GOP’s War On Women

Women have made a number of strides in breaking glass ceilings across many spectrums of society. Even some of the Republican party’s strongest defenders are women. 45% of all women in the US voted for Felonious Punk and his cohorts. On the surface, it can appear that women are doing just fine, thank you. When we dig a little deeper, though, and several people have, the picture isn’t quite as rosy as expected. The far-right ideologues and religious-right TheoBros have been chipping away at rights that stand to hurt Republican women just as much as those in the Center and Left.

The responsibility for this attitude starts at the top. For years, well before he was president, Felonious Punk has been disparaging women. Here are just a few of the dozens of statements he’s made over the years.

“Women have one of the great acts of all time. The smart ones act very feminine and needy, but inside they are real killers. The person who came up with the expression ‘the weaker sex’ was either very naive or had to be kidding. I have seen women manipulate men with just a twitch of their eye — or perhaps another body part.” [1997]

“There’s nothing I love more than women, but they’re really a lot different than portrayed. They are far worse than men, far more aggressive, and boy, can they be smart!” [1997]

“I’ve got to use some Tic Tacs, just in case I start kissing her. You know I’m automatically attracted to beautiful — I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything … Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything.” [2005]

To a female reporter: “We could say, politically correct, that look doesn’t matter, but the look obviously matters. Like you wouldn’t have your job if you weren’t beautiful.” [2014]

To a contestant on “The Apprentice:” “That must be a pretty picture, you dropping to your knees.” [2013]

“You’ve got to deny, deny, deny, and push back on these women. If you admit to anything and any culpability, then you’re dead. … You’ve got to be strong. You’ve got to be aggressive. You’ve got to push back hard. You’ve got to deny anything that’s said about you. Never admit.” [Via Bob Woodward’s “Fear: Trump in the White House”]

“Do you want to lose your life savings because we put a weak and foolish woman in the White House?” [November 2, 2024]

Over the years, he’s called specific women “dumb,” “ugly,” and “retarded.” This relentless attitude toward women is largely responsible for creating the environment women find frightening today. As the vitriol ramps up, women are finding themselves more frequently referred to as ‘DEI hires’ and, in the case of federal employees, more likely to be dismissed than their male counterparts. That the White House continues to encourage this behavior creates a frighteningly dangerous climate.

Vice President Fuxacouch isn’t any better. Remember, this is the person who made waves last year for his 2021 claim on Faux News that “childless cat ladies” are running the country. He’s also suggested that parents should have “more power—you should have more of an ability to speak your voice in our democratic republic—than people who don’t have kids.” He followed that up with “‘Universal day care’ is class war against normal people.” All of these statements are ultimately attacks against women, driving to keep them out of the workforce so that they’ll stay home and have babies.

Just last month, the GOP-controlled House of Representatives passed the SAVE Act which requires citizens to have a passport or birth certificate matching their name to vote. That would automatically prevent any woman, cis or trans, who has changed her name from being able to vote. That includes most married women, many of whom do not have passports with their married names. In fact, this act single-handedly eliminates roughly 54% of women from voting even in local elections. This follows the line of Christian Nationalists who favor repealing the 19th Amendment in favor of one that would allow men to vote for their entire family. Fortunately, the bill seems to have stalled in the Senate and may not see the light of day. Don’t take that to mean that the war against women is toothless, though.

Several GOP-dominated states have introduced bills that would end, or severely restrict, ‘no-fault’ divorce. While some states, such as Indiana, ultimately decided to withdraw the bill from consideration, the desire is still strong to make it more difficult for women, including women in abusive situations, to file for divorce. Interestingly enough, the move would likely affect GOP women more than Democrats because red states, especially those in the deep South, have higher divorce rates than blue states. There’s no partisanship in the GOP hate toward women. They want to treat all women like Pokemon, catching them and keeping them put away until they can benefit their husbands in some way.

Let’s be crystal clear: Republican men have no respect for women, including their own wives. They are of the terribly misguided opinion that no woman has any authority over them at all, no matter what their position or place in society. Yes, this is fueled almost exclusively by Christian Nationalists, but those ranks include Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth whose support of anti-DEI initiatives severely threatens the readiness of the military.

There’s no way for the GOP to make this look good. Plenty of people have noticed this trend and left-leaning media is littered with all kinds of articles pointing out the details, and fallacies, of the relentless attacks on women’s rights. Susan B. Anthony would doubtless roll over in her grave were she aware of the severe efforts the GOP is making to annul the rights that women fought so hard to get just a century ago.

Sure, women could mount another suffrage movement, but actions such as the SAVE Act are intentional efforts to make any pushback from women pointless, potentially oppressing them more than they have been in over 400 years. Men who claim to have God on their side are fighting to return to the ancient tradition where women and children were considered property, to be exploited and shown off to other men. Their moves are calculated and intentional. They know what they have to do to get their way and they’re doing it while we all sit back and watch.