From the Democratic National Committee:
According to a recent Washington Post poll Ken Cuccinelli trails Terry McAuliffe with women voters by a stunning 24% margin. By comparison, Virginia exit polls found that Mitt Romney lost women in by an 9% margin.
But, instead of working to close that gender gap, a few days before Election Day, Cuccinelli is digging a deeper hole for himself by bringing in a host of national GOP leaders including Senator Marco Rubio, Governor Scott Walker and former Senator Rick Santorum who all actively oppose issues important to women.
Let’s take a look…
Marco Rubio? No to VAWA, No to full Reproductive Health Care, and No to Equal Pay
Scott Walker? Repealed Equal Pay and Signed a Mandatory Ultrasound Bill, Slashed access to Choice
Rick Santorum? Doesn’t Believe Birth Control Should be Covered by Insurance and Opposes Right to Choose in Cases of Rape and Incest
Cuccinelli and his surrogates' positions on issues important to women stands in stark contrast to Terry McAuliffe and the Democratic ticket who support pay equity and a woman’s right to make the health care decisions that are right for them and their families.
Please see below for background on Rubio, Walker & Santorum’s positions on issues important to women:
MARCO RUBIO
RUBIO OPPOSES A WOMAN’S RIGHT TO CHOOSE AND HAS MOVED TO BLOCK WOMEN’S ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE
Rubio Announced His Intention To Sponsor Of Federal Legislation To Ban Certain Abortions.“Sen. Marco Rubio said unequivocally Wednesday that he hopes to be the lead sponsor of a bill banning abortions after 20 weeks. ‘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.’”[Politico, 7/24/13]
Rubio Supported Defunding Planned Parenthood. “RUBIO: First of all, no program can be untouched. This notion by some of my colleagues here that this program can’t be touched and somehow it can’t be on the table is absurd. I don’t care what they do. There’s no program in our budget that should be off the table in terms of looking at it and understanding whether it’s justified or not. Second of all, we simply can’t afford to continue fund things like this. We are adding $12 trillion to our debt over the next ten years. That’s outrageous. I’m going to vote to defund it. Third, I have problems with what Planned Parenthood does and ultimately what the aim of their organization is. And it’s not their stated aims, it’s what they actually do.” [“Fox and Friends,” Fox News, 4/14/11]
Rubio Called Roe V. Wade “Tragic.” In a statement supporting the annual March For Life, “On this day, we remember the tragic Roe v. Wade decision, whereby the Supreme Court determined that equal protection and equal rights do not apply to the unborn, Rubio said.”[South Florida Sun Sentinel, 1/24/11]
RUBIO OPPOSES REAUTHORIZING THE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT
Marco Rubio Voted Against The Violence Against Women Act. [S 47, Passage, Vote #19, 2/12/13]
· Rubio Opposed Reauthorizing VAWA Because Of “New Provisions That Could Have Potentially Adverse Consequences” And The Conferring Of Criminal Jurisdiction To Tribal Governments. “’Unfortunately, I could not support the final, entire legislation that contains new provisions that could have potentially adverse consequences,’ Rubio said in a statement, voicing concerns with the makeup of funding for some of the VAWA programs. ‘Additionally, I have concerns regarding the conferring of criminal jurisdiction to some Indian tribal governments over all persons in Indian country, including non-Indians.’” [Talking Points Memo, 2/12/13]
RUBIO OPPOSES MEASURES TO ENSURE EQUAL PAY FOR WOMEN
Rubio Called The Lily Ledbetter Act “Nothing But An Effort To Help Trial Lawyers Collect Their Fees.” “RUBIO: I think that anyone who's working out there and making a living, if you're the most qualified person for the job, you should be able to get paid, you should get paid as much as your male counterpart. Everyone agrees with that principle. But just because they call a piece of legislation an equal pay bill doesn't make it so. In fact, much of this legislation is in many respects nothing but an effort to help trial lawyers collect their fees and file lawsuits, which may not contribute at all whatsoever to increasing pay equity in the workplace.” [“This Week,” ABC, 10/21/12]
Rubio Voted Against The Paycheck Fairness Act. The Paycheck Fairness Act would have required employers to demonstrate that any salary differences between men and women doing the same work are not gender-related. The bill also would have prohibited employers from retaliating against employees who share salary information with their co-workers, and would have required the Labor Department to increase its outreach to employers to help eliminate pay disparities. [S. 3220, Cloture on the Motion to Proceed, Vote #115, 6/5/12]
SCOTT WALKER
WALKER SIGNED A BILL RESTRICTING WISCONSIN WOMEN’S RIGHT TO CHOOSE
Associated Press: “Walker Quietly Signed A Contentious Republican Bill” Requiring Women Seeking An Abortion To Undergo An Ultrasound – “The Bill Is Part Of A Broad GOP Push To Dramatically Curtail” Women’s Rights Nationally. “Gov. Scott Walker quietly signed a contentious Republican bill Friday that would require women seeking abortions to undergo an ultrasound and ban doctors who lack admitting privileges at nearby hospitals from performing the procedures… The bill is part of a broad GOP push to dramatically curtail abortions nationally.” [Associated Press, 7/5/13]
· HEADLINE: “Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker Signs Texas-Style Abortion Ban” [Salon, 7/7/13]
· HEADLINE: “Wisconsin Governor Slashes Abortion Access, Mandates Ultrasounds” [NBC News, 7/6/13]
WALKER REPEALED EQUAL PAY
Green Bay Press-Gazette: “Perhaps The Highest Profile Act By Walker To Fuel Claims He's Waging War Against Women Was His Signing Of A Bill To Repeal The 2009 Equal Pay Enforcement Act.” [Green Bay Press-Gazette, 5/13/12]
Walker’s Repeal Of Wisconsin’s Equal Pay Law Made It Impossible For Women To File A Suit In State Courts On Equal Pay Discrimination Charges. “On April 4, Gov. Walker, with no fanfare, signed a bill that made it impossible for women to file suit in state courts to wage equal pay discrimination charges. In Wisconsin, the law allowed women to access state courts in such suits against employers, an avenue less costly than the federal courts. Thanks to Walker, that option was taken away from women.” [John Matijevich, Lake County Journal, 5/4/12]
RICK SANTORUM
SANTORUM SUPPORTED BANNING BIRTH CONTROL AND OPPOSES CONTRACEPTION COVERAGE
ABC News Headline: “Santorum Explains ’06 Loss, Still Supports State Right To Outlaw Contraception.” [ABC News, 1/2/12]
Santorum Said Birth Control Was Something “That Shouldn’t Even Be In An Insurance Policy Anyway Because It Is Not, Really An Insurable Item.” “Elaborating on why he opposed the revised version of the Obama contraception rule, he explained that he didn't believe insurance companies should cover contraception at all. ‘This has nothing to do with access,’ he said. ‘This is having someone pay for it, pay for something that shouldn't even be in an insurance plan anyway because it is not, really an insurable item.’” [Huffington Post, Sam Stein Interview with Rick Santorum, 2/10/12]
SANTORUM OPPOSES THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE EVEN IN CASES OF RAPE OR INCEST AND BELIEVES DOCTORS SHOULD BE “CRIMINALLY CHARGED”
Santorum Said All Abortions Are Murder, Even In Cases Of Rape Or Incest And That All Abortion Doctors Should Be “Criminally Charged.” “On Sunday’s Meet the Press, Santorum told host David Gregory that his beliefs were so strong that he felt abortion was murder even in cases of rape or incest and that all abortion doctors should be ‘criminally charged.’” [Washington Independent, 6/15/11]
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