Democrats Wage ‘War On Women’ Against One of Their Own

Democrats are launching a war on women on one of their own.

Due in December, at age 46, Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) is in the final weeks of a high-risk pregnancy and as such, her doctor will not allow her to travel. According to Wikipedia, Rep. Duckworth is the first female double amputee from the Iraq War, the first Asian-American woman elected to Congress from Illinois, the first disabled woman to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, and the first member of Congress born in Thailand. All of those historic firsts certainly make her a poster child for the Democratic Party’s rainbow coalition.

But despite all this, Democrats are suppressing her vote because she’s pregnant:

Rep. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, who is expecting a baby in December, is being denied a request to vote by proxy in the House Democratic Caucus leadership and committee member elections next week—even though her doctor advises she can’t travel to Washington in the late stages of her pregnancy.

The Iraq War veteran, who lost both legs when her helicopter was shot down in 2004, made the request in a letter to fellow Democrats. Her letter was read during a closed-door Democratic Caucus meeting on Thursday. But objections were raised, and the request was denied, with opponents including Democratic Steering and Police Committee cochair Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

“Congresswoman DeLauro does not want to set a precedent. There are many meritorious situations where the argument could be made for a waiver, including Congresswoman Duckworth’s. The question is, how do you choose?” said DeLauro spokeswoman Sara Lonardo.

Proxy voting is not allowed in the Democratic Caucus, according to its rules.

But other Democratic aides, speaking on the condition they not be identified, said they believe the decision to block Duckworth, 46, from doing so is related more to the tight intra-party race for the party’s top seat next session on the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Can you imagine if Republicans did this? We would hear all about sexism, the gender pay gap myth, calls for expansions in pregnancy benefits and maternity leave, etc., etc., etc., until the end of time! Republicans are accused of waging a war on women, but when the rubber hits the road, it’s the Democrats who are engaging in a war on women, children, minorities, veterans, and the disabled.