WOMEN: Atwood's Dystopia Moves Closer

Yesterday this post not could not be uploaded due to blog service problems.  Meanwhile on last night's news there was minimal reporting about it.  Only Rachel Maddow of the evening (male) pundits at MSNBC (more below).

 

"Your Body Under Arrest:  Police in Riot Gear Remove Peaceful Women's Rights Protestors in Virginia"

Thanks to RH Reality Check  , my weekly source for  news on reproductive health and justice.  Then on to Daily Kos (http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/03/05/1071350/-BREAKING-VA-GOP-LG-Says-DEMS-Should-Apologize-for-Standing-up-for-Women-Opposing-Excessive-Force?via=sidebyuserrec) for the rest.

What happened next?  On Monday, March 5, the Democratic Party of Virginia released this statement:

Watching riot police with helmets and shields march through peaceful protesters on the steps of Mr. Jefferson's Capitol is a particularly vivid reminder of how far this Commonwealth has fallen in just the few short weeks since Bob McDonnell and his party took total control over Virginia's state government....This should not be about the Capitol and State Police who responded to the protesters, it should be about the Republican politicians whose radical agenda created the environment for this unfortunate situation to arise.

Response from Lt. Governor of Virgina:  Democratic legislators should apologize to State police for how they'd been characterized.

The 31 people arrested are being represented pro bono by Wayne Powell, a lawyer who was shocked by what he saw--citizens assembling peaceably "on the peoples' property," then arrested--not issued summons--women held for 3 hours on a bus, handcuffed, without water.

Interview with Powell before and after arraignment today:  

Tuesday, March 3:  Was coverage drowned out by the focus on the sexist conservative radio personality who attacked a woman law student last week?  The "liberal press" is not so liberal as the rightwing imagines.  NPR in particular has becoming more and more wishy-washy over the past few years.  Their report on the blowback to the Fox News radio person never mentioned that it was women's petitions to legislators and Repulican fears of losing them as voters that finally unearthed some weak responses. 

“It played into this trope that the Republicans have a war on women," according to Peggy Noonan, that reliable defender of all things from that Party.  What next for her and George Will as they observe what their rightward movement hath wrought?  Today begins with a low voter turnout in Virgina for Super Tuesday.