Republicans for Rape

Yesterday, 30 Republican senators opposed an amendment to the Defense Appropriations bill that would prohibit federal defense contractors like Halliburton/KBR from getting money “if they restrict their employees from taking workplace sexual assault, battery and discrimination cases to court.”

In other words, 30 GOP senators want to deny rape victims their day in court.

Think Progress has the story of the woman who prompted this amendment:

In 2005, Jamie Leigh Jones was gang-raped by her co-workers while she was working for Halliburton/KBR in Baghdad. She was detained in a shipping container for at least 24 hours without food, water, or a bed, and “warned her that if she left Iraq for medical treatment, she’d be out of a job.” (Jones was not an isolated case.) Jones was prevented from bringing charges in court against KBR because her employment contract stipulated that sexual assault allegations would only be heard in private arbitration.

Senator Al Franken introduced the amendment to the appropriations bill last week to prevent such complete disregard for the rights of rape victims. Nine senators (Mary Landrieu, Benjamin Cardin, Amy Klobuchar, John Kerry, Jeff Merkley, Bill NElson, Dianne Feinstein, Sherrod Brown and Jeanne Shaheen) joined Franken in cosponsoring the bill — and it passed with 10 GOP senators supporting it after a passionate speech from Franken:

All four Republican women (Susan Collins, Kay Bailey Hutchison, Lisa Murkowski and Olympia Snowe) voted for the amendment, and they were joined by Bob Bennett, Orrin Hatch, Chuck Grassley, George LeMieux, Dick Lugar and George Voinovich. These GOP senators deserve our thanks for truly embracing bipartisanship to vote for a bill that is clearly a good idea.

Then there’s the 30 who voted against it:

Alexander (R-TN)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Bond (R-MO)
Brownback (R-KS)
Bunning (R-KY)
Burr (R-NC)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Crapo (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC)
Ensign (R-NV)
Enzi (R-WY)
Graham (R-SC)
Gregg (R-NH)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Johanns (R-NE)
Kyl (R-AZ)
McCain (R-AZ)
McConnell (R-KY)
Risch (R-ID)
Roberts (R-KS)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Wicker (R-MS)

Of particular note in this bunch? Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Nominee for president John McCain. Senators intimately familiar with sex scandals David Vitter and John Ensign.

Really, guys? Opposing a bill intended to let rape victims get prosecution? That’s truly a new low for the Republican party.

You can call them out on it! If you’re a constituent of one of these members, we’ll deliver your letter of outrage to them — and if you’re not, it’ll go to Minority Leader McConnell, who speaks for all Senate Republicans. Send your letter today!

Photo by Laura Padgett, used under Creative Commons

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

William B.

10:21AM PST on Dec 27, 2011

Understand something about Republicans! Pro Life: What it really means! Republican conservative 'jesus freaks' s want to even make abortion illegal even if your raped and ever person running for the Republican conservative party has stated that already on TV so it's no secret, so if they become President, their first agenda is to make it the law! They want you to keep the child that you or your 12 year old daughter had by a rapist. Gee, he goes to jail and comes out a few years later and gets a lawyer to get him visitation rights and he shows up at your house and knocks on your door, says hello to your husband and says, I came to visit my child!. Excuse me! You people that want this are either sick or just plain morons or did you not think this thing through to the end result. I guess you are going to invite him in for a cup of coffee! Next, they will want you to marry your rapist!!

send a green star

Amy H.

5:01AM PDT on Nov 6, 2010

Unbelievable- time to amp up my efforts to start that female only commune.

Leia P.

8:24PM PDT on Nov 4, 2010

brownback voted this way. no surprise there. he has been a rape apologist since day one

Beverly P.

5:46AM PDT on May 10, 2010

I am certain that the entire Senate is pro rape. So is the White House. Under the Obama-Biden VAWA, "sealed felony rapes" don't count. The 4 billion dollars in VAWA grant money is used to "train" courts, police, the DOJ to "seal rape cases". the DOJ is telling me they "lack jurisdiction" to put a rapist in prison, ONLY BECAUSE he rapes women for a "private employer".

I am sure it is a federal crime to sexually abuse ANY CITIZEN of the US, in the workplace, I am sure the workplace IS federal jurisdiction. I am also sure that the Federal Govt has a vested interest in processing workplace rape cases throught the US Attorneys offices, the EEOC and the Federal Courts.

Corporations pay to keep their rapists in business and out of prison.

No woman should have to leave her job for being raped by the boss. When the boss likes to rape women, he should go to prison. That is the way it used to work, before the Senate started subsidizing rapists with the VAWA, "sealed felony rapes don't count policy and the DOJ policy of not arresting or prosecuting workplace rapists.

I am sure they will let corporations rape as many women as the corporations will pay the federal government for in "fines", and "adjudiction" of rape cases through the US Attorneys offices.

Felony rape is a crime, even if you rape the "contract labor" in the workplace.

In five years of working the same rapist case, no one will enforce the law.

Cherie S.

10:48PM PDT on Oct 20, 2009

Ann J sez..
"...there may be two sides to the above story..."

oh, yes...my idea of the perfect date always involves being forcibly violated 'til I bleed, then left locked in a shipping container with no food/water/etc...waiting for, what? more of the same. Yeah, baby!

Honestly, what sort of "second side" of this story do you imagine there might be? That the woman involved was "asking for it" because she was there, working in a predominantly male environment instead of staying home cooking dinner and making babies? Perhaps she dressed provocatively, or made eye-contact. Okay, sure....our mistake, there probably WAS a second story and she had it coming!

...they walk among us...beware...

Jennifer J.

11:21AM PDT on Oct 13, 2009

Oh and another thing Anne. There are NOT 2 sides to this story. I've been following it for years (I'm guessing you haven't). There have been MANY allegations and women have been waking up covered in bruises, blood, urine and feces. One woman's breast implants were ruptured. Do you know now brutal someone has to be to rupture breast implants? And another thing: You can call yourself an independent if you want but you're an idiot conservative. Don't bother responding. I won't be checking. I just wanted to tell your ignorant ass off. You obviously have no clue about what's been going on with these corporations. They're not accountable under Iraqi or American law and guess what happens when there are no laws? In the future, if you have an opinion about something, I strongly suggest you get the facts first. And btw, Al Franken rocks for passing this amendment. It's about fucking time someone did something about this. All it is is just an amendment to give woment there the same rights they have here. Do you not get that you airhead?

Ann J.

6:21AM PDT on Oct 13, 2009

Cindy, you need to get a grip. The polls have been turning for sometime now. You can spew hatred and biased nonsense all day if you like, but it doesn't change the fact that the Left is wrong on everything, and the American people aren't interested in your "solutions" to whatever comes along. Did you ever stop to think that there may be two sides to the above story? Al Franken is a complete ditz, so he may have gotten something wrong in the story. Me, I'm going to stay an Independent - - and with the way the Dems are acting since they took over, I think Independent is the way to go.

Cindy M.

10:30AM PDT on Oct 11, 2009

Jon, you wrote:

"Guys, every time you spew out hatred for Republicans in general, you immediately turn off the MAJORITY of Americans who are not Democrats. "

Hmmmm? I think the last time Republicans we're even on par with Democrats (In Party Affiliation polls) was 2002, when the post 9/11 effect was its strongest.

Since a large percentage of Americans claim Independent status, a MAJORITY of Americans are neither Reps nor Dems, by afflilliatiion. But indeed, there are more professed Dems than Reps. Here's a couple of sources on that:

http://people-press.org/commentary/?analysisid=95

http://www.gallup.com/poll/114016/state-states-political-party-affiliation.aspx#2

Perhaps some of the Reps problems stem from insanity such as a clear one-party opposition to bills like the one advanced by Senator Franken and mentioned in this blog. Indeed, a large percentage of Republican senators came down on the wrong side of this issue, which can only serve to further marginalize the Rep Party, especially among women voters. Protecting rapists is about as stupid as can be politically, and abhorrent morally.

I mean really, what do Republicans stand for currently:

No to the popular Public Option?
Yes to making appeals to racism?
Yes to protecting rapists?

And you wonder why they're slipping? I don't. They're completely out-of-step with the American People.

-cindy