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Republicans in Congress have a general “disrespect” for women that’s reflected in their legislative agenda, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi charged Friday, adding that she applauds the prospect of America having its first female president.
{mosads}The California Democrat said the GOP’s policy priorities — from reproductive health to the economy to the environment — are evidence they have little concern for the issues women care the most about.
“[It’s] disrespect,” Pelosi said in an interview with MSNBC’s Alex Wagner that aired Friday afternoon. “Whether it’s pay equity and raising the minimum wage, whether it’s paid sick leave, or whether it’s support for … child care in our country.”
Pelosi said she’s been warning for more than two decades that congressional Republicans are opposed not only to abortion, but to the notion of family planning.
“People didn’t really believe me until [2011] when Republicans took the majority [and] one of the first things they did was to say, ‘We’re going to shut down government rather than fund Planned Parenthood,’ ” she said. “They’ve told me over and over again that they’re not for family planning, domestically or internationally. It’s a stunning thing.”
She made the comments a week after House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) conceded that Republicans need to work harder to cater to women, constituents and candidates alike.
“Some of our members just aren’t as sensitive as they ought to be,” Boehner told reporters last week in the Capitol.
His remarks coincided with reports that the National Republican Congressional Committee has been counseling Republican staffers on how to run more effective campaigns against female opponents.