Associated Press
Among Congress' many other looming deadlines, the Violence Against Women Act is still waiting for reauthorization. It easily passed the Senate with bipartisan support in April, but House Republicans insist the current version is too supportive of immigrants, the LGBT community, and Native Americans.
Is there any chance policymakers can work something out? One of the original VAWA authors from 1994 is now the nation's vice president, and he's working behind the scenes to work out a deal.
Vice President Joe Biden is quietly working with House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) to try to pass an inclusive version of the Violence Against Women Act in the lame-duck Congress. And so far, sources tell HuffPost, Cantor is on board as long as one thing is stripped from the bill: a key protection for Native American women.
Staffers for Biden and Cantor have been trying to reach a deal on the bill for at least a week. Neither camp publicly let on it was talking to the other until Wednesday, when Cantor said the two are in negotiations and he's feeling hopeful about a deal.
For nearly two decades, VAWA reauthorization was effortless -- even the most far-right members didn't want to be seen opposing resources for state and local governments to combat domestic violence. But as Republicans move further and further to the right, congressional support for the law has grown difficult in ways few could have imagined.
In this case, Cantor is willing to bend on LGBT and immigrant provisions, but he wants Democrats to scrap protections for Native American women. According to the Huffington Post, the Democratic provision gives tribal courts limited jurisdiction to oversee domestic violence offenses committed against Native American women by non-Native American men on tribal lands, and the House Republican leader wants this expansion curtailed.
We'll know soon enough whether an agreement is possible in the limited time remaining, but in the meantime, GOP officials should probably hope Dana Perino isn't the leading conservative voice when it comes to domestic violence.
Indeed, it's astonishing that a Republican media figure would say this out loud on national television.
Appearing on Fox News Wednesday evening, Dana Perino suggested female victims of violence should "make better decisions" in order to escape harm.
Media Matters has the video.
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Is there anything else the Republicans can do to prove that they are the party of angry old white men?
Maybe they could propose legislation mandating child abuse or puppy kicking
Sh! Don't give them fresh ideas!
The next step is Sharia law in Patterson NJ.
Boy, that's out of left field...even for you, Blanks. What in the world does one have to do with the other?
Annie Oakley: I thought Chris Christie would hurl his big body in front of any assault on our Constitution, you wingnuts seem to have so little faith in the Constitution you try to use as a prop. Anytime a conservative mentions Sharia, the the strength of your message fades a little...
Please excuse the OT.
Have you read the tenets of Sharia Law, Shooter? Here's a link if you haven't.
It's using religion to maintain control over 1.Family relations 2.Crime and punishment 3.Inheritance and disposal of property 4.The economic system 5.External and other relations, as well as upholding tradition against the onslot of modernizing.
Now, who does that sound like?
I'm sure glad it's Biden doing the negotiating. If I was in the same room with that shiny little self-satisfied putz, I'd be likely to want to smash his face against the wall. Repeatedly.
I would support that! He seems a little more humble since he had to fight for his re-election. I was disappointed that the News didn't follow that race better. I was really hoping that he would lose and we'd be done with his bs, but alas.
Republicans simply won't allow the fate of white, "real" Americans to be placed in the hands of those red "savages".
In Montana, we have several Native American reservations with a mix of Native and non-Native residents. For several years, I lived in one of these areas near Flathead Lake. I have to say that the legal issues do get a bit tangled up. It's often unclear whether the tribe or state/local authorities has jurisdiction, and at least among the non-Natives, there's a feeling that tribal justice is stacked against them.
Not that I'm in favor of the Republicans holding up VAWA, but I'm not sure about that particular provision. I'm only saying that this isn't a cut-and-dried "there they go again" situation.
JL, the story on yesterday's blog said that as many as ONE THIRD of Native American women on reservations have been sexually assaulted, usually by non-Native Americans. Men attack Native American women because they know that they can do it with impunity.
I call that an effing emergency, that requires some kind of action. If Republicans don't want to give the tribal law enforcement jurisdiction, then they have to come up with another solution. (And no, more tax cuts for millionaires does not count as a solution.)
Understood. I think it's possible for this to remain in the state/local courts, though. For uniformity of criminal charges and penalties, if nothing else. Whether the woman is Native or not, a rape is a rape is a rape. At least, that's how I see it.
I was wondering if that was his problem.
Yes, I know I'm out of my depth here. I'm not an authority on law or tribal treaties. My opinion is that it's appropriate for the tribe to police its own members for crimes against its law.
But for the tribe to be responsible for enforcing its own laws when a non-Native man rapes a Native woman, it's as if a U.S. citizen raped a Mexican citizen and he is being tried in Mexico--except in this case, there aren't any clear boundaries or borders to say when he's in one jurisdiction or another. And furthermore, many tribal members look just as non-Native as you or I. Very confusing.
Law Enforcement Gaps Leave Native Women Vulnerable To Rape And Domestic Violence; Kimberly N. Alleyne; America's Wire
Why would any Montana redneck moron (the majority of White Montana males that I've ever met) think that the Native Americans would want to get back at them? The last 180 years of history since the first Whites appeared in the territory isn't enough?
The Federal government can prosecute, but they don't.
-I really hope you're being ironic here. Judging from some of the republican posting I have seen lately it's a little hard to tell.
Why would Cantor want that particular provision removed? Unless, of course, there's a personal vested interest in having that provision changed for himself or a rich supporter.
I call shenanigans.
But then, that's the Republicans for you...
Republicans have always believed the only good Injuns are the dead ones.
First "better decision"? Vote for Democrats from now on. Got it. Good to know.
The trouble with ignorance is that it picks up confidence as it goes along.
- Arnold H. Glasow
;-)
@Dana Perino: Do you really think that men who would abuse wear signs on their backs? Most seem like ordinary Joes until something triggers their anger, and it can literally come from out of nowhere. "Make better choices"? C'mon, that's so insulting it hardly deserves a response.
Just another Republican woman trying to get admission into the Good Ole Boy club.
"Appearing on Fox News Wednesday evening, Dana Perino suggested female victims of violence should "make better decisions" in order to escape harm."
Dana Perino's doing the time warp, I guess - it's been a long time since I've heard victim-blaming crap like this.
Of course, in her version of the time warp, both the jumps and the steps are to the right. And the pelvic thrust is omitted, because as she sees the world, that might cause men to get the wrong kind of ideas, and then it would be all her fault if she were to be assaulted.
With her vast experience in covering for the Bush Administration, Dana Perino is capable of saying anything and meaning none of it. She's a Stepford Wife to the Republican Party.
The Republican Religion (it's not a political party) is a big believer in a book titled "The 1872 Husband" which preaches the subordination of women and the right of their husbands to "discipline" them when they get "uppity." So why would it surprise anyone they are finding ways to abolish VAWA?
So according to Cantor, non-whites (Native Americans) shouldn't have jurisdiction to oversee crimes committed by whites.
It's so clear now!
WTF? What could Cantor possibly have against this provision? TOO supportive? How is it possible to be TOO supportive of ANY act against the violence of women? I'm getting a headache from all the head shaking trying to figure out what the Republicans hope to gain with such archaic views of today's America. These are not my parent's Republicans and I'm glad they are no longer around to see what they've become.
This was my first thought... How can you be too supportive of punishing domestic violence? Or is it WHO is getting beaten that they object to?
If a guy beats his male partner - he should have had a girlfriend/wife.
If an immigrant gets beaten by her American boyfriend - she should have been legal.
If an American Indian gets beaten by her white boyfriend/husband, she should have not been on the reservation when she chose to get beaten...
Looks like the repubs just want to keep it clear that they can still go and kick around some "injuns" is all. Can't have them savages being too uppity thinking they have rights and all.... (tongue in cheek of course).
Cantor is attempting to crack open a door on disenfranchising Native American Treaty Law. I would think federal law would trump his slimy attempts to "create smaller goverment". Sure start with the Native Americans. Cantor is picking on the wrong minority for negotiation. Native Americans will fight for their rights under Federal law.
In this case, Cantor is willing to bend on LGBT and immigrant provisions, but he wants Democrats to scrap protections for Native American women. According to the Huffington Post, the Democratic provision gives tribal courts limited jurisdiction to oversee domestic violence offenses committed against Native American women by non-Native American men on tribal lands, and the House Republican leader wants this expansion curtailed.
Right. Because the gays and illegals look like they're gaining political power, you gotta take out your misogynist frustrations women somewhere. Hey, if a white guy beats on an injun, who gives a sh!t?
Pretty much. It's all about numbers, and Native Americans are too few for most groups to give a @!$%#. Our President is the one man who has made a stand for Natives and effectively said "You are no longer alone."
NAACP support of Native American Indians: http://action.naacp.org/page/-/resolutions/2010.CR.1.Native%20Americans.pdf Oct 15, 2010
I stand corrected.
Thank you NAACP
Boy, Instant Kharmas' going to have a field day with these people. I'm just glad that I'm not going to be where they are. Isn't it great that most of us can go to sleep with a clear conscience.
So we're hoping for karma to act now, since that Abrahamic god of theirs isn't doing much to reel them in?
No clear conscience here. The few who see the truth of the political war being waged inside our borders has a responsibility to fight against it. The trouble is knowing how to fight it.
What did the Native Americans ever do to this fellow, Oh, yeah land. They have their future already mapped out for them. We oughta give it all back to them, no taxes for anybody!
With the way we've messed it up, are you sure they want it back?
Sounds like Native American women need their own 'stand your ground' law.
What is to negotiate... Biden would be wise to step back and let the Republicans try to worm out of this. I like Joe, but he did give us Clarence Thomas. Let the wingnuts explain to women that Native American women don't deserve protection, please don't give them a lifeline...
I'm not sure there is enough public sentiment to help. It is possible VP Biden has enough heart and fight in him to protect Native women without public support, but he will be forced to disproportionately shoulder the weight.
Rape,, and go to jail for the rest of your life. And let's make that a world government platform.
Finally, someone has put the proper name on the NFL murder-suicide. It is felony Domestic violence, first and foremost. Approximate 3 women each day die at the hands of their abuser either by gun, strangulation, drowning, automobile, or just plain beaten to death.
The use of the gun is not the major issue in this case. The crux of this case in Domestic Violence, and he did this awful murder in front of his child, as is often the case. Don't think that these bustards are not smart enough to take their victims off Indian land to commit these horrendous crimes.
Misdemeanors are heard in Tribal Court. Felony assault goes to District Court. If VAWA is not passed soon we will see a steep rise in felony assault against women and their children. Probably this Christmas season.
The Native American provision is an expansion of the Tribal Court's jurisdiction and allows them to hear cases against non-natives. It is difficult to say whether this is a major expansion without more information about the authority of the Tribal Court and who currently has jurisdiction on these cases. We should not presume that Native American women have no recourse. If the abuse takes place off the reservation, then it is likely that the state has jurisdiction. But I would venture that we are not talking about a large number of cases that this provision would encompass.
Eric Cantor is one very sorry, sick individual. I pity him.
Good heavens....what did Native American women ever do to HIM?? Are they not just as deserving of protections as any other group of women? What....did he have a NA girlfriend he used to hit and now he's worried?? What is WRONG with this guy??
Cantor is an idiot and the voters that kept him in must have blindfolds and earplugs in or they are just like him, hate everyone who isn't in his image ! Rape oh it is nothing according to the good ole boys, may they all get their Karma kick back hard and low ! Take away all their paid prescriptions of Viagra and they wouldn't be able to Rape !
What does Eric Cantor have against Native American women?
We must find the coffin Eric Cantor sleeps in and douse it with holy water. I'm given to understand that is one way of dealing with men who suck.
It does matter to get a solution on the table. VAWA unfortunately skips due process in making it acceptable to falsely accuse individuals with impunity. Domestic violence deserves everyone's attention. That means accepting the REALITY that men suffer from abusive wives/girlfriends/etc, and that we can't view this as strictly heterosexual either. VAWA does nothing to support men in gay relationships, and in a sense actively discourages them from speaking up.
Domestic violence is not heavily gendered. The information available to everyone is based on a very long line of rhetoric, insisting that men are disgusting pigs with only sexual objectification on the mind. This narrative convinces the American public and others at large that men are inherently evil, women are always innocent, and that men's problems are inherently less worthy. If you have any integrity, you know that equality means nothing if not for all. In my opinion, that means some recognition for men who face abusive spouses (and can't call in about it because they're actually more likely to get arrested), men who have been raped (by women or men, the law doesn't recognize female rape as rape in any recognizable sense), and men who are falsely accused.
Think with me for a moment. If you were being abused, don't you think you'd tell the truth about it? Is it acceptable to allow people to lie about such life-altering charges and get away with it? This law creates legal immunity for those who wish to abuse that. I don't hold the misogynistic view that all women are bloodsucking succubu- well you know the rest. However, some are. You've known them at points in your life. But just like those individuals aren't the definition of women, the relatively equal number of male abusers to female abusers means that we can't draw those abstractions about men just because there's a law about it. Hold your minds to higher standards than that. Don't be a bigot.
There are both men and women out there counting on you not be one.