Democrats, GOP agree on equal pay for women. Almost.
There are some political issues that by definition are bipartisan, impossible to argue about without automatically losing votes just by being against the obvious.
Like equal pay for equal work 鈥� especially for women, many knowing firsthand the meaning of 鈥済lass ceiling鈥� and 鈥�77 cents for every dollar.鈥�
In their typically talking-past-each-other radio/Internet addresses Saturday, President Obama and Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington State (the senior Republican woman in the US House of Representatives) both talked about equal pay.
No surprise, they鈥檙e both for it.
鈥淚t鈥檚 time to do away with workplace policies that belong in a 鈥楳ad Men鈥� episode, and give every woman the opportunity she deserves,鈥� Obama said, referring to the popular TV series that has women in the workplace fighting discrimination through recent decades.
Although Obama can refer to his daughters in this context now and then, for Rep. McMorris Rodgers the issue is, by definition, more personal.
鈥淎s a woman who worked at McDonald鈥檚 to get through college鈥�. as the mom of two young daughters听 鈥� and as the elected representative of thousands of hardworking women, I have always supported equal pay for equal work,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd if a woman is being paid less than a man because of gender discrimination, that is both wrong and against the law.鈥�
From there, the two quickly split off into partisan directions.
Without using Democrat phrases like 鈥済ender gap鈥� or 鈥渨ar on women,鈥� Obama asserted that 鈥淥n issues that would benefit millions of women, Republicans in Congress have blocked progress at every turn.鈥�
He was speaking of things like raising the minimum wage for all Americans, which he has done by executive order 鈥� to $10.10 an hour 鈥� for federally-funded workers employed by federal contractors.
鈥淗ouse Republicans won鈥檛 vote to raise the minimum wage or extend unemployment insurance for women out of work through no fault of their own,鈥� in his brief address. 鈥淭he budget they passed this week would force deep cuts to investments that overwhelmingly benefit women and children 鈥� like Medicaid, food stamps, and college grants.听And of course, they鈥檙e trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act for the fiftieth or so time, which would take away vital benefits and protections from millions of women.鈥�
Republicans have a different view, according to McMorris Rodgers.
鈥淔or women across America, it鈥檚 not just about equal pay,鈥� she said in . 鈥淚t鈥檚 about achieving a better life.鈥�
听
听鈥淯nfortunately, the president鈥檚 economy is doing exactly the opposite,鈥� she continued. 鈥淭he unemployment rate for women rose last month 鈥� meanwhile, growth is slow and wages are stagnant.鈥�
Her solution: 鈥渋mprove job training and help connect out-of-work Americans with the skills they need 鈥� a real all-of-the-above energy policy that helps lower bills on everything from gas to groceries 鈥� health care reforms that lower costs and preserve peace of mind in retirement.鈥�
听听
听Women are starting two out of three small businesses, 鈥渟o let鈥檚 rein in red tape and start overhauling the tax code to support our innovators and manufacturers,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd women juggle life, work, and everything in between 鈥� so let鈥檚 give workers the option of using their overtime toward paid time off if that鈥檚 what they鈥檇 rather have.鈥�
She didn鈥檛 mention it Saturday, but McMorris Rodgers has voted against raising the federal minimum wage from its current $7.25 level.
