Elections Matter! "Virginia Senate Votes to Repeal Forced Ultrasound Law"

[Cha]

Jamil Smith ✔ @JamilSmith
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Virginia's Senate is now controlled by Dems. They just voted to repeal a forced-ultrasound law. Elections matter. http://on.msnbc.com/1eSfdLv
6:08 PM - 11 Feb 2014

Va. Senate votes to scrap abortion law

Can Democrats undo the damage to reproductive rights in Virginia?
msnbc @msnbc

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Supporters of Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe listen during a campaign event in Dale City, Va., Oct. 27, 2013

snip//

"Terry McAuliffe won the Virginia governor’s mansion last year in part on his repeated promises to be a “brick wall” against restrictions on women’s access to abortion and contraception. But can he and his Democratic allies knock down the barriers that have already been built?

On Tuesday, they showed a willingness to try.

In a rare move, Virginia’s newly Democratic-controlled state Senate voted Tuesday to repeal the forced pre-abortion ultrasound law that drew national headlines (and ridicule) in 2012. The Senate vote was technically tied, 20-20, until Lieutenant Governor Ralph Northam, elected in the same Democratic sweep of top state offices as McAuliffe, voted for repeal. (Northam’s opponent, E.W. Jackson, once said that Planned Parenthood was more harmful to African-Americans than the Klan.)

“Virginia state senators have finally understood that this law, which is medically unnecessary and unwarranted and is really only meant to shame and judge women, needed to be repealed,” Cianti Stewart-Reid, executive director of Planned Parenthood Advocates for Virginia told msnbc. “Elections have consequences,” she added."

end snip//

"Legislative repeals of abortion restrictions – which have cascaded in the states in recent years – are “very rare,” said Elizabeth Nash, state issues manager at the Guttmacher Institute. But this is an era of newly-emboldened Democrats seeking to position Republicans as waging a war on women. “There are bills that would repeal abortion restrictions pending in Arizona, Ohio, Nebraska, Georgia and Massachusetts, in addition to Virginia,” Nash said."

Elections Matter

[font color=red]EDIT[/font] Adding this from the link which I originally missed..

The bill is expected to die in the House of Delegates, which is still controlled by Republicans. But it was a sign that state Democrats are willing to expend political capital and energy on the issue.

ohheckyeah

[Cha]

1. ..

[ProSense]

2. Thanks for posting. n/t

[Cha]

3. Thank you for noticing the Good News out of Virginia,

ProSense!

[Cha]

4. Just helping out the

RECcers.

[Cha]

5. ..

[CaliforniaPeggy]

6. I am proud to have cast the fifth vote for the Greatest Page.

This is extraordinary and wonderful news!

[Cha]

7. It's a amazing and a miracle, Peggy! Look at how

close those elections in Virginia were.. How we sweated through each one..

Election DO Matter!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

8. Indeed!

Elections DO Matter!

[indepat]

9. Imagine the need for the VA senate to have to vote to repeal a procedure the FBI

includes as rape. Imagine the need to strike down state-mandated rape. What a swell bunch of fellas those elected Virginians must have been to have voted to mandate rape. That some females still vote Republican in 'Murika is incredulous imo.

[Cha]

16. That why this Repeal is such a BFD, indepat!

[freshwest]

10. Never give up! Thanks, VA Democrats! GOTV!

[Cha]

17. MAKE IT HAPPEN, fresh!

Thank you~ Love the Graphic!

[Auntie Bush]

11. Remind all the women in your life to vote...he men too.

We have to stop these disgusting Rethugs NOW! VOTE!

[Cha]

21. Thank you, Auntie Bush!

[Cali_Democrat]

12. "Elections Matter"

Indeed!

K&R

[Cha]

23. Every Vote Counts! We know how close

these races were in Virginia, Cali.. This is what happens when Dems GOTV!!

[Cali_Democrat]

25. I'm thinking of creating a series of posts throughout the year with the headline "Elections Matter"

Each post will be a specific example of how voting in Dems and voting out Republicans benefits Americans.

This OP is a good example.

GOTV 2014!

[Cha]

27. Great Idea! I loved it when I saw that tweet in reference to the Repeal

of the ultrasound in the Virginia Senate. They Do Matter.. but, examples and constant reminders are important to keep it upper most in our minds.

I'll be doing some of that, too. "Elections Matter"

[pampango]

69. It will lead to a battle with the "Both parties are the same" folks. It is a great idea! n/t

[yeoman6987]

77. I like the idea

However, we need to condemn the Democrats for dropping the ball by not voting enough in San Diego for sure. That is a tragedy!

[louslobbs]

13. Good! Now let's work hard and get out the vote for 2014 so that we can put the people in

place to undo the damage the Republicans have been inflicting on the women in this country. This war that is being waged on women by republicans, needs to be stopped, and it needs to be stopped now! Get out the vote in 2014, and then we can place laser like focus on adding to the wins in 2016.

We need to beat back the Republicanteabaggercorporatekochsukerevangelical menace not only for the sake of the people of America, but also for the sake of the people of the world.
Lou

[Cha]

24. Thank you, louslobbs!

[louslobbs]

74. You bet Cha! n/t

Lou

[Cha]

76. Lou..

[ellie]

14. WooT!

[DonViejo]

15. K&R ....

But, but, but there's no difference between the political parties!

[freshwest]

19. That's only true if you're not a Democrat, LOL! n/t

[IrishAyes]

33. That's what the Ignorati say, anyhow.

[Cha]

36. A lazy soundbite propagated by

libertarians and disinformationists.. and oh yeah, Ralph Nader.

Anyone who's paying attention to reality knows that's a lie..

[malaise]

18. Great news

Rec

[Cha]

37. Ain't it Just!

[zappaman]

20. Big rec and kick! n/t

[Cha]

38. Hey zappa!

thanks

[Isoldeblue]

22. Wonderful news!

The thought of making a woman go through such a humiliating experience for no good earthly reason, is mind-blowing. It's terribly hard enough to go through to end a pregnancy, but that law just made it all the more traumatic for women...

[Cha]

39. It was the GOP salt rubbing into the wounds of their WAR ON WOMEN,

Isoldeblue.

Thank Goodness We Won in Virginia! We see what happens when we GOTV and WIN!

[MineralMan]

26. Big K&R!

[saidsimplesimon]

28. Cha, "elections matter"

2014 could be a banner year for the return of American Values. Politicians can listen to our siren call, or be relegated to the dust bin of times past.

Voters don't claim to be exceptional Americans. Our only claim is we care about the direction of the future for our children and those around the world. We register, we vote and we ignore the lunatic fringe that wants to suppress the vote.

[Cha]

40. Well said, saidsimplesimon..

thank you!

[blue14u]

29. I love this

Whole thread!!!

WTG Virginia!!
WTG Dems!!!
WTG CHA!!!

[Cha]

42. Mahalo blue, WTG YOU@!

[bearssoapbox]

30. At last.

Some sanity.



It needs to happen more often.

[Cha]

44. We Love Sanity, don't we,

bears?!

[bearssoapbox]

55. Oh Yeah!

More and more, when it comes to the Grand Obstructionist Party, it seems that the insane have taken over the asylum.

Some act like it's a competition to see who can come up with the craziest, most idiotic idea that their cult will believe.

[Cha]

57. They do have a competition.. like others do to be the best only

theirs for the batshit award.

[fadedrose]

31. Great post, Cha, as usual

[Cha]

47. Mahalo, fadedrose~ It's fantasic progress in Virginia.. undoing what the cro-magnons did..

[fadedrose]

70. And they told us they were extinct . . .

You find out a lot of stuff from the informed people in DU

[TheMathieu]

32. I hope all of these Dems voting to repeal it are 115% pure or it doesn't count.

Just kidding.

"Elections matter." Yes they do, Cha. Yes they do.

[Cha]

48. Virginia Dems did Good,

eh, Mathieu? The whole motley crew.. and we know Gov Terry McAuliffe's not the purest Dem around.

[pampango]

68. Good idea. If any of them disagree with you and me on anything, I want them out of the party.

Damn the women of Virginia or any other group that benefits from 'imperfect' Democratic government.

Also, just kidding.

[calimary]

34. One of those threads I wish I could recommend 100 times!!!

Or MORE!!!

FINALLY!!!!! I want republi-CONS just simply OUT.

OUT of power.

OUT of influence.

OUT of the State legislatures.

OUT of the governors' mansions.

OUT of Congress.

OUT of the Senate.

OUT of our precious wilderness areas and other natural treasures.

OUT of our boss's offices.

OUT of our workplaces.

OUT of our doctor's offices.

OUT of our bedrooms.

OUT of our private lives (like they always claim they are - even though they lie like bush/cheneys!)

And DEFINITELY OUT of our vaginas!

[sheshe2]

35. YES!!!!!!^^^^^^^^^^^^^!!!!!!!!!!!

Elections matter! Damn straight they do! Virginia Rocks!







Great OP, Cha! Now let's GET OUT THE VOTE 2014!

[Cha]

41. "WAR ON WOMEN? UP YOUR'S HONEY!"!

DAMN STRAIGHT, HONEY!

[font color=blue] "ELECTIONS MATTER" THERE IS A DIFFERENCE!..[/font]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=4491014

Mahalo for the GRAPHICS, sheshe .. Brilliant INSPIRATIONS!

[sheshe2]

43. Yours too Cha!

We are going to vote and we are going to win this!

[Cha]

45. Awesome Contrast from Women Urging

Women to Vote back in the Day.. to Women Urging us to Vote Now, she!

We Need so Much of that in NOVEMBER.. 2014 is Here and it's TIME TO Pull Out All The Stops and GOTV2014!





Nothing's changed with a certain element of society that wants to keep Women Down.. poor insecure things.

[Adrahil]

46. SOOOO... important.

WE have to remmebr that it's more important to win the seat than run the perfect candidate. Sometimes the person we would prefer is NOT thew person that has the best chance of winning and now, more than ever, winning MATTERS.

[ohheckyeah]

49. Sorry to be a downer...

I'm glad the Virginia Senate voted to repeal it but it's not enough:

The bill is expected to die in the House of Delegates, which is still controlled by Republicans. But it was a sign that state Democrats are willing to expend political capital and energy on the issue.

[Cha]

50. That's okay.. we're into realtiy here, ohheckyeah..

"But it was a sign that state Democrats are willing to expend political capital and energy on the issue"

We'll see how it goes.. I did totally miss that though.. thanks for excerpting it.

"The state’s pro-choice coalition has made repealing the ultrasound law a priority for 2014, along with expanding Medicaid, restoring family planning funding, and repealing an abortion insurance ban.

In November, capitalizing on the backlash to Virginia’s Republican-led abortion laws – including the forced ultrasound bill and regulations intended to shut down clinics – McAuliffe won 59% of the votes of people who said abortion was the most important issue to them. They made up 20% of the electorate. Many of the messages test-driven in that election, including portraying Republicans as extreme on women’s rights, are expected to make a comeback in the 2014 midterm elections and beyond."

Here's to Virginia's "Pro-Choice Coalition"!

[ohheckyeah]

59. I was really sad to read that sentence.

We worked very hard in Virginia to get rid of these anti-women assholes. *sigh*

[Adrahil]

67. Don't give up! You've won half the battle!

Make sure Virginians know about Democrats efforts to overturn this nonsense, and make sure they know about the asshats still in the House.

[Cha]

53. I added it to the OP with credit to you.

again thank you!

[ohheckyeah]

60. You're welcome

and thank you for posting. I knew nothing about it and I live in Virginia.

[Cha]

62. You're welcome, ohheckyeah.. and thank you, again~

[Cali_Democrat]

54. Still proof elections matter

Get the GOPers out of the House of Delegates!!

[ohheckyeah]

61. They absolutely matter

and we worked hard to get these shits out but it's an uphill battle when so many right wing fundamentalists live in Virginia. We owe a big debt to Northern VA for getting out the ones we did.

[treestar]

72. The whole point is that the election in 2014 will make a difference

As to changing over the House of delegates.

[ohheckyeah]

73. Actually that wasn't the whole point

as people were cheering the repealing of the law. Of course the election will make a difference.

[riversedge]

51. women get treated like yo yo's. First not, then yes, now not.

while i am happy at this pt for VA, it may be time limited. guess I am feeling pessimistic at the moment.

[Cha]

52. Yes, I know what you mean, riversedge.. we are like yoyos for the

teabagger idiots in Congress.

this still has to go the the republicon House in Virginia so it's expected to die. That was just pointed out to me and I have to Edit the OP now.

[Number23]

56. K&R!

[grahamhgreen]

58. Great! I sure wish we would rebrand it as "Rape by ultrasound"

[PotatoChip]

63. Excellent news!

Thanks for posting.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

64. This pointless and purely symbolic vote is a bad choice to illustrate "elections matter".

The ultrasound law will remain in force, unfortunately, because the other house still supports it.

[Cha]

65. That's your opinion. This Election matters because

it's an illustration of what can happen when Dems do WIN. And, very inspiring for the 2014 November Election.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

71. But nothing *has* happened!

The Democrats have, so far, *failed* to reverse the ultrasound law. It will remain in force.

I very much hope this *isn't* an illustration of what happens when Democrats win, and that sometimes when they do things *will* happen, unlike on this occasion.

[gwheezie]

66. Women in Virginia are going to use this as a reason to get out the vote

We have a lot to undo in Virginia after the reign of terror from the gop, we have not won the war but we did win a battle, we are still organized and more than ever want to continue fighting the reactionary rightwing. The anti woman vote expected from the delegates is going to re energize our efforts, some of my gop female friends could not bring themselves to vote in the last election, there was no way they would vote dem but they could also no longer support the rightwing loon attack on our rights so they stayed home. I m counting on the continued teabag loon rhetoric changing the house dem next time.

[Cha]

75. Mahalo, gwheezie! I'm in the Glass is Half Freaking Full Category and

I see you are too. And, I refuse the debate anyone who doesn't see this Election and Vote in the Virginia Senate as "Mattering".