Romney campaign on equal pay for women: 'We'll get back to you on that'

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http://www.examiner.com/liberal-in-orlando/romney-campaign-on-equal-pay-for-women-we-ll-get-back-to-you-on-that

Romney campaign on equal pay for women: 'We'll get back to you on that'
Robert Sobel


The Republican war on women is picking up steam and Republicans are playing defense, trying to push back at the claims of an attack on women. The most talked about issues in the "war on women" is typically abortion rights and contraception, but those aren't the only issues that are under attack by conservatives.
In a conference call Wednesday morning, Mitt Romney's campaign officials took many questions. Continuing with the theme, the campaign was asked whether Mitt Romney supported the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the first bill signed into law by President Obama in 2009. David Corn reported on his twitter account that the campaign had no real answer and simply replied with: "We'll get back to you on that." The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act lets women seek additional compensation from employers who they feel didn't pay them properly because of their gender.

The law was named after Lilly Ledbetter, a woman who retired from an Alabama tire factory after nearly twenty years, and complained that she was unfairly compensated because she was a woman. Ledbetter took the case to court and a jury found the tire company, Goodyear Tire and Rubber, guilty of pay discrimination, but the Supreme Court later overturned the case in a 5-4 decision. Congress tried to overturn the decision, but President Bush opposed the bill claiming that it would lead to more lawsuits.

Mitt Romney and other Republicans have tried to turn the tables on Democrats, claiming that there is no war on the women and that the Democrats have just made it up. Fox News, a right wing news outlet, has described the Republican war on women as "phony," stating that since the economy isn't improving, Democrats have to come up with something to run on. Considering that the unemployment rate is at a three year low, the private sector has created jobs for 25 straight months and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, or the stimulus bill, has created or saved over three million jobs, the idea that Democrats have to make something up to cover up for the economy is false.

Something like the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act should be a no brainer, men and women should be paid equally. For anyone, Republican or not, to oppose equal pay in the workplace for women is the true crime. Women are smart, and while the attack on social issues gets most of the attention, women can see the big picture. If Republicans don't change their tune soon it will mean bad news for Mitt Romney and the party in November.
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