Update: The Weasely Republican Mind Continues to Know No Shame

By Quill

(UPDATED BELOW)

I got the answers to my questions about the failed vote on the Lily Ledbetter Act.

Apparently, Harry Reid voted "no" on the act as a tactical move that would allow him to bring the bill of for cloture at a later time (and let's make sure that he does, folks).

Also, I found out why the Republicans wanted to block the bill from coming to a vote in the first place.

Via CNN.com:

The bill that stalled Wednesday would have reset the clock with every paycheck, with supporters arguing that each paycheck was a discriminatory act. But Sen. Johnny Isakson, a Georgia Republican, said the bill would allow retirees drawing pensions to sue their old companies over allegations of discrimination that happened decades ago.

"We're about having integrity in the system, so we have timely complaints, we have timely evidence, and the parties that are there can quickly be remedied," Isakson said.

Republican logic never ceases to boggle the brain. A retired employee who has been discriminated against for years of hard work and now has to live off a smaller pension and social security benefits than their former co-workers due to discrimination should have every right to sue their employer for back pay owed to them. That's their basic right, assholes.

Also, how else to you expect to hold corporations responsible for their illegal actions if they can't be brought to court? Sure, there's a time period in which you can (180 days after your first unequal paycheck), but that is totally unrealistic. In Lily Ledbetter's case, it took almost 20 years for her to discover that she was getting shafted.

The paltry excuse the Republicans offer only further reveals their true motives:

1)Protect the corporations.
2)Keep women in their place.

I guess they saw the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone Wednesday night.

Update:

Echidne of the Snakes has a very informative, insightful 3-part-series on the "gender gap" here. It's definitely worth your time.

Thanks to the amazing m for the tip.

Finally, Conclusive Proof that Republicans Are the Sexist Pigs We Always Suspected They Were

By Quill

UPDATED BELOW

The Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act failed to pass cloture in the Senate today, which means that the senate isn't going to vote one way or the other on this bill for now.

Even though it got the clear majority of votes, it needed 60 to pass. You know what that means? That means that the Republicans pulled one of their little "silent filibusters" against a law that would end discriminatory pay practices against women who make 77 cents or less for every $1 dollar a man makes. And Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid let them get away with it by caving in to their demands for a 60 vote filibuster. To prove just how collectively sexist the Republicans in the Senate are, here's the stats from the vote:

• All 49 of the Democrats* and the 2 Independents voted "Yes"
• All but 4 of the 49 Republicans voted "No"
• 2 of those four Republicans were women from Maine: Susan Collins (R-ME) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME). Props to you.
  
• The only two female senators to vote "no" were both Republicans: Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) and Elizabeth Dole (R-NC)
• Props also go out to the only 2 male Republicans to vote "Yes": Gordon Smith (R-OR) and John Sununu (R-NH)

Way to go Republicans! Once again you've put corporate interests before basic human rights, and have decidedly demonstrated that you as a group don't give a flying shit about women.

Because, well gosh-gee-gollickers, it doesn't really matter what women get paid because they should just be stay-at-home-moms as soon as they pop out a kid, and let the Man of the House bring home the bacon every night, right? And if those bleeding-bag-o'hormones called women can't figure out that they're being "discriminated" against in 180 days of their first unequal paycheck, they shouldn't be paid as well as their more deserving, superior male colleagues anyways, right?

Fuck you. Fuck you for filibustering a piece of legislation that would have protected half of your constituents from unlawful discrimination. Fuck you, Harry Reid, for being a tool to the Republican party. And fuck you, Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) and Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) for being tools of the patriarchy.

Although fumes may indeed be spewing forth from my head, fear not, all those who would see the Lily Ledbetter Act passed, for the fight is not yet over. Over at the National Women's Law Center, they have pledged to force the Senate to bring the bill up again and again until it passes. But in order for this strategy to be successful, they need your help and the help of everybody you know who wants to stop women from being treated as second class citizens.

Please take two minutes of your time to see how your Senators voted here, and then call them with the appropriate "Thank You" or "Please reconsider your vote" message. It's up to us now to demand our basic rights as human beings and citizens of the United States of America, because it's obvious that no one else is going to stand up for us.

*Note: According to the National Women's Law Center, although Harry Reid supports the bill he had to vote "no" for some ridiculous technical reason that is still not clear. I will update you when I find out what that is, although I strongly suspect it was because as the tool of the Republican party, he's "technically" supposed to vote how they do.

UPDATE:

Here's Lily Ledbetter herself, explaining why she decided to go to court: