Check out the following press release from the Kaine campaign. Also, keep in mind that George Allen is strongly against a woman’s right to choose, even against certain forms of contraception (he favors an extreme “personhood” amendment which would, effectively, make IUDs and the “morning-after pill” illegal). Plus, of course, Allen’s horrible on economic – and education, health, etc. – issues that affect families. In sum, for Virginia women in this election, there’s really no question who they should support, and his name isn’t “George Allen” that’s for sure!
First Lady Anne Holton Launches “Women for Kaine”
Richmond, VA -Today, First Lady Anne Holton announced the formation of “Women for Kaine” with over 100 representatives from across the Commonwealth who support Tim Kaine’s candidacy for the U.S. Senate. This dynamic group of business and community leaders is just the beginning of a growing coalition that will help elect Kaine in November.
“We believe that women have a lot at stake in this election and want to send to Washington a Senator who will protect the interests of women,” said First Lady Holton. “Throughout his career in public service, my husband Tim has fought hard for equal rights and opportunities, economic growth, health care access and laws that prevent violence against women. Tim and I are tremendously proud of his record on the issues that matter to women and we look forward to sharing his record with all Virginians. As Tim continues his race for the U.S. Senate, ‘Women for Kaine’ will stand with him to keep advancing progress for women in this Commonwealth and in this country.”
In conjunction with the launch of Women for Kaine, Governor Kaine will hold a roundtable discussion tomorrow in Richmond with women business leaders to hear their ideas on ways to promote job creation and encourage economic growth.
Throughout his career, Governor Kaine has worked to advance rights and opportunities for women. As Lt. Governor, he introduced legislation to establish the General Assembly’s first sexual harassment policy. As Governor, Kaine made Virginia’s workforce more welcoming, representative, and fair by banning discrimination based on gender, sexual orientation, race, national origin, religion, age, or political affiliation in his first Executive Order. His gubernatorial appointments included four women cabinet secretaries, the first African American woman on the Virginia Court of Appeals, and numerous women as agency heads. He tripled the percentage of state discretionary spending on products and services purchased from small, women-owned, and minority-owned businesses, and was a proud supporter of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act that finally passed Congress in 2009, ensuring equal pay for equal work. In the U.S. Senate he will be a strong advocate for economic policies that create opportunities and produce results for all Americans.
In addition, Governor Kaine has worked to improve the availability and quality of health care for women and their families. He was also a vocal supporter of the Affordable Care Act, which mandates free preventive health services (like mammograms) and prevents insurance companies from dropping women who get sick or pregnant. Even in a challenging economy, Governor Kaine proposed significant additional funding for state programs that help low-income and uninsured women receive prenatal and preventative care, including screenings for breast and cervical cancer. He enrolled record numbers of Virginia children in the Medicaid and FAMIS programs, fought for the 2007 federal expansion of SCHIP that offered health care to 4 million uninsured children, and increased enrollment in the state’s system of high-quality pre-k education by nearly 40%. Governor Kaine strongly supports the right of women to make their own health and reproductive decisions and opposes efforts to weaken or subvert the basic holding of Roe v. Wade. He seeks a reduction of unwanted pregnancies and abortions but understands that criminalizing women’s reproductive decisions is not the way to accomplish that goal.
As Governor, Tim Kaine was also a strong advocate for victims of domestic and sexual violence. In 2006, he convened the Governor’s Commission on Sexual Violence and implemented many of their recommendations throughout his term. Reforms included ending polygraph tests for victims of sexual assault, ending the practice of forcing women to pay for their own physical evidence recovery kits (PERK kits) when a sexual assault has occurred, and ensuring prompt transfer of protective orders to law enforcement.
Visit http://www.kaineforva.com/women to view a letter from Anne Holton, the Women for Kaine mission statement, and a list of leaders who’ve already joined the growing coalition.
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