Now that the new Congress is getting down to business, it didn't take very long for the uterus-obsessed Republican/ New Confederate/ Stupid/ White Supremacist party to get into a woman's, um, business:
After a botched effort to pass legislation imposing a 20-week ban on abortions, House Republicans are moving forward Thursday with what's being dubbed a less controversial bill that codifies a ban on federal funding for abortions.
The bill would do a number of things -- including block federal funds for abortion for women who are in the military, who live in Washington, D.C., and who are poor -- but one aspect of the legislation that hasn't received much attention is the fact that it would raise taxes on the vast majority of small businesses.The bill, which passed 249-179 (with, shamefully, 3 Democratic votes) on the 42nd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, has little or no chance of getting through the Senate, but the White House wanted to make sure it's position was clear (our emphasis):
"The legislation would intrude on women's reproductive freedom and access to health care; increase the financial burden on many Americans; unnecessarily restrict the private insurance choices that consumers have today; and restrict the District of Columbia's use of local funds, which undermines home rule," reads a Statement of Administration Policy from the White House. "If the president were presented with H.R. 7, his senior advisors would recommend that he veto this bill."Republicans, having successfully lulled low-information voters into thinking that its unpopular culture war policies like abortion restrictions were off the radar screen during the 2014 midterm elections, now feel they have at least two years to chip away at women's reproductive rights. As long as the President has his veto pen, they won't get very far. But the whole point of the exercise, just like the 50-plus votes to repeal Obamacare, is not serious policymaking -- it's pandering to the frothing base and having issues that you can use to raise money from said frothing base.
Ready to govern, our asses.
