Sanders Unveils Women's Rights Policy Initiatives

[think]

Sanders Unveils Women's Rights Policy Initiatives

BY NATHALIE BAPTISTE | AUG 24, 2015

Last week, I wrote about Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders’s lack of policy proposals regarding women’s rights. Over the weekend, the campaign updated its website to include several new policy initiatives. Sanders’s new plan for fighting for women’s rights is expansive, and the most detailed in the Democratic field.

If elected president, Sanders would only nominate Supreme Court justices who would protect Roe v. Wade and the right to family-planning services, especially important in the wake of last year’s Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby decision, which set a dangerous precedent for privately owned corporations who wish to deny their employees birth control.

Sanders’s new platform also vows to expand funding for Planned Parenthood, the Title X family-planning program, other initiatives that protect access to abortion and contraception, as well as the Women, Infants, and Children supplemental nutrition program, which provides federal grants to states for food, health-care referrals, and nutrition education for low-income mothers and their children. The Sanders campaign says he is working on a plan to make child care and pre-kindergarten available to all families, regardless of income.

Sanders zeroes in on the “international embarrassment” of being the only major country that doesn’t guarantee paid leave to workers, by calling for employers to provide at least 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave. “It is not a family value to force the mother of a newborn baby to go back to work a few days after she gives birth because she doesn’t have the money to stay home and bond with her baby,” reads the new policy proposal, which he calls a real “family value” (a jab to Republicans)...

Read more:
http://prospect.org/blog/tapped/sanders-unveils-womens-rights-policy-initiatives

Here is the Women's rights issue page:

https://berniesanders.com/issues/fighting-for-womens-rights/

This article can also be found in part in the Democracy Daily section on BernieSanders.com:

https://berniesanders.com/sanders-unveils-womens-rights-policy-initiatives/

[beam me up scottie]

1. Now this twit is trying to take credit for Bernie's "new" plan to help women?

Her hit piece proved she was hopelessly clueless from the get go.

[seabeyond]

2. twit? the twit? must you insult everyone? and it is on sanders.com. surely he approved of the twits

hit piece

[beam me up scottie]

5. The twit who accused him of "struggling" with gender justice?

I'm being polite.

[seabeyond]

10. no. you were not. people pretty much got it. says fuckin everything.

[beam me up scottie]

12. Oh trust me, I was.

You don't want to know what I really think about women who swift boat their allies and pretend it's "concern".

[seabeyond]

21. we KNOW. like you think you are clever. and it does not serve you well. nor sanders

nor a thread that should have been VERY POSITIVE for sanders

ya. we KNOW what you meant. talking about a woman. while sanders is standing up for women.
something women COULD HAVE appreciated. we KNOW what you did.

[cali]

39. good grief. do you ever stop...?

[boston bean]

51. oh my, pffffffffffff..... lmao!

I sincerely just LOL'd at this comment.

wow!

[senz]

53. From what I've seen, no.

[sabrina 1]

79. You are being polite!

Bernie's record on women's rights is excellent.

[beam me up scottie]

83. That's why the vast majority of DU women support him.

We're not stupid.

[Luminous Animal]

23. So you think he read it and then rushed this out?

That is just flat out ridiculous. He and his team have been working on this for near two months. I know because I was part of the conversation. They wanted to get it right.

Hillary, meanwhile is given nothing but praise for slowly rolling out her positions.

[seabeyond]

28. is this his official site

https://berniesanders.com/sanders-unveils-womens-rights-policy-initiatives/

[seabeyond]

29. and if you and sanders were working on it for two months, why didnt either of you mention it

all the times women asked to hear something

a simple.

we are working up our plan, that is taking time, cause we want to get it right

why would you all turn this thread into this? why? how the fuck does it serve sanders as he is trying to do something right for women?

[beam me up scottie]

38. The information about his record and position on women's issues has been on his website for years.

Anyone who wanted to know where he stood could easily find out if they weren't a twit.

[Luminous Animal]

46. I never talked with sanders directly

It was more or less thinking and listening sessions with sanders current positions outlined and comments for expansion or substraction. And some target groups hashing it out amongst themselves.

When he and his team were ready to unveil the platform, the did. No point in blabbing about discussion points and run the chance of misrepresentation.

His team did similar with his platform on race, weeks of quiet talks with activists until it was ready.

[sabrina 1]

81. Because we KNEW his record on Women's Rights. It is excellent. Why have all those elected officials

we've supported over the years STILL not managed to get equal pay for women, while Bernie has pushed for years to get it done but couldn't get their support?

He is the best representative of women's rights with a long record to prove it we could women could possibly have.

Another reason why I am supporting him.

[beam me up scottie]

82. And he supports a federal $15/hr minimum wage, Hillary doesn't.

That would lift so many women and children out of poverty, there's no reason for her not to support it.

[short circuit]

3. Sorry, BMUS

You had me completely confused.

[MuseRider]

6. Well now BMUS

at least he has started to listen to people

I will read through this soon. I am glad it is out. I did not see any direct mention of the ERA on a scan and I had hoped to but again, he did bring it up again in 2007 I think, so he is good with that. I would like to see someone bring it up every year.

He has always felt comfortable to me as a woman, I always felt he was doing the right things but just not talking about them much. He tends to kind of put everyone in the same basket and essentially it should be that way if we were all equal. I am glad he is putting out more specifics since we are not. BLM has been very helpful, women have been too. I have not seen a lot of LGBT policy yet but I know how he feels about this. Equality is my pet issue so I am feeling really good about this but should read it thoroughly before I commit to much else.

I missed the twit comment, went right over it in my hurry. Please, you were doing so well getting this up for us. Twit is pretty offensive. Talking about a woman and women's issues and twit?

[seabeyond]

8. thank you, yes. ERA has to start getting pushed especially after supreme crt scalia made his

statement about women really not addressed in the 14th?

[MuseRider]

16. I doubt he would have a problem

bringing it up again. It would be great if a different person brought it up every year. I don't really care, as long as someone does.

[seabeyond]

22. agreed.

now. i cannot stand how this thread began, and continues. i wont sit in a thread while women play at dissing other women, discussing womens issues.

thak you for speaking up.

[beam me up scottie]

35. Not all women march in lockstep.

I have every right to defend my candidate from smears, just like you defend Hillary.

[cali]

41. Hillary isn't her candidate.

Now she says it's omalley

[beam me up scottie]

43. How convenient. #AnybodyButBernie

They are only concerned with sinking one candidate and they won't stop until he's done.

[MuseRider]

62. I honestly do not think

she has an actual candidate yet. Still looking. She is not an "anybody but Bernie" person but is very keyed into language about women. She can stick up for herself but I thought I would put that out. She is not against Sanders. She will poke them all in her own way until she gets her answers, she deserves that right.

[beam me up scottie]

64. I've seen her posts on other threads.

She has claimed that Bernie doesn't support women's, poc or lgbt rights.

She is only interested in pushing those memes.

[MuseRider]

68. OK, we are friends

I just know what we have talked about. She does not need me to defend her but I hated to see that comment lay there.

[beam me up scottie]

70. I understand.

I used to respect seabeyond, she always fought for the underdog.

I'm afraid this primary season is going to be worse than 2008.

[MuseRider]

71. Me too about 2008 and I

am trying to burn as few bridges as I can but I have to admit, some of the people are really getting on my nerves. I must use my ignore feature more.

Sea is a strong woman and I have a ton of respect for her. She fights hard, that is certain.

[senz]

80. Glad to hear these nice things about her.

My interactions haven't been so positive. But everyone has their up and down days. I do like her avatar!

[beam me up scottie]

9. Check out the thread that made me go Wut???

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1251&pid=519415

And I wasn't alone, many women DUers are sick of this kind of hit piece.

[seabeyond]

11. if it is a hit piece, why is it on sanders site?

[beam me up scottie]

14. It wasn't.

It was on a blog.

[seabeyond]

25. this is not officially sanders site?

https://berniesanders.com/sanders-unveils-womens-rights-policy-initiatives/

[beam me up scottie]

27. The link I gave you to the original claim was a blog.

[seabeyond]

31. so WHAT. you called her a twit, a hit piece and laughed that sanders listened. the link i gave YOU

looks like it is from a sanders site. and he handled it a hell of a lot better than you, twit but ot really twit cause you are being polite.

[beam me up scottie]

45. I'm going to leave you with a quote from another pissed off Bernie supporter:

" I truly object to you helping to push false memes about someone who has basically spent his whole life standing up for and with average people and the disadvantaged and minorities and women. "

[MuseRider]

13. True but it was

the name calling. Twit, Sorry, I know what you meant but really? We can dislike someone or something they say and call them out about it. We, as women, are awful tired of being called names.

[seabeyond]

19. black people wanted at the table. they yelled and are sitting at the table. women want to sit

at the table. that one woman wrote an article, and sanders stepped up.

WHY????

why do people have such a huge problem including others beyond their very narrow scope. as if sanders is not capable or needs to be protected.

he is stepping up and even when he does, groups get attacked.

[Luminous Animal]

30. Sanders did not step up because of her damn article. This platform has been in the works

long before she wrote her article. He has been working with many women and representatives from women's orgs to get this right.

It is ridiculous to think that this comprehensive plan to address women's issues was rushed.

[seabeyond]

32. i am out. you all enjoy your win with women. inbetween the twit, but not really twit cause being

polite and all the bullshit.

unbelievable.

[beam me up scottie]

33. THANK YOU.

Glad I'm not the only one that sees the spin.

I knew they were going to jump on this and try to play it like he just now decided to support women's rights.

[seabeyond]

34. ya beam. you are brilliant.

[beam me up scottie]

36. No, I'm observant.

And some HC supporters are predictable and obvious.

I decided to pre-empt the spin that was going to be put on the article by them.

[MuseRider]

37. I do not have an answer that could be directly from him

BUT judging by the way he talks about things and how he has run his campaign I believe I said it in my first post upthread.

"He has always felt comfortable to me as a woman, I always felt he was doing the right things but just not talking about them much. He tends to kind of put everyone in the same basket and essentially it should be that way if we were all equal. I am glad he is putting out more specifics since we are not. BLM has been very helpful, women have been too. I have not seen a lot of LGBT policy yet but I know how he feels about this. Equality is my pet issue so I am feeling really good about this but should read it thoroughly before I commit to much else. "

We talked about this over PM's a long time ago. I still feel that way. I think he thinks of all of us as equal. It is his nature I think. When we bring it to his attention he goes after it. I think this is just him but again, I do not know him or have anything other than my own observation to qualify this.

He is an issues guy. His campaign has been launched with broad issues that affect all of us. Now he can get down to specific issues for groups of people. It was always there, just not during the launch when he needed to garner as much attention from every group he could.

Secretly I think he is glad and happy when groups come to him and raise issues. This is what he has been asking us to do all along. He wants our participation and if we are quiet he will work on the things being brought to him, if we raise a stink he is available.

***I HATE that I used the term "pet issue" YIKES! Ick!

[seabeyond]

40. i hear ya.

i agree with you. i find this part of his campaign very interesting. gotta get out of this thread.

i will read it later and maybe another thread will come along that we can actually have a good conversation.

things to do.

[MuseRider]

44. There will never be a BS thread

that does not get like this I fear.

He has always been there for us, he is that kind of a guy.

You know it has been worked over the years. He is good for us but not as vocal as you want him to be. 2007 ERA, that says something. Maybe he is not for you but he is for me. We are cool.

[senz]

48. You're right, that is a hit piece.

And I didn't know the piece in the OP (which on the face of it sounds pretty good) was written by someone who has been trying to mislead people about Bernie. Plus...who is defending this...

Thanks bmus, you are much more cognizant of these things than I.

[beam me up scottie]

50. Hey you!

Remember when I said I was jaded and you didn't want to be like me?

This is what I'm talking about.

[senz]

54. I don't call that jaded; I call it thorough.

Wish I were as well-informed.

[beam me up scottie]

57. I thought I was done with primaries after what happened in 2008.

Until Bernie decided to run.

I didn't expect the attacks against him to happen quite so fast and be quite so vicious so I guess I am naïve.

He was a darling on DU until now, everyone knew and appreciated how hard he fought for us.

What a change, eh?

[senz]

76. This primary is different.

Bernie is our only chance to make large, worthwhile changes to business as usual in this country. I don't see anything comparable down the line. Unless the political revolution he has awakened takes off on its own. Hope so, they can count me in.

Didn't know Bernie had been loved on DU until the primaries. I do understand how important Hillary is to certain people. It's a completely different kind of importance from Bernie's though, because it isn't about what she'd do as president; it's about "her." Just, her. Okay, I don't quite understand it.

[beam me up scottie]

77. That is why so many are flocking to him.

It's his message and it's the same one he's always had.

He walks the walk and knows who the real enemies are, instead of fighting amongst ourselves we need to take on those who threaten our rights.

[senz]

78. Yeah, people know he's the real deal and is talking about what really matters.

I so agree with you that we need to take on those who threaten our rights. That might entail spending a little time on "other" forums, the kind with rightwingers, b/c it is possible to get a rightie to think. Their psychology is different from ours; as democrats and Democrats, we generally aren't hierarchical, but nearly all righties are, so sometimes one has to adopt a "higher up" attitude to get them to pay attention. And it helps to not let them know you're a female.

But Bernie's message is meaningful to all who are trying to get by, all who are working, raising a family, trying to live a decent life. Once they can see that, they start to come 'round. Once they understand that he affirms their existence and respects them. In this way, he is far closer to our nation's founders than any Republican. Washington and Jefferson would have barfed at the current Republican lineup.

[seabeyond]

4. Bernie Sanders’s lack of policy proposals regarding women’s rights.

now. besides the writer being a TWIT writing a hit piece.... per beam me up scottie

when we said this shit was not being addressed by sanders, we were not the only one. because people spoke, sanders LISTENED, a good thing, and ...

i will go read what sanders has to say

yea, sanders for listening, without calling the woman a twit

[beam me up scottie]

7. TWIT:

I want to support Bernie. I really do. He’s right on the money to call for expanding Social Security, the most effective anti-poverty program in the United States. And I am more than down to fight alongside him against rampant inequality and for better wages and working conditions.

But I have to ask. Why does Bernie struggle so much to talk about gender? Why is it like pulling teeth for him to talk about my identity as a woman in addition to my identity as a worker?

I took a look through his platform recently, and I didn’t exactly see women represented there. For one, most of the policies that would disproportionately benefit women (equal pay, paid family leave, paid vacation, and paid sick days) are housed within the “Real Family Values” section, a classification that implicitly characterizes women’s rights as valuable only insofar as they benefit a larger family unit.

And while the platform mentions abortion briefly, it fails to offer any recommendations about how to preserve and expand access. Due to the Hyde Amendment, federal funds cannot be used for abortion except in limited circumstances. This restriction means that, as a result of economic deprivation, poor women, who are disproportionately Black and Brown, can be forced to carry unwanted pregnancies to term. To reduce these barriers to women accessing basic health care services, Bernie should throw his support behind the EACH Woman Act, a recently introduced piece of legislation that, according to RH Reality Check, “would ensure that anyone who has health care or health insurance through the federal government also has coverage of abortion care.”

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1251&pid=519415

[seabeyond]

15. a wanna be supporter talking her concerns. twit. i am not playing your fuckin insult people games.

[beam me up scottie]

17. When my candidate is relentlessly attacked every day I get defensive.

You are so sympathetic to Hillary's supporters but completely oblivious to what it's like to see another candidate called a racist, accused of having rape fantasies, being a gun nut, etc.

How about seeing it from my pov?

[seabeyond]

20. thanks SO MUCH for once again, making a positive sanders experience fuckin crap

[beam me up scottie]

24. Thanks for proving you don't get it.

I don't accuse Hillary of criminal negligence with regards to email, of being a racist, of being a weak woman, it would be nice if others stopped that kind of behaviour towards all candidates.

[cali]

42. utterly false.flat out untrue.

[DisgustipatedinCA]

84. After what I've seen Glenn Greenwald called on this site, I'm not getting worked up about "twit".

Democratic politicians are a protected class here. Journalists, tv personalities, and writers aren't.

[MaggieD]

18. Just now?

LOL.

[cali]

47. no not just now. his record is impeccable

You really are something.

[MaggieD]

49. Then why the fanfare?

[cali]

52. what fanfare?

Does Hillary announce it when she rolls out a detailed policy platform? Why yes,mags. Yes she does. And so does every other candidate. Now don't bust a gut trying to diss Sanders.

[MaggieD]

55. The big announcement- the "unveiling"

Honestly, I don't think Bernie truly understands women's issues any better than he does minority issues.

[boston bean]

56. Well, if we all made the same money as men, we could go out and buy guns to protect

ourselves from abusive significant others who kill nearly 3 of us every single day.

That's how econ justice works for women who are in abusive relationship, doncha know!?

Two birds with one stone, protect the 2A and give women equal pay.

[beam me up scottie]

61. Too bad Hillary doesn't back a federal minimum wage of $15/hr then, eh?

O'Malley and Bernie know how many women that would lift out of poverty.

And as usual the Bernie's is a GNUZ NUTZ meme rears its ugly head to show just how serious some people are about women's issues.

When you can't discuss the issues, deploy the bat squirrel.

[boston bean]

63. what?

Bernie is pro 2A. He will tell you that himself.

You know a lot of country boys who own guns for hunting to feed their families have been known to shoot their wife or girlfriend.

[beam me up scottie]

65. So are the majority of Dems including Hillary and Obama.

I suppose they're equally supportive of country boys shooting their wives and girlfriends?

[boston bean]

66. Voting against the Brady bill and sheilding gun makers

puts Bernie in a class by himself in democratic circles, anyhow.

[beam me up scottie]

67. But that's not what you said.

"Bernie is pro 2A. He will tell you that himself."

He's also pro-gun control.

Moving the goalposts again?

Besides Hillary supports the death penalty, that makes her the pro-death candidate.

[boston bean]

69. No, I'm not moving any goal posts.

you sure seem to though.

[cali]

58. honestly, I think you are guided by extreme animosity.

And wild partisanship.

[boston bean]

60. LOL. nt

[MaggieD]

72. Partisanship?

I thought you claimed he was a democrat?

Can you not fathom there are legitimate reasons a person would not support Bernie. I think I've been pretty clear about my reasons. And none of them have to do with me not being liberal.

You know, you and me got ours. It's not me I'm worried about in this election. I'm worried about people that need viable, passable solutions now.

[cali]

74. no. I've never claimed he was a dem. And I meant your devotion to hillary

Yes, mags,I've told you repeatedly that I can understand people not supporting Bernie. The reasons you give are based on false claims. And now,mags, we are well and truly done.

[MaggieD]

75. As I have told you multiple times....

The fact that I call BS on BS claims about her does not equal "devotion" to her. There are several other actual Dem candidates I could support. But they aren't running. She is the best choice in scheme of available choices. IMO.

[Armstead]

59. If he didnlt have an "unveuiling" you'd be saying....

"Where's his policy? He doesn't have one. he doesn't care about women."

[BooScout]

73. I see he managed to cram Women's Issues under his Revolution umbrella...

<snip> "...not only are we going to expand policies that advance gender equality, we are going to vigorously defend the critical laws and programs which protect all working people in our country."