Cuomo’s calculated play to the progressive base with his speech seems to have worked, but what would really leave a lasting impression would be passing a slate of progressive laws, to go beyond the rhetoric and actually work to make the bill pass. Klein’s reputation has been staked on his ability to get the notoriously dysfunctional senate moving again, and Cuomo appears to want to burnish his progressive credentials, having spent much of his term so far as a stern fiscal conservative. Jay Jochnowitz, the Editorial page editor at the Albany Times Union, wrote of the Women’s Equality Act, “The Independent Democratic Conference, the Republicans’ coalition partner, should consider its credibility on the line if it can’t get such key legislation to the floor.”
Brooks was confident before the speech that this was the year the Reproductive Health Act would pass.
“The voters here in New York support this particular piece of legislation,” she said. “They did speak with their vote and want to see this work.”
The voters are solidly behind this bill; the governor claims it as central to his agenda. Now it’s time to see if the senate can get it done—and how much weight the governor actually will throw behind getting it passed. As Azi Paybarah wrote, “Cuomo does own this Senate coalition, politically. And he will continue to own it right up until the moment he decides not to.”
Read more about the Reproductive Health Act and Governor Cuomo.
Anti-Gay New York GOP Rep to Teach Courses in “Feminine Elegance” to Help Women “Act Like Proper Ladies”
Written by Editor-in-Chief Jodi Jacobson for RH Reality Check. This diary is cross-posted; commenters wishing to engage directly with the author should do so at the original post.
Thanks to colleague Rachel Sklar for the original tip on this piece.
I would say this is in the category of… “you can’t believe it,” but these days there is nothing about today’s GOP I can’t believe anymore. From forced pregnancy, to forced ultrasounds (trans-vaginal or abdominal), to denial of care for rape victims, and denial of both health and pay inequities, the GOP is going out of its way to tell us exactly how they feel about women.
And now this: An anti-gay New York GOP legislator has decided that women are not acting “feminine enough,” so… he will teach us how to be feminine.
This is reported from Joe. My. God.
Anti-gay New York GOP state Sen. Marty Golden thinks women need to start acting like proper ladies. And he’s going to teach a class on how to do just that. City & State reports:
Later this month, Republican State Sen. Marty Golden’s office is holding a career-development event for women in his southern Brooklyn district teaching them “Posture, Deportment and the Feminine Presence.” That’s according to a taxpayer-funded mailing being sent out in Golden’s district, which an offended reader passed along. The taxpayer-funded event – presented by a “certified protocol consultant” – is part of a series teaching women in Brooklyn “what’s new in the 21st century as it relates to business etiquette and social protocol.” More details are also available on Golden’s Senate website, including the fact that women in attendance will be taught to, “Sit, stand and walk like a model,” how to, “Walk up and down a stair elegantly” and “Differences in American and Continental rules governing handshakes and introductions.”
According to Joe. My. God., “Golden says his classes are meant to help young women get jobs, therefore you are paying for it.”
