At a campaign event in Ohio on Wednesday, President Obama called out Romney on equal pay for women :
“[…] when young women graduate, they should get equal pay for equal work. That should be a simple question to answer. When Governor Romney was asked about it, his campaign said, “We'll get back to you.” That shouldn’t be a complicated question: equal pay for equal work. I want my daughters paid just like somebody else’s sons are paid for the same job. That's straightforward.
Now, I’ve got to say, last night, Governor Romney’s top advisor finally admitted, no, the Governor didn't really support that bill. You don't have to wait for an answer from me. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act was the first bill I signed into law as President -- the first bill.”
Watch(the segment with the president’s remark on the Ledbetter Act is at 11:57):
After Republicans successfully blocked the passage of the equal pay bill in the Senate today yesterday, a very irritated Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) took to the podium to enjoin women to “foment our own revolution” and continue the fight for equal pay:
“We’re going to foment our own revolution. So I say to the women out there in America, let’s keep this fight going! Put on your lipstick, square your shoulders, suit up, and let’s fight for a new American revolution where women are paid equal pay for equal work, and let’s end wage discrimination in this century once and for all!”
Republicans framed the measure as a useless bureaucratic roadblock that would have hindered free enterprise and helped trial lawyers. Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV) called the bill a “war on free enterprise.” But Heller’s record on women’s issues is far from stellar: He previously voted against Paycheck Fairness when he was in the House of Representatives and also voted against the Lily Ledbetter Fair pay act, another pay equity bill.
Pay discrimination isn’t some fantasy of the left — it actually prevents families from higher earnings. On average, women make 77 cents to a man’s dollar. And that’s happening while more women are becoming the primary breadwinners or dual-earners in their family and a larger number of women with high degrees entering the job market.
Over her lifetime, the average woman loses enough in wages to feed a family of four for 37 years.
The Paycheck Fairness Act has become an election issue, as well. Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-NV), who is challenging Heller, cited his opposition as a sign that he is one of the warriors in the ongoing battle to destroy women’s rights. In Missouri, the Senatorial candidates have also butted heads on Paycheck Fairness (all three Republican candidates opposed the bill). And in the Presidential election, President Obama has come out strongly in favor of the bill, while Mitt Romney has kept silent on the issue.
Mitt Romney has taken extreme positions on issues women care about, including economic security, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, reproductive rights, Roe v. Wade, and on women’s health. Watch:
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