One Wisconsin Now

Upon sitting out the vote on the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) remarked that what women really need is “education and training.” Puzzling, because in 2007 Sen. McCain avoided the vote on the America COMPETES Act and voted against the College Cost Reduction Act. The America COMPETES Act promotes education in engineering, technology, and science—fields not typically pursued by women—and was supported by the American Association of University Women (AAUW). The AAUW also supported the College Cost Reduction Act—which aimed to increase Pell grant awards to restore the grant’s purchasing power and reduce subsidized student loan interest—given the fact that “because women are more likely to borrow money for college than men are and will earn less on average after graduation, female graduates are more likely to struggle with their loan debt.”

Watch John McCain tell a 14-year-old girl that she doesn't deserve equal pay.

McCain seems to think that women don't need equal pay protection, they need "more education and training." Check out the video below to hear Sen. McCain's outrageous remarks about his opposition to equal pay for women.

In April, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) skipped the vote on the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which would have restored workers' ability to pursue pay discrimination claims in the courts, and provide protection for women receiving unfair wages. McCain explained his opposition to the bill by saying that instead of equal pay protection, women simply needed "education and training." A 14-year old girl knew better and questioned McCain about his absence and position on the bill to provide protection for equal pay. McCain responded, "I don't believe that this would do anything to help the rights of women."

The Bush economy has long been a disaster for working people but has only recently started to affect the very wealthy. It has been an economy of massive tax cuts for the wealthiest, endless loopholes and handouts to the largest corporations, while charging everything to our national credit card. While Senator John McCain has declared that “the fundamentals of the economy are very strong,” reality is showing that he couldn’t be more wrong if he tried.

Just last week, we learned that the jobless rate has jumped in what is the biggest rise since 1986. This week, a study revealed that childhood poverty rates have risen both nationally and in our state. Nationally, there has been an increase of 1 million children living in poverty. The percentage of children living in poverty in Wisconsin has jumped from 12 percent to 15 percent since 2000. That amounts to an increase of almost 200,000 more children living in poverty. Much of the increase in childhood poverty is directly tied to the loss of jobs during this Bush economy. Sadly, this is not likely the end of these kinds of depressing statistics.

Conservatives like to praise the magic of “the market” when discussing anything about the economy. Hopefully they will finally understand what progressives have been saying for years. The Bush approach of tax cuts for the rich and hand outs to corporations has been “market tested” and has proven itself to be a complete economic disaster.

It is no secret that anti-choice groups have long used radical tactics to oppose abortion. This year, we saw young children outfitted in "I survived the American Holocaust" tee shirts in legislative hearings in the Wisconsin capitol. Last July, we watched in horror as a group of "pro-lifers" staged, in front of a Milwaukee abortion clinic, a celebratory reenactment of the murder of a Florida abortion provider and his escort by Paul Hill.  In short, their campaigns and demonstrations have grown increasingly extreme and more inappropriate as of late.

Continuing in this vein, Pro-Life Wisconsin is holding prayer vigils across the state on June 7, the anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision Griswold v. Connecticut. For non-history buffs, this 1965 Supreme Court decision struck down a Connecticut law outlawing contraception for married couples. Since the legalization of contraception, birth control has become commonplace in our society. In fact, 98% of American women use contraception at some point during their lifetime. Despite birth control’s popularity and safety, Pro-Life Wisconsin is joining other anti-choice groups on June 7 to protest outside family planning clinics that prescribe and dispense contraception to low income women. The name of their oh-so-subtle campaign? "Protest the Pill Day '08: The Pill Kills Babies".

Yes, you read that correctly. No longer satisfied with attacking a woman’s right to choose abortion, Pro-Life Wisconsin is now attacking the millions of women who use contraception to prevent unwanted pregnancies.