Lois Herr Challenges Joe Pitts on Abortion Rights and A Life of “NO.”
On Saturday, November 21 2009, author and public advocate Lois Herr drew attention in her congressional campaign against Republican congressman Joseph Pitts when she appeared at a rally to speak against the Stupak-Pitts Amendment. This amendment, which would prohibit private health care plans paid for with private money from covering abortion, is a major effort of Joe Pitts and his Democratic ally, Bart Stupak of Michigan. After a senior campaign aide referred to Herr as “insanely liberal,” Herr moved beyond the immediate issue of reproductive rights to identify herself as part of the movement of the “sanely liberal.”
A transcript of her remarks:
I want to start off with a date: January 21, 1973. How many of you here were alive then? That, I hope, was the last day abortion was a crime in this country. It was the day before Roe v. Wade. Joe Pitts would like to take us back there.
Simply put, he and his radical friends want America to return to a time when women didn’t have choice about their major life decisions. When religious beliefs trumped the Constitution of the United States. Put simply, we are here to tell Joe very simply, “Not on our watch!”
We are here to say we are morally outraged that he would take this health care legislation, which we all so very much need, and hijack it for this purpose. He would hijack health care to impose his theocratic vision of the world on everyone. We know what his full agenda is, which is to ban all abortions and deny women choices in these major life decisions. We know where he’s going. We know what he wants to accomplish. And as Terry said, this a step in that direction. Don’t be fooled.
And Joe, if you’re listening, we’re here to tell you and your radical friends that we know you. You are mean-spirited, narrow-minded and a hypocrite. And you and your friends are the people of “Boo” and “No.”
As Terry said, when America needed strong measures to improve the economy, what did Pitts say? He said “No!”
When Congress voted to extend unemployment benefits to the people who really need it, what did Pitts say? “No!”
When the question was, “Cheaper college loans for kids,” what did Pitts say? “No!”
How about the ban on hate crimes? Pitts is there with “No!”
And now this. Pitts is saying “NO!” to private health insurance providing coverage for the people getting it with their own private money.
It begins today. We have 50 weeks. 50 weeks from now on Election Day, the people will have a message for Joe Pitts.
Now, some people said, as a matter of fact one of Joe’s senior aides said that I was “insanely liberal.” Well, I like to think that I am, we are, and America is, we are sanely liberal. Sanely liberal. We are caring about each other and caring to take care of each other. We care about each other’s health, about education, about opportunity for jobs and opportunities in life. We care about being good stewards of our environment. We care about creating a productive economy that rewards people for working, gives them opportunity and doesn’t punish those who can’t make it because of no fault of their own. And you know what? We care about peace on Earth.
We are indeed sanely liberal. We are the people of “Yes.” And you know, “Yes” will triumph in the end, and “Yes” will triumph in November.
Lois Herr, please run against Pitts in 2011, we women need you. As a member of the Republican Majority for Choice I will vote for you because you have it right. Pitts is treating women no better than those Islamic radicals who want to impose shariah law over us all. We have to get ridd of Pitts once and for all. He is taking women’s contitutional rights away from them and imposing religion on them against the First Amendment which forbids it. He is expanding government to be intrusive andd to control women not to serve them as it should. He is not upholding the US Constitution nor the First Amendment or the rule of law. So he is really not a Republican nor acting as a trued American who supportsd the Constitution for everybody,and that includes women who make up more than half his Constituents. Let us get rid of this hateful person who claims to be for liberty and life for all while being for quite the opposite where women are concerned.