McCain Rails Against ‘Liberal Feminist Agenda’, But His Record Speaks for Itself

“They need education and training”. That was John McCain’s solution to the fact that in 21st century America, women still make only 77 cents for every dollar men make, for the same exact work and with the same qualifications. McCain opposed the Lilly Ledbetter Act, which sought to extend the amount of time that women who have been discriminated against can file a complaint. Apparently, he thinks we just aren’t as well educated as our male counterparts.

Unfortunately, that’s just the beginning of a long line of offenses against women by McCain and his running mate, Sarah Palin, who has been marketed to us as a role model. She, who turned a blind eye to the Wasilla police department practice of charging rape victims up to $1,200 for evidence kits.  She, who would deny 10-year-old barely pubescent incest victims the right to terminate pregnancy.

Lately, McCain has been complaining at rallies that he and Palin are under attack by the “Feminist Left”, attributing his downslide in the polls to efforts by feminist groups to educate the public about his ticket’s history in regards to important women’s issues. What McCain doesn’t seem to get is that issues like breast cancer research, domestic violence prevention and equal pay for equal work are important to most women, regardless of party affiliation. Perhaps he’s forgetting that his own record shows clearly enough where he stands.

With only days remaining until November 4th, women deserve to know these facts before they vote.

Health care is one of the issues I’m most fired up about this election season, because there’s so much at stake for all of us. Not only would McCain’s health care plan put us at the mercy of insurance companies eager to take all of our money and deny our claims, his plan has no details about cancer programs.

My grandmother passed away of ovarian cancer at just 59 years old, and my sisters and I are at heightened risk of developing it. So much research is still needed to aid in earlier detection of this deadly disease, which is one of the most fatal forms of cancer in women. Only 24 percent of ovarian cancers are detected before they spread to other areas of the body.  The fact that Obama’s health plan doubles federal funding for cancer research within 5 years and increases access to clinical trials for cancer patients makes me feel much more secure about my own chances for survival if I were to become one of the millions of women affected every year by breast and ovarian cancer.

Here are just a few examples of McCain’s voting history, provided by the Feminist Majority at FeministsforObama.org:

McCain voted against funding breast cancer research if it meant taking away from military funds.  Breast cancer affects all women, even the 370,000 women currently serving in the US Armed Forces.  Since breast cancer attacks 1 in 8 women, that means 46,250 members of the US military will deal with breast cancer.  And John McCain voted NO.

Senators Obama and Biden have sponsored and supported legislation, including funding, to reduce violence against women and to assist women survivors of domestic abuse.  Biden authored the federal Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).  Obama cosponsored the reauthorization of VAWA and authored legislation on violence against women as an Illinois State Senator.

Not only did McCain vote NO on VAWA, but he also failed to co-sponsor VAWA reauthorization although many Republican and conservative senators did.

Obama and Biden are running the strongest campaign on women’s rights of any major party in U.S. history. Compare McCain and Palin’s record on women’s issues with that of Obama and Biden yourself at FeministsforObama.org.

If McCain and Palin win, women lose.  Please pass this information on to the women in your life, so they can consider it before going to the polls.

And, by the way, if you’re not clear on McCain and Palin’s environmental records, I’ve summed them up over at EarthFirst (9 Reasons a John McCain Presidency Would be a Disaster for the Environment, Sarah Palin’s Abysmal Environmental Record). Suffice to say, Obama/Biden ’08!