Men vs. Women As Equal Pay Bill Is Blocked By Senate Republicans

[bigtree]

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 05: Lily Ledbetter speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Captiol June 5, 2012 in Washington, DC. Despite strong support from President Barack Obama, a bill that calls for equal pay in the workplace was blocked by Senate Republicans.



Lily Ledbetter (3rd L) is joined by (L-R) Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Rep. Rosa DeLaruro (D-CT) and Rep. Jan Schakowski (D-IL) hold a quick press availability before the Senate makes a proceedural vote on an equal pay bill at the U.S. Captiol June 5, 2012 in Washington, DC.



Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) (R) holds a news conference with (L-R) Sen. John Thune (R-SD), Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ), Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) at the U.S. Captiol June 5, 2012 in Washington, DC.




Rep. Schakowsky: Romney ‘hid under his desk’ on equal pay bill

____ the bill actually got 52 votes, short of the 60 it needed, as you know. is it really the end of civilization as we know it for republicans to acknowledge that a woman should earn the same as a man if they do the same job?

>> last week when we were concerned about the jobs numbers, there was one group that was absolutely giddy with excitement, and that was the republicans who couldn't wait to rush out to microphones to declare barack obama at fault. and now they want to prevent women , and it's not just women , it's about families, when you've got the breadwinner or co-breadwinner in a family making 23% less than a man doing the same job. this affects her retirement. it affects the family income . this is a serious economic issue, and they chose to vote no.

>> they were against it, and so mitt romney simply hid under his desk. he could have very easily, if he's really for equal pay , made a few calls to republican senators and asked them to vote for the legislation. but i'll tell you, martin, the women are watching. this gets right to the heart of their economic security and their futures, their daughters, their children, their sisters, their mothers, and so i think that this is going to be a very damaging vote for the republicans in this election and in particular in some of the senate races, and for romney himself. i think he has really demonstrated his entire lack of leadership and concern for women and their sense of the economy, our sense of the economy.

>> you know, lily ledbetter was here today. the house women went over to the senate. lily ledbetter stood with barbara and with harry reid . lily ledbetter now makes barely over $20,000 because her paycheck was about 40% less than what we are male counterparts were. this affects not only her pension, but her social security . so women face discrimination throughout their lives and throughout their retirement when their paycheck is lower, and so this is not manufactured. it's not manufactured to lily or the millions and millions of other women who are just struggling, sometimes with their husbands and sometimes as head of families, to just make ends meet. this is a very simple idea, that for the same work with the same qualifications, that women ought to be paid equally. this isn't manufactured.

A Letter To Romney From Lilly Ledbetter: "It’s time to speak up"
http://www.barackobama.com/news/entry/a-message-from-lilly-ledbetter

[RKP5637]

1. Sometimes I think Americans want to be punished when they vote republicans into

office. I know the following is broad brushing, but sometimes I think religion plays into wanting to be punished for being sinners and all of that.

And I guess another faction of the religious want to bring destruction to America to bring on the rapture or whatever. I'm just rambling here, but this is a really F'ed up country.

I just don't get it when people consistently vote for those that are really going to F them over, they have to be looking for punishment.

What a brainwashed country this is ...

[lnelson]

2. Photo

@bigtree: These are great photos! I work with Rep. Bonamici, she saw/loved your photo of her standing with Lily Ledbetter and Reps DeLauro and Schakowski. Is there any way I could get a high-resolution of your photo? She'd like to frame it in her office. You can email me at [e-mail]. Thanks!

[Skinner]

3. It looks like bigtree got the photo here:

http://news.daylife.com/photo/03bu2BC7T4g3l?__site=daylife

You'll have to get in touch with them to get the pic. I think it might be available from Getty Images.

Welcome to DU.

[bigtree]

6. thanks, Skinner!

I was out in the yard . . . very nice newbie.

[bigtree]

4. oh, lnelson, I don't

It's a Getty photo and they should have it available. I'm having a difficult time getting registered or search their archives. Maybe you can have better luck. It's a paste from http://www.daylife.com. Here's the page: http://www.daylife.com/photo/03bu2BC7T4g3l?__site=daylife&q=lilly+ledbetter


There's a link to Getty on the page in the subject line: http://www.gettyimages.com/


I couldn't get the registration link to budge, but there is an 800 number: 800 IMAGERY (800 462 4379)

Hope this helps

[lnelson]

8. thank you!

[Blue_Tires]

5. Welcome to the site!!

[Harmony Blue]

7. A house divided

falls.

[joeglow3]

9. But, I thought the issue was positions and not pay

At least, that is what these same politicians said when it was exposed that pay for their employees mirrored this trend:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002724594

But, I guess they have to play games to gin up support for a manufactured controversy. Too bad they are doing dick about dealing with the real problem: getting women into higher positions.