Violence against women is as American as apple pie. I know, not only as a legislator, but from personal experience.
Governor Scott Walker didn't know who he was messing with when he picked a fight with the hard-working union folks of Wisconsin. He must have forgotten that Wisconsin is the Badger State. And badgers are scrappy little creatures. We may look cute, warm and fuzzy, but we have a fighting spirit.
As legislators and as Members of Congress, it is our obligation to speak up for those who are being ignored in our society. The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) does just that.
I just want to tell you what it's like not to have Planned Parenthood... you have to give your kids Ramen noodles at the end of the month to fill up their little bellies so they won't cry. You have to give them mayonnaise sandwiches. They get very few fruits and vegetables because they're expensive.
When you see John Boehner crying, believe you me, it's because he cannot control, uh, that wild contingency called the Tea Party.
It is essential that the women's preventive coverage benefit, including contraception, be available to all women, regardless of what health plan they have or where they work - as Congress intended. Providing access to birth control just makes good sense.
It is only with the passage of the Violence Against Women Act in 1994 that we have been able to put a dent in violence against women, and women have had a place to go.
I've been the co-chair of the Non-Partisan Women's Caucus and vice-chair for several years, taking a leadership role in this women's organization.
Violence against women in this country is not levied against just Democrats, but Republicans as well... not just rich people or poor people. It knows no gender, it knows no ethnicity, it knows nothing.
It is important for women to have a choice, to have an opportunity to plan their families, because if they don't, the Republicans have said this is an ownership society. You are on your own, and they're going to begrudge that child everything, from WIC to a Pell Grant to health insurance.
I don't have any rift with President Obama at all. I think that he is operating in an entirely different arena than I'm dealing in. I represent my constituents in the Fourth Congressional District. I'm looking out admittedly for much more narrow interests. I represent the fourth-poorest district.
I know all about you. You're the people waiting on the shoreline with the warm towels and the hot chocolate after the woman swims the English Channel.
