Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill (D) is ignoring the many, many requests from voters asking her to sign the resolution that will remove the expired deadline from the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA).
Several weeks ago, this meme was circulated all over social media and plastered on multiple Facebook pages. Some voters who called her office reported being dismissed by the staff because they are not residents of Missouri – in other words, McCaskill doesn’t care that women and men all over the country want to secure gender equality in the Constitution.
Back in August of 2012, Senate candidate Todd Akin (R-MS) said he heard from doctors that women’s bodies have a way to shut down a pregnancy that resulted from rape. Akin’s asinine comment paved the way for a victory for his Democratic opponent.
Even before Todd Akin humiliated himself and his entire party with his Neanderthal rape comments, Claire McCaskill was working on a winning strategy to beat her GOP opponent. She wanted him to win the primary and run against Akin so much that the McCaskill campaign ran a trio of aggressive ads selling him as “Missouri’s true conservative.” I even praised her strategy in my latest book AMERICAN WOMAN: The Poll Dance.
Akin gave McCaskill a gift on that fateful August day and in the wake of his comments, she received overwhelming support from voters, Democratic groups and women’s organizations. Women rallied for and supported her and she won! Now, she is turning her back on the very people who secured her victory. She won’t even explain why.
Activists from ERA Action have talked with the senator and have explained why the ERA is needed and urged her to sign on. They explained that 35 other senators and 147 representatives have co-sponsored the resolutions. I have spoken to several staffers from her office – including her press contact. I asked for a statement from her if she chooses not to support gender equality. No one in her office will address the request. Why? Why won’t she give us an answer?
McCaskill KNOWS and UNDERSTANDS the ERA is an economic issue that affects everyone – not just women.
Her silence is like a big middle finger to everyone who supported her in 2012.
By refusing to support the constitutional amendment to enshrine gender equality into the Constitution, Claire McCaskilll is proving that she is not a friend to We The People, women, Democrats and future generations. She is spitting in the face of the author of the text of the ERA, Alice Paul, as well as the progressive women who fought hard so that she could enjoy her seat in the U.S. Senate, and she gives anti-feminists a reason to celebrate another victory against equality.
The majority of voters say their number one concern is the economy. The ERA would make equal pay a federal law.
The simple ERA text:
Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.
Facts About The Gender Pay Gap
- Women are half as likely to receive a pension as men.
- Pension benefits for women are only about half as large as those of men.
- Nearly half of all single, black and Hispanic women have zero or negative wealth.
- Women can pay up to 47% more for health insurance.
Facts About Women In The Workforce
- Women are 52% of the population but only 18.5% [sic] of Congress.
- Women are 46.5% of the workforce but only 12% of its corporate officers.
- Women are 55% of Hollywood’s audience but only 9% of its directors.
- Women do 90% of the unpaid labor of raising children and caring for the elderly and sick.
We can’t afford to NOT ratify the ERA!
We have all seen the negative effects of politicians who fail to take a real progressive stand. Democrats lost BIG in 2014. They didn’t give voters a reason to support them. Isn’t it time for We The People (and that means YOU) to pressure our senators and representatives and make them understand that unless they prove they are working to make this country better, to ensure an equal playing field for ALL, regardless of gender, we will fire them? We will find someone who will work for all of the people, and we will vote for THEM!
What You Can Do:
People often complain they are tired of voting for the lesser of two evils. Now you can do something about it. Call the office and demand that she support gender and economic equality in the United States. Let her office know that you will stay on her and call at least once a month.
Claire McCaskill is a civil SERVANT. She was hired to SERVE. She wasn’t hired to ignore the requests of American voters.
The Senator needs to know we are NOT MESSING AROUND. This is YOUR business – no matter what state you are in because the ERA is a national, economic, and a civil rights issue.
Please – when calling, remain polite but firm.
Sample text – (feel free to change or add to this):
202-224-6154
“Hello, I have a message for Sen. Claire McCaskill. Please write it down and then repeat it back to me:
Please tell Sen. McCaskill to support constitutional gender equality and sign SJRes 15.”
After they repeat it to you, thank them. Please encourage at least 3 more people to do this.
This link takes you to a variety of sample tweets that are ready to be copied and pasted: SAMPLE TWEETS
And here are some great talking points and facts:
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