GOP hearts women?

Not exactly

March 06, 2013|By Jessica Reynolds

The House voted last week to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, a year and a half after it expired amid partisan feuding.

The law authorizes $659 million over the next five years to help prosecute domestic violence crimes and provide aid to victims.

At face value, it's hard to understand why a bill presumably so bipartisan took so long to pass. What politician would openly reject legislation designed to shield women from physical or sexual abuse?

As it turns out, a lot of them.

The latest version of the law includes new Senate-backed provisions to expand protections for Native American, illegal immigrant and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender victims — all points of contention with House Republicans.

Since 2011, the House had shown no urgency to reauthorize the law. It instead passed its own versions of the bill, with diluted protections for the aforementioned groups.

But House leadership finally folded last Thursday, ending one battle in the GOP's alleged "war on women."

Why the sudden change of heart? It appears that Republicans, still haunted by the 2012 election, realized that alienating women, Hispanic and LGBT voters does not bode well for 2014, or 2016, or any future election at the national level.

CNN exit polls show women supported President Barack Obama by 55 percent to 44 percent over Republican Mitt Romney in 2012. Latinos voted for Obama over Romney by 71 percent to 27 percent, according to the Pew Hispanic Center. LGBT voters went 76 percent for Obama, 22 percent for Romney, according to Edison Research exit polls. During the election, some Republicans jeopardized the party's standing with women by making heavily criticized remarks about rape and abortion.

The longer the GOP delayed on a law designed to protect women from violence, the more fodder it handed the Democrats, who never hesitate to argue that the GOP is disconnected from female voters.

The Senate approved the measure last month in an overwhelming 78-22 vote. All 22 "nay" votes came from Republican men.

The House passed it in a 286-138 vote, with 199 Democrats and 87 Republicans in support. All 138 votes against came from Republicans.

The provision creating the biggest rift concerned the jurisdiction of Native American courts. Under the new law, tribal courts can prosecute non-Native Americans accused of domestic violence, as long as the courts provide legal rights equal to those granted by the Constitution.

Some Republicans argued that this provision violates defendants' constitutional rights.

Other Republicans took issue with extending the program that provides special visas to battered immigrants. Others opposed the nondiscrimination clause for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender victims.

Give credit to House Speaker John Boehner, who brought the bill to the floor knowing it lacked support from most Republicans, a move he's done for only two other bills: superstorm Sandy relief and the fiscal cliff.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor maintained his opposition, but Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, Cathy McMorris Rodgers, chairwoman of the House Republican Conference, and House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan voted yes.

Even though it took far too long, House Republicans were right to finally compromise and reauthorize VAWA. That move will help protect women from violence ... and protect the GOP from more disgruntled voters. .

Jessica Reynolds is the coordinator for the Tribune's editorial board.