Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Tell Us, Mr. Rubio

From ThinkProgress:

Eight Senators on Monday voted not to consider the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, a bill that protects victims of domestic violence. The Senators who voted against moving to debate on the bill were: Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Mike Lee (R-UT), Tim Scott (R-SC), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Mike Johanns (R-NE), Rand Paul (R-KY), Pat Roberts (R-KS), and James Risch (R-ID).

VAWA’s reauthorization has been caught up in partisan gridlock over added provisions that would protect undocumented immigrants, as well as LGBT and Native American victims of domestic violence. Congress failed to reauthorize the bill by the end of 2012, and the Senate is now considering the same legislation again, in its new legislative session.  [Emphasis added.]

This was not a vote to pass the VAWA; this was a vote to consider it.  This was about debating it.  And yet the junior Senator from Florida, along with the rest of the Tea Party contingent in the Senate, didn’t even want to discuss it.

As he has in the past, I am sure that he will have a very cogent, lucid, and well-thought-out explanation as to why he is against the VAWA.  Something to do with spending money we don’t have on things we can’t prevent, or protecting undocumented immigrants against horrific abuse isn’t really what taxpayers want, etc.  That was then.  I’d really like to hear his explanation this time.

What it actually comes down to is that he’s far more concerned about violence against his right-wing creds with the Tea Party folk than he is about the undocumented immigrant getting pummeled because, hey, they don’t vote for him.

2 barks and woofs on “Tell Us, Mr. Rubio

  1. I worked in a domestic violence shelter for ten years. I saw first hand what happened to women and children. In those ten years, six women died. I am appalled by this. They should talk to some of the victims, it would do them some good.

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