All nine Republican senators running for reelection this year voted against the right to access contraception:
- John Barrasso
- Marsha Blackburn
- Kevin Cramer
- Ted Cruz
- Deb Fischer
- Josh Hawley
- Pete Ricketts
- Rick Scott
- Roger Wicker
11 Senate Republicans — including Johnson and Ernst — signed a letter vowing to oppose all Democratic legislation and judicial nominees to protest Donald Trump’s guilty verdict in New York.
Democrats (for once): Ok, bet.
I’m pretty sure I read earlier today that the national Republican party was urging Republicans to vote to protect contraception so they could argue they weren’t that extreme and Democrats were being over the top.
And right after reading it, I thought about how Republicans were absolutely not going to pay any attention to that guidance. The inmates are running the asylum, and it’s time to let them burn the party down.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans blocked legislation Wednesday that would enshrine a federal right to access contraception, sinking the Democratic-led measure.
Democrats expected the GOP to scuttle the measure and brought it up as an election-year “messaging” push to highlight the contrast between the two parties on reproductive rights, viewing it as a winning issue with independents and swing voters this fall.
It defines contraceptives as “any drug, device, or biological product intended for use in the prevention of pregnancy” and prohibits the federal government or states from enforcing laws or standards that impede that right.
On Tuesday, Senate Republicans held a lengthy lunch meeting in which lawmakers disagreed on the path forward for Wednesday’s vote, according to two people in the room.
Others said that extending the process would at the very least tie up the Senate floor so that Democrats couldn’t move forward with other planned messaging bills as soon as next week, including on IVF protections.
Just days before the vote, 11 Senate Republicans — including Johnson and Ernst — signed a letter vowing to oppose all Democratic legislation and judicial nominees to protest Donald Trump’s guilty verdict in New York.
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