This Is Why Elections Matter.

This morning, the US Supreme Court decided to tinker with workers' right to unionize... And the very survival of the American labor movement... And women's rights at work... And employers' ability to dictate their workers' health care decisions.

Both decisions were allegedly narrow, but they have the potential to set very dangerous precedents. Oh, and both decisions were 5-4. Who could have guessed the Roberts Court is so extremely ideologically divided?

In Harris v. Quinn, the 5 conservative Justices ruled in favor of a handful of home health care workers who did not want to pay union dues to enjoy the benefits of union negotiations. In order to curb "free riders", non - union workers were required to pay some sort of reimbursement fees to the unions for negotiating higher pay and better benefits for them. But now, 5 Justices (guess who!) just punctured a hole in this arrangement.

Now, they claim there's a separate class of workers who are "public employees" but are not really "public employees". Confused yet? Try Andy Kroll's Mother Jones primer for Harris. Suffice to say, today's ruling doesn't completely eviscerate the American labor movement... But it does bruise workers and threatens more pain ahead.

And then, there's Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby. Once again, we have a 5-4 ruling. Once again, we have a troubling precedent that threatens workers' rights. And once again, we have theoretical "religious freedom" valued over real women's health.

In Hobby Lobby, 5 Justices (guess who!) ruled that "closely held corporations" (essentially family run enterprises) can claim "religious objections" when denying workers contraception and other forms of reproductive health care. Strangely enough, some progressives are breathing sighs of relief today because this rather jumbled ruling actually gave plenty of room for the federal government to step in and provide reproductive health care to affected workers. The ruling was also designed to be narrow enough to avoid threatening other health care benefits (like blood transfusions and vaccinations) and/or legalizing workplace discrimination.

Still, this sets a frightening precedent. What if the hardest of hard-line conservative Justices just had one or two more votes on the Supreme Court? The message from Justice Samuel Alito (who authored both majority opinions) seems to be that he's waiting for just this to go even further in the direction of undoing the entire past century of progress on workers' rights and women's rights.

Here's a helpful hint: This is why elections matter. Presidents appoint and Senators confirm Supreme Court Justices. And there's a good chance we'll see at least one more vacancy this decade. Imagine the difference one vote could have made today.

This is why elections matter.

Behind the Babble, Beyond the Batsh*t

He had it. He apparently had enough of the insane scandaliciousness and insanely naughty behavior as of late. So MSNBC's Thomas Roberts finally blurted out his frustration.



Since we're in the midst of summer and Congress is about to go to recess, the media have to talk about something (else). So of course, we're enduring another round of Scandal-mania. And this time, it's all about sex, sex, SEX!!!

As you all know, I do my best to keep away from salacious tabloid worthy stories... Except when they also involve more serious issues. This may finally be that occasion.

We've been enduring debates over who's responsible, who's to blame, who needs help, and who should "feel guilty" for such "bad behavior". And in some of these cases, truly egregious acts were committed. San Diego Mayor Bob Filner (D) apparently has a long history of sexually harrassing women, while Former Governor and current Rep. Mark Sanford (R) shirked his duties as Governor to pursue an affair in Argentina... And tried to lie about it.

And of course, there is the ongoing obsession over one very wild and incredibly stupid weiner. Yet while we're focusing on the banality that Carlos Danger embodies quite well, are we missing the more important aspect of these sex stories?

While we go on and on blathering over men who get off on women in sickening ways, we sometimes forget about the ongoing attacks on women's health care. Why is it OK to sexting, but not reproductive rights? Women can be sex objects, but they can't object to losing the right to make their own health care decisions?

And then, there's the matter of the women themselves. Are they victims? Are they villains? Are they human? Keep in mind the latter, especially as we rush to glamorize the scandalous men and castigate the women involved (until they're simply forgotten).

Frankly, we've seen a whole lot of batshit crazy on TV and online lately. But really, what's beyond the babble? What are we missing here?

Here's some food for thought. We have all these men engaged in all this inappropriate conduct. How have they been able to attain higher office? And why are some of them still running for office?

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Think about it.

The Real Tragedy

So Congress is preparing for August recess. That's why the House G-O-TEA all-stars are busy demanding even more economically harmful austerity and death to comprehensive immigration reform. But in case this isn't crazy enough for you, get a load of this.

"If someone else would like to do it instead of me, I'm more than happy to consider it. But I'd like to be the lead sponsor," the Florida Republican said. "I feel very strongly about this issue. And I'd like to be the lead sponsor on it if we can find language that we can unify people behind." [...]

There's no shortage of relevant angles here. For example, [Senator Marco] Rubio [R-Florida], a long-time culture warrior and proponent of social conservatism, desperately wants to make the right like him again after his work on comprehensive immigration reform. Because the right places a high priority of abortion restrictions like these, it's likely the senator sees this as a way to get back into their good graces as he moves closer towards a national campaign.

There's also the larger effect on the Republican Party's "rebranding" initiative. In recent years, as the GOP has become more extreme on issues like these, the party has exacerbated the existing gender gap thanks to the "war on women." Instead of learning the right lessons, the U.S. House approved a 20-week ban championed by Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) last month, and even though it has no realistic chance of success, and now Rubio hopes to follow suit in the U.S. Senate.

Oh, yes. That's right. The War on Women is back in full force! And it's happening because Marco Rubio fears his falling 2016 poll numbers and diminishing standing among the 21st Century Know Nothings.



This is what Rep. Dina Titus (D-Paradise) was decrying last month. And now, Marco Rubio wants the Senate to partake in the House's insani-TEA. Apparently for Senator Rubio and other DC G-O-TEA politicians, women aren't harrassed enough over their health care decisions.

[... In] the 40 years since, [Dr. John J.] Sciarra has been surprised to see the state of reproductive rights moving backward instead of forward. “We did not anticipate the backlash that has turned abortion into an ideological battleground,” the retired doctor writes in a op-edpublished in the Chicago Tribune on Friday. “So I have again joined 99 of my fellow professors of obstetrics and gynecology in another statement on the issue, published earlier this year, in the very same American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.”

In the new statement, Sciarra and 99 of his colleagues point out that even though abortion has been legalized and medical practice has evolved to accommodate a new range of reproductive care, the politicization of the issue still threatens to derail women’s reproductive rights. When Sciarra first advocated for abortion rights back in the 1970s, he and his fellow OB-GYNs imagined that the “increasingly liberal course of events” in the U.S. would create a rising demand for abortion care. They thought the biggest problem facing the country would be a shortage of doctors available to perform abortions. It turns out they were wrong — the biggest problem is actually the web of state-level abortion restrictions that come between women and their doctors.

“We have had 40 years of medical progress but have witnessed political regression that the 100 professors did not anticipate,” their official statement noted. “Forty years later, the change is not liberal. Its effects will threaten, not improve, women’s health and already obstruct physicians’ evidence-based and patient-centered practices.”

Already, state abortion restrictions are causing problems for women across the country. And now, Senator Rubio wants to back those up with anti-scientic, anti-productive, anti-Constitution, and anti-sane anti-choice federal legislation. Because of course, his political career matters more than real women's lives.

This is the real tragedy here. Women's lives are truly at stake here. And these G-O-TEA politicians don't seem to care about the consequences of their actions. Believe it or not, there are more important things than the political future of Marco Rubio, Dean Heller, and Joe Heck.

The "No Longer Silent" Majority

Late last week, we discussed the continuing struggle for women's reproductive rights despite 40 years of Roe v. Wade. Yet today, we've found some interesting news. Believe it or not, most Americans have had enough of "TEH CUL'CHUR WARZZZ!!!", the War on Women, and the protracted battles over women's health care.

As the 40 th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision takes place on Tuesday, a majority of Americans – for the first time – believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.

What’s more, seven in 10 respondents oppose Roe v. Wade being overturned, which is the highest percentage on this question since 1989.

“These are profound changes,” says Republican pollster Bill McInturff, who conducted this survey with Democratic pollster Peter D. Hart and his colleagues.

McInturff adds that the abortion-related events and rhetoric over the past year –which included controversial remarks on abortion and rape by two Republican Senate candidates, as well as a highly charged debate over contraception – helped shaped these changing poll numbers.

“The dialogue we have had in the last year has contributed … to inform and shift attitudes.”

According to the new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll, 54% of Americans now support safe, legal, and broad access to abortion services. And a whopping 70% oppose any overturn of the landmark Roe US Supreme Court decision that guaranteed nationwide legal abortion access 40 years ago today. So can anyone say "Culture War FAIL"?

Yet despite this, the radical right persists in its quest to end safe, legal access to abortion. So expect more "zygote personhood" bills, "fetal pain" bills,.extreme clinic restrictions, and attempts to defund Planned Parenthood. In short: They're not giving up.

However, progressives shouldn't give up, either. And especially now that the American people are firmly in favor of women'a health care and women's reproductive rights, it's time for progressives to call out this nonsense.

Here in Nevada, the zygote "personhood initiative" is no more. And the G-O-TEA attacks on women's health helped keep Nevada as a Blue State. So there's clearly a pro-choice, pro-women's health majority here in Nevada. And everyone should remember that.

And at the federal level, Republicans really should take a closer look at both this poll and the last round of election results. Do they really want to be known as the "clothes hanger party"? Do they want to continue to have the reputation of a party that's hellbent on taking away women's rights? Do they really want to be seen as caring more about extreme "tea party" ideology than sound health care policy?

In the 40 years since Roe, women have still been struggling to access the reproductive health care they need. But now, there's new opportunity to change that. As the radical right has overreached on the "culture wars", America is ready for change. And America's women are ready to secure their equal rights once and for all.

After 40 Years of Roe, War on Women Persists

Next week will be quite a momentous one for several reasons. However, we haven't heard too much about one of them. So let's change that.

Next Tuesday will be the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark US Supreme Court decision that required safe and legal access to abortion nationwide. It's amazing to think of how far women's rights have advanced in the past four decades. However, it's also irritating to think of how many setbacks women have also endured since then.

Think about it. Especially in recent years, women's reproductive rights have been under attack. And it's gone deeper than just some abortion procedures. Even contraception has been under attack! Remember this?



Remember this?



You should. And make sure to remember this.

And no, Nevada, we're not immune from this. In fact, none other than our own "Trust me, I'm a doctor!" Joe Heck uttered these words when asked about insurance coverage of contraception: "The fact is this has nothing to do with women’s health issues.”

Really? Seriously? How could Joe Heck say that? [...]

We have a whole lot of women here in Nevada who regularly use contraception. Why should they face so many obstacles in accessing it? And why doesn't Heck ever propose putting up the same kinds of obstacles on men accessing Viagra and Cialis?

Last year, Nevada's own Dean Heller and Joe Heck caught quite a lot of flak for fighting in the G-O-TEA War on Women. Yet even though the election ended, the assault on women's health has not.

In fact, one familiar warrior has returned for more.

Ryan co-sponsored a new fetal personhood bill, the “Sanctity of Human Life Act,” this time without his buddy Todd “legitimate rape” Akin, which includes a provision to allow rapists to sue their victims to prevent them from terminating any resulting pregnancy. [...]

And just to make sure the gender gap in favor of Democrats becomes permanent, the bill again includes the infuriating provision allowing rapists to sue their victims seeking to terminate any resulting pregnancy. As if having your bodily autonomy taken away as the result of an attack isn’t enough, Paul Ryan wants to make sure, victims still don’t have control over their own bodies after the rape.

So Paul Ryan is again declaring that his ideology is more important than women's lives. And really, he wants to give all this deference to rapists? Aren't women people, too?

And then, there's the daily struggle just to access any reproductive health services. Rachel Maddow noted this last night.

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Next Tuesday is the 40th anniversary of Roe. Yet even though women officially have a Constitutional right to access the reproductive health care that they need, reality is far more complicated. There are so many barriers, and they've mostly been put in place by the radical "tea party" right. Even as Congressional Republican leaders are telling their members not to obsessed over the definition of rape, they continue to attack women's health care with new threats to defund Planned Parenthood clinics, push extreme "zygote personhood" legislation, and ultimately declare that women should not have any control over their own health care decisions.

If Joe Heck, Dean Heller, and other Republicans are serious about "women's outreach" this year, they can begin by dropping their War on Women nonsense. Roe v. Wade has been settled law for 40 years. And women have the legal right to make their own health care decisions. Get over it.

Whither, VAWA?

Throughout 2012, women's rights advocates watched in horror as the G-O-TEA led House continually blocked final passage of the Violence Against Women Act. Here in Nevada, they were especially noting Joe Heck's callous disregard for so many women's lives. And sadly, this story still isn't over yet.

In fact, as of now there is no federal Violence Against Women Act.

Back in April, the Senate approved VAWA reauthorization fairly easily, with a 68 to 31 vote. The bill was co-written by a liberal Democrat (Vermont's Pat Leahy) and a conservative Republican (Idaho's Mike Crapo), and seemed on track to be reauthorized without much of a fuss, just as it was in 2000 and 2005.

But House Republicans insisted the bill is too supportive of immigrants, the LGBT community, and Native Americans -- and they'd rather let the law expire than approve a slightly expanded proposal. Vice President Biden, who helped write the original law, tried to persuade House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) to keep the law alive, but the efforts didn't go anywhere.

And so, for the first time since 1994, the Violence Against Women Act is no more.

House Republicans are now blaming Senate Democrats for (gasp!) crafting a comprehensive bill that offers help to as many women as possible. Oh, and that bill attracted broad BIPARTISAN support in the Senate! Even some Senate Republicans were begging their House colleagues to just pass the bill already. Yet instead of agreeing to good policy for the nation, the House G-O-TEA (again) doubled down on petty politics by blaming Democrats for daring to include LGBTQ women and women of color in the Violence Against Women Act.

Apparently, they still don't realize they're engaging in rather disgusting behavior. Because the G-O-TEA can't stand doing anything that helps communities of color and the LGBTQ community, they're willing to let the Violence Against Women Act expire. And by letting VAWA expire, these House G-O-TEA "culture warriors" are adding unnecessary burdens to local law enforcement in curbing domestic violence. Yes, Virginia, there are real world consequences for playing petty politics with essential public policy.

Last year, Dean Heller was one of the Senate Republicans breaking ranks to support VAWA renewal. If he really wants to prove his post-election "moderate" street cred, he can start by telling his Nevada Republican colleagues in the House to stop playing silly political games with serious legislation meant to help women caught in the grip of domestic violence.

NV-03/NV-04: Richard Ziser Strikes Yet Again!

He's back! If you thought we were finally done with him, then you're about to be proven wrong. Richard Ziser is back in full force this election season. And in fact, he has a brand new "Values Voter Guide" to prove it. And yes, there are some truly scary answers in there...Thanks to Joe Heck and Danny Tarkanian!

Let's see what's in it:

- Both Heck & Tarkanian want to reinstate "Don't Ask Don't Tell" and discrimination against LGBTQ servicemembers in the military.

- Both Heck & Tarkanian oppose ENDA, meaning they approve of workplace discrimination against LGBTQ workers.

- Both Heck & Tarkanian oppose marriage equality and the repeal of DOMA, meaning their talk of "state's rights" is hogwash and they want the federal government to tell states and communities which relationships deserve respect & which don't (such as gay & lesbian couples).

- Both Heck & Tarkanian support defunding Planned Parenthood and all the women's (and men's, too!) health care services they provide.

- And both Heck & Tarkanian oppose comprehensive immigration reform.

Well, now we know why both candidates missed Las Vegas Pride last month. And we know why Joe Heck doesn't like to talk about LGBTQ issues. And we know why Danny Tarkanian doesn't like to talk about immigration reform. And we now know why both Heck & Tarkanian are afraid to talk about women's health.

We now know Richard Ziser loves them both. And that's downright scary for a whole lot of Nevadans.

NV-03: One More Reality Check for Joe Heck

This morning, The Sun had a fact check article on recent ads hitting Joe Heck on matters of women's health care. Karoun Demerjian pretty much confirmed the facts behind the ads, then said they deserved an "eye roll" because the CDC wasn't yet recommending broad coverage of the vaccine to cover cervical cancer.



But here's the thing: It didn't take long for them to come around. And in the mean time, there was more than enough information available to confirm what his fellow legislators agreed to. Here's what Nevada NOW did to set the record straight on what Heck did in 2007.

Leading American public health organizations that include the CDC, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend wide-spread vaccination, as do all public health agencies in Europe. Nevada NOW is baffled why Senator Joe Heck, as a doctor, would vote against a bill in the state legislature that brings such health benefits to Nevada’s women at no public cost. SB 409 does not mandate administration of the vaccine (as 22 other states plus the District of Columbia are considering or have passed). Four other states, in addition to Nevada, have passed bills like SB 409, which (as passed in 2007 and signed by Governor Gibbons) requires health insurance companies in Nevada to cover the vaccine for those who opt to have it administered to their daughters. Moreover, Prior to SB409, the vaccine was already covered by Medicaid (through the federally funded Vaccines for Children program), by Nevada Check-Up, and by most insurance plans in the state, so there was really no savings for any entity, public or private, in opposing the bill. There was, however, a great risk to the public health.

To explain himself, Heck compares the vast majority of women American women who will contract genital HPV to a smoker who contracts lung cancer. It is important to note here that conservative studies estimate one in five women nationally will be sexually assaulted in her lifetime, and that Nevada women are statistically more likely to be subject to coerced sex than the national average. We also understand from common sense that a woman cannot control the past or even the present partners of her husband, boyfriend or lover, so that a woman need not engage in “risky” behavior to be at risk for contracting HPV or cervical cancer. For these reasons, most in the Religious Right, including most conservative organizations in Nevada, have dropped their previously stalwart opposition to the vaccine. Senator Heck stands to the right of almost everyone in his opposition to making the vaccine more widely available.

If we were to draw Senator Heck’s analogy with smoking and lung cancer to the logical conclusion, all women should abstain from having sex. My advice to Senator Heck is to consult Mrs. Heck before he is tempted to make more misleading comparisons.

Oh, yes. He went there. And ever since his narrow election to Congress in 2010, he keeps going back there.



Joe Heck has even opposed reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act because he doesn't seem to mind violence against minority women! No really, this is what he's been doing.

Here's the thing: If Joe Heck really didn't have a "women problem", then why does he keep fighting in the G-O-TEA War on Women? If he doesn't really have a problem with women's civil right, then why does he keep voting against women's health care? From his vote to block access to the HPV vaccine to his votes to defund Planned Parenthood to his continuing opposition to the Violence Against Women Act, Joe Heck doesn't really seem to care about the well being of Nevada's women.

And it's long past due for Joe Heck to get a reality check on this.

Will Joe Heck Finally Put Nevada's Women Above "Tea Party" Xenophobia?

Back in May, we noted Joe Heck's joining with his House G-O-TEA colleagues to stonewall the Violence Against Women Act. It was really something to behold (and not in a good way).

So what's happening now? Well, it's taken a turn for the "even worse".

With Congress just days away from its August break, House Republicans have to decide which is more important: protecting victims of domestic violence or advancing the harsh antigay and anti-immigrant sentiments of some on their party's far right. At the moment, harshness is winning.

At issue is reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act, the landmark 1994 law central to the nation's efforts against domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking.

In May, 15 Senate Republicans joined with the chamber's Democratic majority to approve a strong reauthorization bill. Instead of embracing the Senate's good work, House Republicans passed their own regressive version, ignoring President Obama's veto threat. The bill did not include new protections for gay, immigrant, American Indian and student victims contained in the Senate measure. It also rolled back protections for immigrant women, including for undocumented immigrants who report abuse and cooperate with law enforcement.

So House Republicans are still holding up the Violence Against Women Act because the "tea party" doesn't approve of brown and queer people. How precious.

Congress' August recess is fast approaching, and the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) has still not been reauthorized. Even though the Senate already overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan, all-inclusive bill back in May, the House is playing petty political games with real people's lives. Even Dean Heller voted for the Senate VAWA, along with 14 other Senate Republicans! It's time for the House G-O-TEA to cut the crap.

Yesterday, one of the US Senators from next door (Barbara Boxer, D-CA) went on MSNBC to explain why America's women can't wait any longer for Congress to reauthorize VAWA.

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While Joe Heck and his House G-O-TEA colleagues continue wasting time in Congress, women's lives are at stake. Before Congress goes to recess, will he at least convince enough of his colleagues to pass the bipartisan, comprehensive Debate version of VAWA so that Nevada's women can have a little peace of mind? Or is the "tea party's" War on Women that much more important?

Still See No "War on Women"?

Last night's bombing of a Planned Parenthood clinic near Green Bay, Wisconsin, was tragic... But sadly, it really wasn't that shocking. While the federal Department of Justice is only beginning to investigate this brutal crime and we don't yet know who was behind this attack, it certainly didn't help that this has been front and center for the last two months... And to a certain extent, for the last year.







As we discussed late last month, Planned Parenthood has been wrongly and unfairly demonized by the radical "tea party" right. Less than 3% of Planned Parenthood's budget goes to abortion services, NONE of the federal funding going to Planned Parenthood is used for abortion services, and Planned Parenthood is often the only available health care provider (offering everything from mammograms to prostate exams, and so much more) for low-income women AND MEN in communities throughout the country.

However, we don't hear this from the G-O-TEA politicians out to restrict access to health care in this country. And sadly, we don't even hear this from many in the media who are supposed to be reporting all the facts. Instead, we've heard all kinds of partisan spin and "fair & balanced" nonsense.

Again, we don't have all the facts yet, so we can't make any conclusions on what exactly caused this. Still, we can't ignore the evidence all around us.

The clinic, one of very few in the the state that provides abortions, has been a constant target of anti-choice activists, from Lila Rose attempted "undercover video 'stings'" to Pro-Life Wisconsin's "Empty Manger Christmas carols" and other stunts. With the amount of attention being put on the clinic, and the escalating frenzy to try and block a woman's right to abortion, it was likely only a matter of time before a violent act happened there.

The incident also points to a disturbing and increasing trend of clinic violence. This would be the fourth case of incendiary devices being used as a weapon against clinics and supporters in the last eight months. Last August, a suspect firebombed a clinic in McKinney, Texas. On New Year's Day, a clinic in Florida was firebombed in the early morning hours by a homeless man believed to be sympathetic to the anti-choice protesters who frequented the health center. And just last month, a Texas state senator known for her Planned Parenthood advocacy had her office in Fort Worth firebombed during working hours while the office was full.

I'm sure it won't be long before the same G-O-TEA politicians who provoked all this anti-choice, anti-Planned Parenthood, anti-woman fervor start crying foul over being blamed for this and other abortion clinic bombings. And no one is accusing them of plotting this terrorist act. However, they need to realize that words and actions have consequences. All their irrational and extreme rhetoric against Planned Parenthood and the women who support their mission seems to be encouraging fringe extremists to run wild on that rhetoric and commit these heinous crimes.

If the likes of Dean Heller and Joe Heck still don't understand their actions have frightening consequences for Nevada's women, they should now. It's bad enough that their legislative action has resulted in pointless political games that threaten numerous Nevada women by threatening the health care they need. And I'm sure they're irritated over the political consequences their party is paying for engaging in this War on Women. But now, we're seeing that something far more sinister has emerged from this fiasco. It's really long past time to end the War on Women and stop the extreme rhetoric.

Wherein Nevada Is Positioned to Remain a "Blue State" in 2012, Part VI

How on earth did we miss this? Rasmussen is generally known as a pollster with a strong Republican "house effect", meaning Republicans do better in their polls than in most of the other polls and in the actual election. Typically, Democrats are the ones complaining about Rasmussen polls.

Now with that being said, take a look at the most recent Rasmussen poll on Nevada's Presidential vote.

President Obama is ahead of Rick Santorum by 16 points and leads Mitt Romney by six points in hypothetical Election 2012 matchups in Nevada.

A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in the state finds Obama earning 50% of the vote to Romney’s 44%. Three percent (3%) prefer some other candidate, while two percent (2%) are not sure.

Ouch. So Mittens can't even come close to President Obama in a Rasmussen poll? What a #FAIL!

Hmmm... I wonder why this is happening? Could it be?

On a conference call for President Obama’s re-election campaign, Reid criticized Romney for saying he would “get rid” of Planned Parenthood and for opposing mandated insurance coverage of contraception.

“I can’t make anything up so absurd as that,” Reid said. “What he said is women are on their own, they should shop around for life-saving breast cancer and cervical cancer screening.”

During a campaign stop in Peoria, Ill., last week, Romney said voters should “vote for the other guy” if they want “free stuff,” adding that women could go elsewhere for health care rather than expecting the government to keep funding Planned Parenthood, according to the Associated Press.

And Harry Reid is not the only US Senator criticizing Mitt Romney's extreme opposition to women's health care. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) is the latest Republican to break away from the extreme G-O-TEA and their War on Women.



What the likes of Mitt Romney, Joe Heck, and Dean Heller don't seem to understand is that America's women deserve health care just as much as they do. They may all vehemently hate Planned Parenthood, but that doesn't change the fact that Planned Parenthood is often the only available health care provider for many American women and MEN (!!!) in need.

And now, these straight white G-O-TEA men just don't seem to understand why their poll numbers are falling.

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They just don't seem to understand that women don't appreciate being told what kind of health care they're allowed to access. And they don't seem to understand that Nevada, along with other critical swing states, are tiring of "TEH CUL'CHUR WARZZZ!!!" These "tea party" men may be pumping their fists over this crap, but Nevada women just want quality, affordable health care without any "CUL'CHUR WARZZZ!!!" gimmicks.

This is why the Affordable Care Act really is such a BFD. Again, here's Annette Magnus from Nevada Advocates for Planned Parenthood explaining how Nevada's women benefit from the ACA.



Why on earth would women choose candidates and a party seeking to take away their reproductive freedom and strip them of their right to make their own health care decisions? Instead, women can vote for continued progress, better health care, and more freedom. The choice is quite clear. And really, it demonstrates how Nevada Republicans are helping to ensure Nevada remains a "Blue State" this fall.

The War on Women... That Dean Heller Doesn't Want You to See.

After reading Karoun Demirjian's Sun article on the impact Rush Limbaugh may be having on Nevada's US Senate race, one gets the sense that Shelley Berkley is just "desperate to manufacture controversy". We've heard plenty from reporters and pundits on the political games supposedly being played in "Limbaugh-gate". However, we're still not hearing enough about the actual policies being debated in Congress.

Thankfully, Nevada's own Desert Beacon has been able to cut through the spin and deliver the real story here.

When the Obama Administration’s Department of Health and Human Services proposed that basic health care insurance policy coverage would include contraceptive prescriptions the issue was drawn into focus. The compromise position was adopted saying that no religious institution which did not tolerate views accepting of contraception would be required to offer such coverage — but, health insurance corporations would be required to offer the coverage to those wishing such provisions.

Unfortunately for the improvement of our national political dialogue, the level of mis-information soon out shouted the level of accurate commentary. Opponents of comprehensive health care reform (health insurance corporations) have treated us to a barrage of fact-free statements like, “This is taxpayer funded contraception…,” which, of course, it isn’t. Twisting the logic to say that a coverage requirement for basic policies is tantamount to a taxpayer subsidization of contraceptives necessitates mental gymnastics comparable to the contortions of Cirque du Soliel.

A Gordian Knot of similar proportions is also required to frame this issue in terms of religious freedom. The concept of religious freedom as contemplated in an American context requires the accommodation of varying religious precepts, NOT the acquiescence to the precepts of any single institution. If the views of the Catholic Bishops had prevailed, then what we would have experienced was the antithesis of religious freedom, i.e. one group imposing its views on all the rest. The American public seems to sense this.

This is why I was irritated when I saw Jon Ralston give credence to the radical right's meme of "ObamaCare attacks religious liberty!!!!!!!" Just because Erick Erickson's and Rush Limbaugh's lies about women's health care are being repeated by Dean Heller doesn't make them true. And just because Shelley Berkley is making this into a campaign issue doesn't negate the fact that Republicans keep proposing legislation to restrict women's access to needed health care.

Funny enough, a REPUBLICAN state legislator in New York actually summed up what's at stake quite well.



And so did a G-O-TEA Representative from Pennsylvania, albeit from a different angle.



Never mind that...

The “financial” logic is sound. A study from 2000 estimated that it costs employers 15 to 17 percent more to not provide contraceptive coverage to employees than it would if the insurance coverage included the benefit. This higher spending accounts for the direct medical costs of a pregnancy and indirect expenses like employee absence and reduced productivity.

So is this "the new normal" that we're supposed to embrace and the media are supposed to provide with "fair and balanced" coverage? So the G-O-TEA wants to reduce women to baby-making machines that are "malfunctioning" if they're doing anything other than serving their men while barefoot and pregnant at home?

So are we supposed to ignore REPUBLICAN women running away from the Blunt Amendment and the G-O-TEA effort to criminalize anything and everything other than heterosexual procreative "missionary" sex (except when their own members are "dabbling" in it)?

Last night, Rachel Maddow actually put this whole matter into proper perspective.

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I know that not everyone gets excited about discussing the details of contraception and reproductive health care policy, and I suspect that's why many in the media have been more than happy to reduce this discussion to "just another partisan mud fight"... But it's not. Ralston may not like the Berkley campaign comparing Dean Heller to Rush Limbaugh, but the fact of the matter is that Dean Heller voted exactly how Rush Limbaugh wanted him to vote in supporting the Blunt Amendment to restrict women's health care access. And if Heller doesn't like the political repercussions of this, he only has himself to blame.

Ralston's False Equivolence

I understand Jon Ralston likes to be an "equal opportunity offender" when it comes to attacking politicians and political parties. And typically, I'm OK with that. However, I can't stay silent on his Sun column today.

Basically, he has a "pox on both their houses" attitude and he's arguing that progressives are just as guilty of character assassination as Rush Limbaugh may be because a few people on Twitter said some not-so-nice things about Andrew Breitbart just after he died. Really? Honestly, I didn't want to say anything about Breitbart. And I suspect I'm not the only one who felt that way. There was no "coordinated left wing assault on Breitbart's family", despite progressives' overall disgust with what he did to other people. I still don't really want to touch that, but I do think it's a bit of a stretch to compare Matt Taibbi's Rolling Stone essay and a few comments on Twitter to the coordinated radical right attack on Sandra Fluke and all other American women who just happen to have used birth control at some point in their lives.

When did these women ever start web sites to attack politicians they didn't like? And when did these women ever work for Matt Drudge and Arianna Huffington before building their own media empire? It's not as if they were ever "fair game"... Unless being invited to a Congressional hearing is now "fair game" to engage in full politics of personal destruction.

And then, there's this. Ralston compared right wing "insensitivity" to women's reproductive rights and women's health needs to "liberals look[ing] down on sincere people of faith who value their religion above almost everything". Really? I have many friends and family who are very much in tune with their faith, and I have nothing but the utmost respect for that. This is NOT about people of faith, or about churches being forced to do something against their beliefs. This is about ensuring women have the same access to contraception that men have to whatever sexual health care they desire... At least until Limbaugh opened his mouth and called Sandra Fluke a "slut" for ever using birth control.



Thank you, Jon Stewart, for explaining what this whole argument should really be about. It's just too bad that Jon Ralston seems to be missing the point.

Seriously, when did so many in the media decide that contraception is supposed to be "controversial"? When did it become just another "partisan poop fight" when women are being called "sluts" and "prostitutes" for simply expecting their health insurance to cover birth control? Are the media really becoming this ridiculous?

I suspect Ralston thought it would be in good taste to knock Shelley Berkley for some fundraising email and compare some comments on Twitter regarding Breitbart's death to the whole radical right effort to support Rush Limbaugh's attacks on American women while mildly criticizing Limbaugh and misstating what's actually at stake with the new rule proposed by President Obama to require health insurance coverage of contraception. It's not. And it's saddening to see media pundits yet again choose a false sense of "fair and balanced" over explaining why something is really in the news.

Here Are the Women.

Ever since Rush Limbaugh started attacking American women for using contraceptives, there's been an intense firestorm over not just women's reproductive rights, but also more basic issues of where women stand in America today. Last night, Nevada's own Harry Reid discussed this with Lawrence O'Donnell on his MSNBC show.

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“Even in the Rush Limbaugh world, there’s certain things you can’t say. And what brought his attention to this is lots and lots of sponsors of his program said, no more, you’ve gone too far,” Reid said in an exclusive interview with MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell. “Rush Limbaugh, each day that goes by, is becoming less credible with the American people.”

Rush Limbaugh offered another half-ish apology to Sandra Fluke, the Georgetown law student he called a “slut” and a “prostitute” on his show last week. She spoke before a congressional hearing in support of health insurance policies covering birth control, which riled up the conservative radio show host.

“We cannot have something like this take place, that’s embarrassing to our country. It’s embarrassing to the Congress to have a woman who had something to say — she was invited to testify and was disinvited by an all-male group of people,” said Reid, a frequent political target of Limbaugh. “You can’t do that to women in America anymore.” [...]

“Women are entitled for contraception, so their contraceptives of their choice. That’s what this was all about,” Reid told O’Donnell. “We should never run into the firestorm that we did, that people calling this fine woman, by all means.”

For the past three weeks, we've been hearing plenty from certain G-O-TEA men about what women are supposed to be doing with their bodies. But now, the women (and Democrats) are fighting back.

“No one had any clue that Sen. Blunt would be offering this amendment or that any of this debate would be unfolding,” Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) (pictured above) told TPM Friday. Baldwin is one of a group of women senators and challengers set to barnstorm several western states this week to raise money and awareness for Democrats.

There are more women running for Senate this year than there were in 1992 — the so-called “Year of the Woman” — Baldwin noted, and she suggested that will put Democrats in a good position this fall.

“You can hazard your own guess: Is it a coincidence?” Baldwin said of the number of women running. “Maybe it’s not a coincidence that there are a lot of women running and we feel as though there are so many economic issues that impact women that are being fought right now.”

The western tour had been planned for weeks before Blunt’s amendment and Limbaugh’s attack on Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke overtook the national debate. The group is ready to take advantage of the fortuitous timing.

“I would certainly say that, for example, when you have a panel on women’s health that’s all men called to testify, it does show that a lot of the folks in charge today are out of touch and just don’t get it,” Baldwin said. “I think we’ll probably draw some attention to that.”

Of course, one of the women that the DSCC is highlighting happens to be none other than Nevada's own Shelley Berkley. Now that Dean Heller is on record opposing women's access to contraception, Berkley is reminding us of what he just voted for.

So what did he vote for? Simply put, Dean Heller voted to allow employers to deny insurance coverage of any kind of preventive health care due to "moral objections". And of course, the one type of preventive health care getting the most attention here has been contraception. Contraception is not just important preventive health care for women, but it's also beneficial to our economy. Yet for some reason, we don't often hear that from the likes of Dean Heller. Nope, it seems like we've just been hearing plenty of lies and misperceptions.



Even some Republican women seem to be backing away from Rush Limbaugh and the Blunt Amendment. It just goes to show how extreme the G-O-TEA has gone in its embrace of Rush Limbaugh and the "CUL'CHUR WARZZZ!!!" against America's women.

It's starting to look like the women are not going to take it any more.

Why Do They Serve Rush Limbaugh Over Nevada's Women?

Earlier today, President Obama called Sandra Fluke, a student at Georgetown University in DC, to thank her for speaking up for America's women.

President Obama called the Georgetown University law student who testified at a House contraception hearing last week, thanking her for speaking out about the concerns of American women.

Sandra Fluke told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell that the president called her while she was in the green room waiting to go on television. Obama “said I should tell my parents that they should be proud,” Fluke told Mitchell.

Fluke has been subject to some very harsh words from Rush Limbaugh, who called Fluke a “slut” and a “prostitute.” And his remarks have set off a firestorm of criticism. Georgetown University President John DeGioia praised Fluke’s testimony and called Limbaugh’s comments “misogynistic, vitriolic, and a misrepresentation of the position of our student.”

So what happened?



How many times have Republicans whined when one of their own gets negative media attention? Yet when a young woman is being attacked by their favorite media attack dog, they're afraid to say a peep. Even as corporate advertisers of Rush Limbaugh's radio show pull out (after realizing they look bad for sponsoring his BS), they're staying in.

Meanwhile, Rush Limbaugh is doubling down, and even TRIPLING DOWN (!!!), on his vile, misogynistic hate speech. And he's not just attacking Sandra Fluke. He's attacking women everywhere.

As always, Desert Beacon has more.

According to the Census Bureau, there are 2,723,322 residents of the state of Nevada, and 49.5% of them are female. The Centers for Disease Control 2010 study tells us that nationwide 68% of Hispanic women, 89% of white women, and 78% of African American women have used “the pill.” [DB] We might reasonably assume that these statistics generally apply to women in Nevada. So, for the 1,348,045 women in Nevada we can estimate that some 72% (970,600) have used The Pill. Again, it isn’t necessary to repeat the term used by Mr. Limbaugh to characterize these women. [...]

As we would frown and tell a child that “That’s not funny,” or “That’s not appropriate,” in the home, we should frown and tell Mr. Limbaugh that his comments on women and ethnic group members are not acceptable. Freedom of Speech has never been a License to Insult and Defame. Respectable home have standards, and we should strive to make our nation a respectable, and respectful, place to live.

In the interest of raising the standards of our national discourse, in the interest of setting examples for our younger citizens, in the interest of advancing respect for all the residents of Nevada — white, African America, Hispanic, and women — I ask that you take exception to Mr. Limbaugh’s comments concerning Ms. Fluke, and that you ask him to apologize to the 49.5% of Nevadans to whom his discourse is objectionable, tasteless, and beneath any standard of civility.

Yesterday, Dean Heller joined his G-O-TEA colleagues Joe Heck and Mark Amodei in attacking American women and demonizing any woman who uses contraception. And even worse, they're repeating the lies that Limbaugh and his fellow "tea party" media flame throwers have tossed out. But that's just it: Limbaugh and his ilk are LYING, and Nevadans shouldn't have to worry about their members of Congress taking their marching orders from Limbaugh's lies in attacking American women.

While it’s difficult to believe that he doesn’t by know what Fluke actually said (her entire testimony is on video), Limbaugh and other conservatives like bloggers Erick Erickson and Michelle Malkin are fabricating the claim that Fluke wants taxpayers to pay for contraception. That is blatantly flase. Fluke’s testimony, and the entire contraception debate, is about insurance companies paying for contraception as part of their health coverage, they way they pay for any other medication, such as Viagra. Morevoer, Fluke’s testimony was not about herself, but about a friend who need contraception to fight cancer and other fellow law students.

This conservative narrative, which is pure fantasy, seems to be based on a single bogus article from CNS News, which Limbaugh repeatedly cites, with the ludicrous headline, “Sex-Crazed Co-Eds Going Broke Buying Birth Control, Student Tells Pelosi Hearing Touting Freebie Mandate.”

Meanwhile, Limbaugh apparently doesn’t understand how birth control works. His entire stance is premised on the notion that women need more birth control the more sex they have. Of course, as anyone who has taken an 8th grade sex ed class could inform him, that’s not how it works.

So if Rush Limbaugh, Dean Heller, Joe Heck, and Mark Amodei can expect their health insurance to cover Viagra and Cialis, why can't Sandra Fluke and Nevada women expect their health insurance to cover contraception? Is that really too much to ask?

Nevadans, including Nevada's women, deserve better representation in Congress. And perhaps instead of mumbling and groaning privately about the political implications of their choice to attack women and women's health care options, and perhaps instead of throwing a public temper tantrum on camera over Democrats pointing out the obvious, the (all male) Republicans of Nevada's Congressional Delegation should ask their buddy Rush Limbaugh to apologize for his disgusting, slanderous attacks on Sandra Fluke and the 98% of American women who have used birth control. And perhaps they themselves should apologize for pushing to strip Nevada's women of the ability to make their own health care decisions.

(And by the way, you can do something to make it right by signing the Center for American Progress' petition in support of Sandra Fluke!)

Remember This: Dean Heller Joined the G-O-TEA's War on Women

Remember this.

And remember this.



And remember this.

Unperturbed after Senate Democrats blocked their effort to let employer health plans refuse to cover birth control and other preventive services, Republican leaders are vowing to keep up the fight after the vote. And Democrats are more than happy to let them — all the way up until the November elections.

“This fight is not over,” said Senate GOP Conference Vice Chair Roy Blunt (R-MO), the author of the amendment that was tabled 51-48 on Thursday. “I will continue to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle and in both chambers of Congress to protect the rights that make our nation great.”

Though many Republicans would like to give the issue a rest, fearing voter backlash, the GOP can’t easily soft-peddle in this culture war conflagration. And that was clear today on both sides of the Capitol. [...]

The close Senate vote reflects a strong GOP effort to contain the political consequences of pushing the controversial amendment before the public had a chance to weigh in. After a concerted whip effort, only one Republican — Sen. Olympia Snowe (ME) — defected. All other waffling GOPers, including Scott Brown (MA), Susan Collins (ME), and Dean Heller (NV) fell into line. Indeed more Democrats (three in total) crossed the aisle to vote for the Blunt amendment than vice versa. But there’s a good reason Dem leaders pushed anyway: on issues like contraception, they’re confident they’ll win the broader battle for public perception.

“Once again, Republicans have proposed a sweeping overreach into the lives, and health, of America’s women,” said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), calling the Blunt measure an “extreme amendment to a completely unrelated bill that would allow an employer or insurance company to claim a vague ‘moral conviction’ as an excuse to deny women health care coverage.”

There’s a reason Dems are confident: 63 percent of American adults support Obama’s contraception mandate, according to a new Kaiser Family Foundation poll.

Dean Heller has joined the G-O-TEA in its "CUL'CHUR WARZZZ!!!" (or is it now a "crusade"?) against America's women.



Just remember this next time Dean Heller tries to tell you he's "moderate" and "cares about Nevada's women".



Lame. And total GOP FAIL.

Will Dean Heller Join the G-O-TEA's War on Women?

Jon Ralston reported on Twitter early this morning that Senator Dean Heller (R-Tea Party) is leaning toward voting for the Blunt Amendment. OK, so why should we care? Here's why.

Under the measure, an insurer or an employer would be able to claim a moral or religious objection to covering HIV/AIDS screenings, Type 2 Diabetes treatments, cancer tests or anything else they deem inappropriate or the result of an “unhealthy” or “immoral” lifestyle. Similarly, a health plan could refuse to cover mental health care on the grounds that the plan believes that psychiatric problems should be treated with prayer.

Individuals too can opt out of coverage if it is contrary to their religious or moral beliefs, radically undermining “the basic principle of insurance, which involves pooling the risks for all possible medical needs of all enrollees.” As the National Women’s Law Center explains, Blunt’s language is vague enough that “insurers may be able to sell plans that do not cover services required by the new health care law to an entire market because one individual objects, so all consumers in a market lose their right to coverage of the full range of critical health services.” As a result, a man “purchasing an insurance plan offered to women and men could object to maternity coverage, so the plan would not have to cover it, even though such coverage is required as part of the essential health benefits.”

And of course, all this madness started with the G-O-TEA's urge to crawl into women's pants to probe their private parts. YUCK!



Even a few Senate Republicans, like the retiring Olympia Snowe (R-ME), think this goes way too far.



67% of Americans oppose anti-woman legislation like the Blunt Amendment, and health care policy experts have warned about the major risks of restricting access to all kinds of necessary preventive care because of vague "moral" objections. So why are Congressional Republicans so eager to vote on this crap?

So far, it seems like Dean Heller wants to join his BFF Mitt Romney in playing both sides of this issue and pandering to the radical "tea party" right while still looking vaguely "moderate".



I guess he's afraid that his other BFF, Joe Heck, was perhaps a little too blunt on Blunt.



I guess we'll have to wait and see if Heller tries to claim "this has nothing to do with women's health issues". Joe Heck already proved how radically out of touch he is with Nevada women. Will Dean Heller show the same?

(By the way, now's a great time to sign PLAN's petition to Heller and Senator Reid to ask them to oppose the Blunt Amendment and stop the attack on women's health care.)

Joe Heck Gets a Reality Check on Women's Health

Monday night, Rep. Joe Heck (R-"Tea Party") kicked off his campaign in perhaps the most appropriate manner befitting a politician with his kind of record... At an exclusive "invitation only" very-high-dollar fundraiser outside his actual district. But unfortunately for him, a candidate actually running for Congress in that area was also there to say a few things about Dr. Heck's real record of attacking the rights of Nevada's women.



And John Oceguera, one of the Democrats running in the new NV-03, was also there to denounce Heck's embrace of the G-O-TEA's anti-woman agenda. Remember, Heck himself uttered these now infamous words when asked about his opposition to insurance coverage of contraception:

"The fact is this has nothing to do with women’s health issues.”

Is he serious? Does he seriously believe this? Is this all he's ever heard on the subject?



No wonder why Heck's G-O-TEA House colleagues were so afraid to let the women speak.

Well, this may also explain it. The more Americans learn about the G-O-TEA's radical anti-woman agenda, the more they reject it. Maybe Heck's BFF Mitt Romney gets excited about attacking women's right to make their own health care decisions, but the vast majority of Nevadans are not. Just take a look at all the health care services that the G-O-TEA faction in Congress wants to deny to American women! Once Americans figure out what they actually mean when they wax poetic about "liberty", they turn off to the G-O-TEA ideal of giving employers "liberty" in denying preventive health care to women for whatever "religious" excuse they want to throw out.

And Joe Heck still wants to claim that "this has nothing to do with women's health issues"?

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Is he really that clueless? Or is he so cynical that he thinks he can get away with lying to us? Whatever the case, it's becoming even harder to believe that Joe Heck can properly represent the people (and especially the women!) of Nevada's 3rd Congressional District.

Joe Heck Needs a Reality Check on Women's Health Issues

On Monday, we noted the Republicans increasingly turning to "culture war" issues over fear that they can no longer campaign on a lousy economy (since the economy is actually improving under President Obama's watch). Later in the week, we saw this.



And now, it's becoming increasingly clear what the G-O-TEA crowd are talking about when they say they want to "take our country back".

[Rick Santorum's Super PAC "superhero" Foster] Friess’ comment was astonishing in two ways. First, it derailed the entire contraception debate that Republicans have been desperate to keep about “religious freedom” rather than make it about, well, who does or does not keep her knees together. Second, there wasn’t a woman around who didn’t have a guttural reaction.

“I want to punch that guy in the face,” said one female operative who called me on an entirely unrelated matter. Phone calls and IM conversations for the rest of the day included similar appraisals of Santorum’s biggest financial backer.

So there you have it: modern women being told by Republicans that they’re not qualified to talk about their own sexual health, are dressed like “whores” and probably need birth control because they’re so slutty. And this is just in one day.

Democratic women say this is all part of a general pattern that began in 2010 when the tea party helped Republicans win a congressional election based on jobs and deficits and the Republicans then set about passing new anti-abortion legislation and declaring war on Planned Parenthood once in office. They agreed Thursday stood out, though.

“Republican policies have been stuck in the 50s for a while now. I guess this week they decided they wanted the whole retro package,” said Jess McIntosh, communications director at EMILY’s List. “Darrel Issa, you are no Jon Hamm.”

Indeed, it seems like they want to do a "time warp" back to the 1950s... Or maybe the 1850s?

And no, Nevada, we're not immune from this. In fact, none other than our own "Trust me, I'm a doctor!" Joe Heck uttered these words when asked about insurance coverage of contraception:

"The fact is this has nothing to do with women’s health issues.”

Really? Seriously? How could Joe Heck say that?

I've been wondering when someone else would finally notice this. Yesterday, John Oceguera's campaign did.

Joe Heck opposes requiring all employers to provide insurance coverage for birth control, saying that the issue has “nothing to do with women’s health.” Who is he kidding?

It gets worse. Joe Heck doesn’t think insurance companies should be required to cover the HPV vaccine for women, which can help prevent cervical cancer. In fact, as a member of the Nevada Legislature, Heck even voted against it.

Joe Heck even wants to end the right to choose for women. He’s so extreme that he’s been endorsed by an organization that calls exceptions for women’s health “frivolous”.

Well I’ve got news for you, Joe – your positions are out of touch and bad for Nevada women. As a doctor, you should be ashamed of yourself.

Helping women get access to preventative treatment and family planning services is a moral issue – not a political game. As a son, husband and father, I would never put partisan politics ahead of the health and safety of women.

Well, someone had to say it. We have a whole lot of women here in Nevada who regularly use contraception. Why should they face so many obstacles in accessing it? And why doesn't Heck ever propose putting up the same kinds of obstacles on men accessing Viagra and Cialis?

And what's really funny about Heck going hard-line against birth control, as well as Republicans overall working so hard to antagonize women voters, is that they're not realizing they're losing quite badly on this. Ed Kilgore may ultimately be right about this turning into another "Terry Schiavo moment" of the G-O-TEA overreaching on "culture wars" crap. Again, women regularly use contraception and a number of states, including Nevada, have already passed insurance coverage requirements like the one President Obama will be implementing in the rollout of health care reform.

Steve Benen may have hit the ultimate nail on the head of this.

The first is that the Great Recession wasn't just an economic crisis; it was a disaster that dramatically changed the country's priorities. Going into the 2012 election season, when the public is asked which issues matter most, 2% say immigration, 1% say abortion, 1% say religious values, and 44% say economy/jobs. For a party to ignore this is an invitation to be labeled out of touch.

The second is that Limbaugh's confidence about public attitudes is misplaced. Not only does the American mainstream not want to fight the culture war right now, when pressed, most of the public likes contraception, supports Roe v. Wade, and approves of marriage equality. One could certainly make the case that gun control isn't popular, at least not with key voting constituencies, but since Democrats aren't even trying to change the status quo, it's not much of a campaign issue.

Limbaugh complained on the air yesterday that the Republican establishment "wants no part of" the culture war. There's a good reason for that: GOP leaders can read polls.

And I'll add that I can't think of anywhere else this rings truer than right here in Southern Nevada. Folks here are asking about job openings, home foreclosure prevention, and how to save our middle class. They're not interested in refighting "culture wars" on women's health care decisions and whether to criminalize being gay. If Joe Heck really wants to join his G-O-TEA colleagues & Rush Limbaugh, and declare himself a "culture warrior", then he needs to prepare to lose this next election.

What Do They Have Left? "Culture Wars"?

According to Gallup's latest poll on economic confidence, Americans are increasingly confident in the American economy and our ability to recover from "The Great Recession". And not only are Americans saying this to pollsters, but they're also showing it by buying more products. And that, in turn, allows companies to hire again, which should lead to more good economic news in the near future.

Despite so much pessimism over the economy last year, it looks like America really is making a comeback. And it's happening under President Obama's watch. That's what really scares Congressional Republicans now. As we talked about earlier this month, the G-O-TEA was basing its entire campaign strategy on blaming the horrible state of the economy on Obama. So now that the economy isn't all that horrible any more, what do they have left to campaign on?

Queue Ricky Santorum bashing LGBTQ families and trash talking Washington state's new marriage equality law.



And not to be outdone in the homophobia department, Willard Romney boasted at CPAC last weekend about preventing Massachusetts from becoming "The Las Vegas of Gay Marriage" while he was Governor.



(Jeez, if only we could finally join in on the marriage equality fun!)

Oh, yes. That's right. The "CUL'CHUR WARZZZ!!!!!" are back.

Think about it. House Republicans are apparently caving on the year-long payroll tax cut extension. And already, House Democrats are upping the ante and demanding they end the hostage game on unemployment benefits and Medicare doctor compensation as well. Now that the economy is improving and Republicans don't want to be blamed for causing a relapse into recession, they may now be at least partially retreating from obstruction fights like the one over the payroll tax cut.

So what do they have left to campaign on? Stop that "evil" birth control!

Schisms are emerging within the Republican Party after President Obama’s announcement last Friday that he would tweak his contraception mandate to ensure that religious nonprofits aren’t forced to pay for an employee’s birth control coverage. And as GOP leaders push to repeal the requirement entirely, the White House is welcoming that battle.

The shift is looking like an act of political jujitsu as Obama has not only unified his base but splintered the GOP coalition, which initially appeared united against the President’s rule. Obama won over the Democrats and moderate Catholics who criticized him, while maintaining the support of those who backed the original rule. As an added bonus, he has turned some Republicans who initially opposed his policy against their own leaders.

Splitting from their party leaders are Maine Republican Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, both of whom criticized the earlier regulation but praised the shift in carefully-worded statements. Neither would say whether they supported an amendment by their Senate colleague Roy Blunt (MO), which would fully reverse the requirement. [...]

“It appears that changes have been made that provide women’s health services without compelling Catholic organizations in particular to violate the beliefs and tenets of their faith,” Snowe told the Portland Herald Tribune. “According to the Catholic Health Association, the administration ‘responded to the issues [they] identified that needed to be fixed,’ which is what I urged the president to do in addressing this situation.”

But wait, according to Nevada's own "Trust me, I'm a doctor!" Joe Heck, his and most of the rest of hiw fellow G-O-TEA culture warriors' opposition to insurance coverage of birth control has "nothing to do with women's health issues". So even Republican US Senators think the G-O-TEA is going too far on its war on women?

This is the Republicans' new dilemma. As Willard Romney is having to find out the hard way, one can't really acknowledge an improving economy while still saying the President has a bad economic record. So Republicans look to be pivoting back to "culture war" issues like marriage equality and women's health care. However as Americans seem to be having less of a problem with gay couples marrying and women getting insurance coverage for birth control, those issues just don't have the same kind of potency that George W. Bush found with them a decade ago...

Except when it comes to the G-O-TEA base. And that's what's really scaring the Republican extablishment.

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While Mittens' general election poll numbers are falling, Santorum's primary poll numbers are rising. And that may largely be due to the "tea party" base seeing Santorum more as "one of them" than Romney. "The Culture Wars" are back, but the "tea" infused Republican base is leading its party to defeat on them.