NARAL Spokeswoman Faults Sanders For Not Addressing Question At Town Hall

[KittyWampus]

At Town Hall, Sanders was asked how he'd be a more effective fighter for women's rights than Clinton and rather than answer that he addresses his past comments on Planned Parenthood being part of the "Establishment".


Bernie Sanders Just Can’t Get It Right With Women’s Groups


Sanders must have been anticipating a question about his relationship to America’s foremost women’s healthcare provider, because when a Drake University student started to ask, “How are you going to fight for women’s rights more effectively than a female candidate with endorsements from organizations like these…” Uncle Bern cut her off with a shake of his finger. “No no, now, that’s not quite accurate,” he started in, presumably referring to last week’s cries that he’d dissed Planned Parenthood rather than the content of the woman’s question.

snip

NARAL rightly tweaked Sanders not for what he did say on Tuesday, but for what he didn’t. “When asked a direct question about why he would be the best candidate for women, he ignored the impending crisis that restricts access to abortion,” spokeswoman Kaylie Hanson wrote. Sanders responded to the controversy over his “establishment” comment, but not to the question at hand: of how he would fight for women’s rights in office. He’s made it clear that, in his mind, the economic critique at the center of his campaign trumps the importance of any identity politics, including gender.

But as Hanson points out, access to health care—and especially to birth control and abortion, which allow women to time their families around their economic situations and their careers—“is an economic issue, and one that's fundamental to a woman's ability to succeed.” Sanders had a great opportunity to make that point last night, and thereby to signal that he really deserved Planned Parenthood’s endorsement. Once again, he passed.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2016/01/26/bernie_sanders_just_can_t_get_it_right_with_women_s_groups.html

[merrily]

1. Sanders has always had a 100% rating from NARAL. Suddenly, it's NOT GOOD ENOUGH, BERNIE!

Seriously?

Her question made it about endorsements:

How are you going to fight for women’s rights more effectively than a female candidate with endorsements from organizations like these…

In reality, endorsements don't make anyone a fighter for anyone. At most, they express a hope that you will be a fighter.

Ratings of a politician's performance, on the other hand, are based on what he or she actually did.

[beam me up scottie]

5. 100% is obviously not good enough.

Bernie Sanders in 2012:

United Against the War on Women

The history of American democracy, to say the least, has been checkered. Our nation was founded at a time when people of African descent were held in bondage. After slavery was abolished, they were forced to endure legal discrimination for another 100 years.

When our country was formed, women were not just second-class citizens. They were third- or fourth-class citizens. Women couldn't vote or play a significant role in the political life of the nation. Women, in many cases, couldn't own property and were legally regarded as subservient in marriage. The educational and economic opportunities open to women were extremely limited. And, of course, women were unable to have control over their own bodies.

***

We are not returning to the days of back-room abortions, when countless women died or were maimed. The decision about abortion must remain a decision for the woman, her family and physician to make, not the government.

We are not going back to the days when women could not have full access to birth control. Incredibly, here in the year 2012, that is exactly what the Blunt Amendment, which we defeated last month in the Senate, was all about. The Blunt Amendment would have allowed any employer who provided health insurance, or any insurance company, the right to deny coverage for contraception or any other kind of procedure if the employer had a "moral" objection to it. While I am glad that we defeated this horrendous amendment, it certainly was a sad day in our country when every Republican, save one, voted for it.

We are not going back to the days of wide-scale domestic violence, even if 31 Republican men in the Senate recently voted against the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act because it expanded coverage to the gay community and Native Americans.

We are not going back to the days when it was legal for women to be paid less for doing the same work as men, even if the governor of Wisconsin recently signed a bill to repeal that state's pay-equity law.

Further, not only are we going to protect and expand those laws which deal directly with women's rights, we are going to vigorously defend the important laws and programs which protect all working people in our country -- women and men alike.

http://huffpost.com/us/entry/united-against-the-war-on_b_1464730.html

His record is impeccable:

http://www.ontheissues.org/social/Bernie_Sanders_Abortion.htm

Unlike Hillary Bernie never supported a ban on late term abortions, maybe that's why he has a 100% rating from NARAL.

CLINTON: My opponent is wrong. I have said many times that I can support a ban on late-term abortions, including partial-birth abortions, so long as the health and life of the mother is protected. I’ve met women who faced this heart-wrenching decision toward the end of a pregnancy. Of course it’s a horrible procedure. No one would argue with that. But if your life is at stake, if your health is at stake, if the potential for having any more children is at stake, this must be a woman’s choice.

Source: Senate debate in Manhattan , Oct 8, 2000

http://www.ontheissues.org/Cabinet/Hillary_Clinton_Abortion.htm

[merrily]

7. Nice find. There you go again, providing links.

As we discussed once before, I can no longer be bothered.

[beam me up scottie]

9. I've had it on standby.

This is the meme of the day so it saves time.

[merrily]

14. Coincidentally, I just posted about the meme of the day and how nothing about that looks

the least bit coordinated.

The sound of email inboxes filling up is virtually perceptible.

(see what I did there?)

[beam me up scottie]

15. !

[NurseJackie]

2. It explains a lot about why so many groups have also "passed" at endorsing him.

[ismnotwasm]

3. Yup

[merrily]

6. More like the typical bs "gotcha" over nothing that actually matters.

[m-lekktor]

10. they were planning to go after him before the event even started. that is obvious

based on the non issue they are screeching about! this is so contrived!

[merrily]

11. Thanks. Deja vu all over again.

[Vinca]

4. Bernie has been a strong advocate for NARAL as long as I can remember him being on the public stage.

Even though they're endorsing the woman in the race, they should accord him a modicum of respect.

[cali]

12. Exactly right.

[MeNMyVolt]

8. K&R. Guess they endorsed the right candidate.

[merrily]

13. Not according to Reply 5!

[Number23]

16. It's not a huge deal but this is so NOT a good look. And I don't blame NARAL for pointing

this out at all.

Sanders must have been anticipating a question about his relationship to America’s foremost women’s healthcare provider, because when a Drake University student started to ask, “How are you going to fight for women’s rights more effectively than a female candidate with endorsements from organizations like these…” Uncle Bern cut her off with a shake of his finger. “No no, now, that’s not quite accurate,” he started in, presumably referring to last week’s cries that he’d dissed Planned Parenthood rather than the content of the woman’s question.

Damn. Just, damn.

But as Hanson points out, access to health care—and especially to birth control and abortion, which allow women to time their families around their economic situations and their careers—“is an economic issue, and one that's fundamental to a woman's ability to succeed.” Sanders had a great opportunity to make that point last night, and thereby to signal that he really deserved Planned Parenthood’s endorsement. Once again, he passed.

K&R