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Justice

UPDATED: Virginia GOP Nominee For Attorney General Introduced Bill Forcing Women To Report Their Miscarriages To Police

By Ian Millhiser on May 20, 2013 at 10:35 am

(Credit: AP)


If a woman in Virginia has a miscarriage without a doctor present, they must report it within 24 hours to the police or risk going to jail for a full year. At least, that’s what would have happened if a bill introduced by Virginia state Sen. Mark Obenshain (R) had become law.

And yet, the Virginia Republican Party wants to make Obenshain into the state’s top prosecutor. This weekend, Virginia Republicans selected Obenshain as their nominee to replace tea party stalwart Ken Cuccinelli (R) as the state’s attorney general.

Under Obenshain’s bill, which was introduced in 2009,

When a fetal death occurs without medical attendance upon the mother at or after the delivery or abortion, the mother or someone acting on her behalf shall, within 24 hours, report the fetal death, location of the remains, and identity of the mother to the local or state police or sheriff’s department of the city or county where the fetal death occurred. No one shall remove, destroy, or otherwise dispose of any remains without the express authorization of law-enforcement officials or the medical examiner. Any person violating the provisions of this subsection shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

Under Virginia law, a Class 1 misdemeanor carries a maximum sentence of “confinement in jail for not more than twelve months and a fine of not more than $2,500,” so Obenshain’s bill could lead to a woman who decides to take a day to grieve the loss of a pregnancy she’d hoped to carry to term spending a year of her life in jail for that decision.

Even without Obenshain’s bill, Virginia law already treats many miscarriages as potential crimes. Under existing Virginia law, “[w]hen a fetal death occurs without medical attendance upon the mother at or after the delivery or abortion or when inquiry or investigation by a medical examiner is required, the medical examiner shall investigate the cause of fetal death and shall complete and sign the medical certification portion of the fetal death report within twenty-four hours after being notified of a fetal death.” Obsenshain’s bill, however, would treat many women as if they were criminal suspects at the moment they are confronted with a deep personal tragedy — and imprison them if they would rather deal with that tragedy privately with their family than share the vulnerable moment after a miscarriage with law enforcement.

Update

Jared Walczak, a Deputy Campaign Manager with Obenshain for Attorney General, provided a statement to ThinkProgress explaining his boss’ support for this legislation. The statement is copied below, with an added link to a news story Walczak identified as the “law enforcement issue” prompting the legislation:

At the request of one of his local Commonwealth’s Attorneys, Senator Obenshain carried legislation (SB 962 of 2009) dealing with a specific law enforcement issue. As sometimes happens, the legislation that emerged was far too broad, and would have had ramifications that neither he nor the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office ever intended. Senator Obenshain is strongly against imposing any added burden for women who suffer a miscarriage, and that was never the intent of the legislation. He explored possible amendments to address the bill’s unintended consequences, and met with representatives of both Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice in an attempt to identify a solution. Ultimately, however, he was not satisfied that any amendment could sufficiently narrow the scope of the bill to eliminate these unintended consequences, so he had the bill stricken at his own request.

Obenshain’s bill was indeed “stricken at request of patron” as Walczak states.

Politics

Virginia GOP Nominee Believes Gays Are ‘Very Sick’ And Democrats Are Worse Than The KKK

By Nicole Flatow on May 19, 2013 at 1:00 pm

(Credit: Associated Press)

The Virginia Republican Party this weekend nominated for lieutenant governor a minister who has a history of virulent anti-gay statements, accuses the Democratic Party of enslaving African Americans, and criticized President Obama for having “Muslim sensibilities.” The former Senate candidate, who in 2012 garnered less than 5 percent of the vote in the Republican primary, bested six other candidates during the Virginia GOP convention, and will join conservative Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli on the Republican ticket. He is the first black candidate the state party has endorsed since 1988.

Here are some of the most alarming facts you need to know about E.W. Jackson:

Election

New Census Voter Turnout Data Turn Up The Heat On The GOP

By Ruy Teixeira, Guest Blogger on May 9, 2013 at 12:33 pm

(Credit: CNN)

The new Census voter turnout data were released on Wednesday and are full of interesting findings that underscore the extent of the demographic challenge for the GOP. They also show that the exit polls weren’t exaggerating the impact of ongoing demographic change on the electorate, despite the skepticism or perhaps hopes of some

To begin with, these new data confirm what years of exit polling has been telling us about the diversification of the US electorate. According to the Census data, the share of minority voters increased by 2.6 percentage points between 2008 and 2012, very similar to the exit polls, which showed a 2.3 point increase. The two surveys also told the same story between 2004 and 2008, when the Census showed a 2.9 point increase in the minority vote and the exits indicated a 2.8 point increase.

The Census data also confirm that black turnout was higher than white turnout in 2012 (66.2 percent for blacks vs. 64.1 percent for whites), the first time the Census data have shown this result. It is certainly an open question whether blacks will continue to turn out at a rate that matches or exceeds white turnout, but it is worth noting that there has been a steadily rising trend of higher black turnout since the 1996 election, which of course considerably precedes Obama’s arrival on the scene.

While blacks have closed the turnout gap with whites, the same was not true of Hispanics and Asians, who continued to lag about 16 points behind whites.  Even with these relatively low turnout rates, these two groups (especially Hispanics) have been steadily increasing their share of voters over time, and will continue to do so in the future, thanks to their increasing share of the eligible voter population.

The current turnout gap between these two groups and whites is a double-edged sword for the GOP. On the one hand, it helps blunt the already substantial ongoing impact of demographic change on Republican electoral fortunes. On the other, it constitutes a potential tranche of votes which, if tapped by successful mobilization efforts, could make their situation much worse than it already it. The fact that Asian and Hispanic turnout haven’t accelerated yet should be cold comfort for them. Not so long ago, many commentators doubted whether black turnout could ever match, much less exceed, white turnout. But now it has happened.

Finally, these data should put to bed the idea that “missing white voters,” and not rising diversity, fueled the Democrats’ 2012 victory. The Census data estimate that there were 2 million fewer white voters in 2012 than 2008. If these missing voters had all shown up, and assuming these missing whites would have voted as other whites did, who supported Romney by about 20 points, he would have netted around 400,000 votes. Not quite enough: he lost to Obama by 5 million votes!

Looked at another way, if white turnout had not declined at all in 2012 and had instead matched black turnout levels, there would have been an additional 3 million white voters, which would have netted Romney 600,000 votes. Still not enough!  In fact, Romney would have needed an additional 25 million white voters in the electorate to net the 5 million votes he needed just to tie Obama. To say this is implausible considerably understates the case.

Time for Republicans to wake up and smell the coffee. Diversity is here, it’s growing in every election and no amount of wishful thinking will make it go away.

Justice

GOP Pennsylvania Senator: ‘I Won’t Support’ Republican Election-Rigging Plan

By Ian Millhiser on May 8, 2013 at 10:30 am

State Sen. Chuck McIlhinney (R-PA)


Pennsylvania state Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R) wants to rig the Electoral College to put a Republican in the White House, and he convinced half of the GOP’s 26 member state senate caucus to co-sponsor a bill that attempts to do so. Under Pileggi’s election-rigging plan, the blue state of Pennsylvania would give many of its electoral votes to the Republican Party’s presidential candidate — Mitt Romney would have won 8 of the state’s 20 electors under this plan — while red states will continue to allocate all of their electoral votes to the Republican candidate as well.

At least one of Pileggi’s fellow Republicans, however, does not support this plan to rig future elections. In video of a recent town hall meeting first posted by People for the American Way, state Sen. Chuck McIlhinney (R-PA) comes out against the bill:

QUESTION: I just had a question about a bill that Senator Pileggi had, that we have been hearing a lot in the press about, that changes the Electoral College votes. What is your stance on that? What is your position on that and why?

MCILHINNEY: The Electoral College — what they are trying to say is that you have a proportionate amount of votes you need, or we have 20 electoral college votes and they should be based upon a proportionate of the number of people who voted in Pennsylvania. Now, under that system, I could never see a Presidential candidate ever getting more than 11 to 9, no matter who it is. Because I am never going to see a candidate win 75% of the vote in Pennsylvania. So you could never even get more than 11 let alone 20. Which makes no sense to me whatsoever. . . . It will force us into a state that will only have two electoral college votes depending on which way you go with it. So, I won’t support it. I don’t think it’s gonna come up.

But that’s the logic is to say that every vote should count. So, even if your candidate lost, you’re still gaining him some Electoral College votes in that Electoral College. But it really was poorly thought out, if I can say that. I respect Senator Pileggi a lot but I wouldn’t support it.

McIlhinney’s statement is good news for American democracy, but it is not enough in and of itself to stop Pennsylvania Republicans from moving forward with their election-rigging plan. Currently, Republicans control 27 of 50 seats in the state senate plus the lieutenant governorship, so a total of three Republicans must oppose rigging the Electoral College in order to kill Pileggi’s plan.

LGBT

Illinois Republican Chairman Steps Down After Being Challenged For Supporting Marriage Equality

By Zack Ford on May 7, 2013 at 9:00 am

In January, Illinois Republican Chairman Pat Brady began calling lawmakers urging them to support marriage equality. Despite threats from the National Organization for Marriage and fellow Republicans, he stood by his position. Brady then survived three different attempts to oust him from his position, but now he has announced he is stepping down voluntarily for various personal and professional reasons, including his wife’s ongoing battle with ovarian cancer.

The divisions in the party over Brady’s position on same-sex marriage have been considered by some to be a microcosm of the Republican Party’s struggles nationally, particularly its attempt to sugarcoat its anti-gay positions while still embracing them wholeheartedly.

The Illinois House has stalled voting on marriage equality legislation, but Gov. Pat Quinn (D) believes the bill is within “striking distance.” The state’s Senate passed the bill 34-21 back in February.

Health

States Take On Unregulated Pharmaceutical Facilities As House GOP Holds Back Nationwide Reform

By Sy Mukherjee on May 6, 2013 at 1:20 pm

(Credit: ABC News)

After last year’s deadly meningitis outbreak was traced to unclean conditions at a New England-area pharmaceutical mixing plant, state and federal officials called for increased oversight of the largely unregulated facilities. But as states await congressional action to give the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and state agencies more regulatory authority over the so-called “compounders,” many have taken it upon themselves to increase facility inspections in an effort to protect public health.

Since December’s outbreak, five states — including Maryland and Virginia, which experienced fatalities linked to the incident — have already passed new laws strengthening regulation of compounding pharmacies, and another nine have legislation pending. Independent groups have also conducted over 100 inspections in several other states.

But as Politico reports, barring enhanced funding and clearer lines of FDA and state authority endorsed by Congress, there is only so much that states can do on their own:

“NECC just blew this out of the water, and there was a recognition that these guys really weren’t being overseen much at all,” said Joseph Hill, legislative director for the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. “States realized they need to know who these compounders are, where they are operating and where they are sending product, and to provide some oversight.” [...]

Many states have been devoting the resources needed in the short term to bolster inspections, Catizone said, as they wait to see what Congress will do before passing laws of their own.

But even as states act, the steps they are taking vary. And experts say it would be difficult for them to plug the regulatory hole on their own.

“It’s partly a matter of resources,” Hill said. “You can have the perfect regulation, but if you can’t spend the time and money to give your people specialized training and send them to do inspections, the regulation won’t matter much.”

Those additional resources are particularly significant considering that inspections conducted since the outbreak have revealed that a vast number of compounding facilities violate safety guidelines, including unsanitary conditions such as rusty and moldy mixing plants.

Congressional Democrats have introduced bills that would crack down on compounders by increasing FDA funding, creating a federal database of compounding facilities, and subjecting the drug makers to a minimum level of production standards. But House Republicans have been skeptical about requests for additional resources and tighter regulations, arguing that the FDA’s past failure to prevent outbreaks such as last December’s indicates that such legislative measures would be futile. FDA director Margaret Hamburg has argued that the exact opposite is true, and that barring legislative fixes, the agency will be largely unprepared to address future crises — as will the states that have taken it on themselves to safeguard their residents’ public health.

LGBT

NOM: Republican Party Will Be ‘Done’ If It Stops Opposing Marriage Equality

By Zack Ford on May 3, 2013 at 3:41 pm

The National Organization for Marriage’s Brian Brown sat down with USA Today to talk about their loss in Rhode Island, but despite the advance of equality, Brown continued to reiterate his false belief that a majority oppose same-sex marriage — they don’t. During the interview, Susan Page asked him about the Republican Party’s attempt to be more inclusive of people who support marriage equality, even if the party’s platform doesn’t change, but he was resolute that straying from this one position will be the demise of the entire party:

PAGE: Reince Priebus, the Republican National Chairman, said the party needed to be inclusive on this issue — needed to keep the party platform but welcome people who support same-sex marriage as good Republicans. Should the party be inclusive?

BROWN: Does “inclusive” mean that you get rid of your founding principles? Are party platforms supposed to mean anything? If the party does that, the party’s done. The party is done if the Republican Party abandons traditional marriage. It would mean that it has turned its back again on not only its base, but on the overwhelming majority of folks who identify as Republicans.

Watch the full interview at USA Today.

Despite the fact NOM is non-partisan, Brown has a significant investment in the Republican party. In addition to leading NOM, Brown heads up ActRight, an online fundraising tool for conservative candidates, including “all federal Republican candidates.” He has used ActRight’s tool to fundraise in the state same-sex marriage fights to prove its worth to Republican operatives. Thus, he likely wants the party staying committed to opposing same-sex marriage so they stay interested in using ActRight.

Incidentally, NOM’s own vindictive campaigns against Republicans who support marriage equality have backfired against the party. Of the four Republican seats NOM challenged in the New York Senate, they only replaced one with an opponent of marriage equality, but lost two of them to Democrats. If all Republicans obeyed Brian Brown’s wishes, it would help his personal cause greatly, but it would continue to hurt the party in a country increasingly embracing equal marriage rights for all couples.

Justice

Ohio Republicans Want To Punish Colleges That Enable Students To Vote

By Ian Millhiser on May 1, 2013 at 12:00 pm


In 1979, the Supreme Court affirmed a decision holding that state cannot place unique burdens on college student votes that do not apply to other members of the electorate. Nevertheless, Ohio Republicans now want to punish state universities that encourage students to cast a ballot. Under a budget amendment filed by Republicans in the Ohio House, state universities that provide documents enabling students to register to vote in their college town, rather than in the state where their parents reside, will be forbidden from charging those students out-of-state tuition. Thus, the amendment would effectively reduce the funding of state schools that assist their students in registering to vote.

This is the second GOP attempt to restrict college students from voting in just the past month. About a month ago, a North Carolina Republican lawmaker filed a bill that would raise taxes on families with college students if the student registers to vote at school rather than in their parents’ hometown.

It’s not difficult to guess why Republicans support these — and other — efforts to make it harder for college students to cast a ballot. As former New Hampshire House Speaker William O’Brien (R) said when explaining his support for measures to make it harder to vote, “the kids coming out of the schools and basically doing what I did when I was a kid, which is voting as a liberal. That’s what kids do.”

Election

The Tea Party Is Killing The Republican Party

By John Halpin, Guest Blogger on Apr 30, 2013 at 11:16 am

Researchers at William & Mary and the University of California-Davis somehow convinced nearly 12,000 FreedomWorks members to take a survey exploring their ideological and policy positions in order to analyze how the attitudes of the most ardent members of the Tea Party compare to those of other non-Tea Party aligned Republicans. The results must be sobering to the establishment GOP-types like Karl Rove and Eric Cantor trying to re-brand the party as slightly right-of-sane.

First, as the authors point out, Tea Party members and supporters now constitute a majority of the current Republican Party, not a minority faction.  Their study finds that two-thirds of Republican identifiers strongly support or support the Tea Party, slightly higher than the roughly half of Republicans who say they support the Tea Party in other public polling from NBC/Wall Street Journal.

Second, Tea Party supporters are much more politically active than other Republicans:

For example, in 2008 Tea Party Republicans performed 1.42 activities for the presidential and congressional tickets on average, compared with only .41 activities by non-Tea Party Republicans. In 2010, with only congressional races at the national level, Tea Party Republicans performed on average 0.68 activities versus only 0.12 by non-Tea Party Republicans. Tea Party supporters are responsible for almost all of the total campaign activity performed by party supporters on the Republican side.

Third, on every contentious issue from reducing environmental regulations and repealing Obamacare to taxes and even banning abortion, Tea Party supporters are far more right-wing than other Republicans. In fact, the authors of this study find that on some issues — “imports, abolishing the Department of Education, giving vouchers, and environmental regulation” – the ideological positions of non-Tea Party Republicans are actually closer to those of Democrats than they are to Tea Party Republicans. On top of these policy positions, Tea Party Republicans also reported much more favorable attitudes towards eccentric and extremist 2012 presidential candidates such as Michelle Bachmann, Herman Cain, Rick Perry, and Rick Santorum than non-Tea Party Republicans, who viewed these candidates negatively.

You can see why this is likely to cause problems in a nation that voted twice to elect Barack Obama.  When you look at what the most active and passionate members of the Republican Party want in terms of policy and candidates, they are way outside of the mainstream of the political opinions of the rising majority of Americans who determine national elections.

LGBT

Rhode Island Republican Senators Unanimously Endorse Marriage Equality

By Zack Ford on Apr 23, 2013 at 9:55 am

This afternoon, the Rhode Island Senate Judiciary Committee will vote on marriage equality legislation, and the chamber’s Republican Caucus has unanimously endorsed the bill. Though there are only five Republicans in the 38-member Senate, all five signed onto a letter released today declaring that “gay and lesbian couples deserve to be treated equally under the law”:

Our Senate Republican Caucus is deeply committed to the values of freedom, liberty and limited government. In accordance with those values, we believe that freedom means freedom for everyone, and that every citizen of Rhode Island deserves the freedom to marry the person they love.

We support Senate Bill 38 because it rightfully extends the civil aspects of marriage to all Rhode Islanders while protecting the freedom of religion our state was founded upon. Gay and lesbian couples deserve to be treated equally under the law, and at the same time churches, synagogues and mosques in our state must be free to exercise their faith and their sacraments as they see fit. This bill strikes the right balance and should be passed by the Senate.

We recognize that there is a national consensus building on this generational issue, and we are glad that support for the freedom to marry is growing within the Republican Party. Today we join the 209 other Republican state legislators across America who have stood up for the freedom to marry. As a united Senate Republican Caucus, we are proud to add our voices to reaffirm the principles of freedom and equality under the law.

The letter notes, “The Rhode Island Senate GOP Caucus the first legislative caucus of either political party in any state to unanimously support the freedom to marry.”

The endorsement makes the bill’s passage significantly more likely, but opposition remains strong among the Democratic leadership in the Senate, include Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed. A February poll found that 60 percent of Rhode Island voters support allowing same-sex couples to marry, which they can already do in all neighboring states and still be recognized when returning home to Rhode Island.

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