To appreciate the trajectory of the Republicans’ “war on women,” take a look at Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s (R-Alaska) shift over the last month.
On March 1, the Senate narrowly defeated the anti-contraception Blunt Amendment, but Murkowski sided with her party and supported it. A week later, after hearing from some women in Alaska, the senator expressed regret for the vote.
Now, a few weeks later, Murkowski is less circumspect and more outraged. An Alaska paper had this report on the senator’s concerns about reproductive rights and her party’s agenda. (thanks to reader R.P. for the tip)
“I think what you’re sensing is a fear, a concern that women feel threatened, that a long settled issue might not be settled,” Murkowski said.
She cited things like conservative radio commentator Rush Limbaugh’s remarks about a female Georgetown University law student, which Murkowski called “offensive, horribly offensive.”
“To have those kind of slurs against a woman … you had candidates who want to be our president not say, ‘That’s wrong. That’s offensive.’ They did not condemn the rhetoric,” Murkowski said.
The senator added that she “will continue to support funding Planned Parenthood,” and can’t understand her party’s recent efforts.
“It makes no sense to make this attack on women,” Murkowski said. “If you don’t feel this is an attack, you need to go home and talk to your wife and your daughters.”
Murkowski may want to have a chat with her own Republican Party chairman, who this week described the GOP’s attack on women as “a fiction,” comparable to an imaginary “war on caterpillars.”
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