF Fellow: Trish

Support for Sen. Franken’s amendment to the Defense Appropriation bill which would withhold government defense contracts from companies denying due process to sexual assault victims seemed like a no-brainer. As John Stewart asked on his show:

“I understand we’re a divided country, some disagreements on health care. How is ANYONE against this?”

Great question, John. But it’s not just anyone opposing the bill, it’s a powerful bunch (of men) who’s cumulative leverage is so heavy, it might just take down the Franken amendment.

• Nearly one-third of the senate first opposed the amendment with thirty senators (all white, all republican, all male) voting to deny sexual assault victims their day in court.
• Though the thirty received widespread of criticism, the Department of Defense immediately had their back.
• Now, according to the Huffington Post, Appropriations committee chairman, and the second-most-senior Democrat in the senate, Sen. Dan Inouye is reportedly going to strip the amendment of its power, or eradicate the amendment all together. The Huffington Post reports:

“The defense contractors have been storming his office,” said a source with knowledge of the situation. “Inouye either will get the amendment taken out altogether, or water it down significantly. If they water it down, they will take out the Title VII claims. This means that in discrimination cases, they will still force you into a secret forced arbitration on KBR’s (or other contractors’) own terms — with your chances of prevailing practically zero.”

It’s pretty offensive that the Senate had to take the time to point out that denying sexual assault victims due process is wrong. It’s an outright insult that anyone opposed the amendment to right that wrong. But it is a special sort of horror that bipartisanship,a rare bird, has come home to roost on the twisted idea that denying sexual assault victims due process is just fine.

Let’s take a moment now to point out the glaringly obvious fact that those wielding this deranged power are men

• The number of Senators (all men) who voted against Franken’s amendment outnumber the TOTAL number of women in the Senate by nearly two to one.
• There are some 257,946 women in civilian positions with the Department of Defense, including gang-rape victim Jamie Leigh Jones.
• Women ARE the constituent majority.

Do you think this issue would be anywhere near divisive if there were more women in the Senate?

If male congressional leadership on both sides of the aisle can’t preserve, defend, never mind advance justice for women, then let’s work to change that leadership.  Ask a woman you know to run, today.