It should not have been this difficult ~ but I'm glad this is a "done deal", too ~ Sooz

House Gives Final Passage To Expanded Violence Against Women Act
Sahil Kapur-February 28, 2013, 11:56 AM1765

The Republican-led House on Thursday passed the Democrats’ version of the Violence Against Women on Thursday, relenting after a painful battle over expanded protections for gay, Native American and illegal immigrant women.

The final vote was 286-138, winning over 199 Democrats and 87 Republicans. It lost 138 GOP members. It’s the third time Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) has brought legislation to a floor vote without the support of at least half his conference. The GOP’s substitute failed 166-257.

Because the same bill has already passed the Senate, it will go straight to President Obama’s desk for his signature.

The GOP leadership’s decision — after blocking the Senate version of the Violence Against Women Act for nearly a year — eliminates an issue that has been politically toxic for Republicans and fueled charges by Democrats that the party was waging a “war on women.” The original House GOP plan, as of last week, was to pass its own limited version of the reauthorization and go to conference with the Senate. But after anti-domestic-violence advocates slammed the GOP’s alternative, they decided to fold.

The House GOP leadership gave a nod to conservatives with a procedural move to hold a vote on their version first and, only if it were to fail, allow a vote on Senate-passed version. The open secret is they knew the GOP version would not pass — that conservatives and Democrats would kill it, which is what happened.

Some conservative advocates — including the Heritage Foundation and RedState editor Erick Erickson — saw the procedural move as a blatant surrender, and threatened to target Republicans who voted in favor of the plan with the expanded provisions.

Democrats and advocates against domestic violence immediately praised passage of the inclusive reauthorization. The House vote brings the long, drawn out battle to an end.

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2013/02/house-passes-violence-against-women-act.php?ref=fpb

Are some finally realizing that all their obstructionaism seriously backfired?

Here's more ~ if I didn't loathe and distrust him so intensely, I might almost feel sorry for Boehner ~ he is in a lose/lose position, but that is largely of his own making ~ Sooz

Violence Against Women Act clears House, headed to Obama's desk
By Steve Benen - Thu Feb 28, 2013 12:44 PM EST

In the last Congress, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) played a critical role in blocking reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. In this Congress, Cantor was so eager to get VAWA passage over with, he told House Republicans yesterday to either clear the way for the already passed Senate version or risk causing a "civil war" within the party.

The warning appears to have had an effect. Indeed, the VAWA plan we discussed yesterday was executed this morning exactly as intended.

The final legislation passed the lower chamber by a vote of 286 to 138 after a protracted battle over an expansion of the law and its impact in tribal communities. A majority of Republicans voted against the legislation, with 87 GOP members and all Democrats supporting it.

Republican leaders first tried to pass a House-drafted version of the bill, which Democrats said did not do enough to protect gay couples, immigrants and Native Americans. That measure failed by a vote of 166 to 257.

The House then passed the same five-year reauthorization that was approved by the Senate by an overwhelming majority in February.

Because the House passed the expansive Senate version -- and rejected the watered-down alternative -- VAWA will now go directly to the White House, where it will receive President Obama's signature.

Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), who has been the Democratic point person on the Violence Against Women Act, told me this morning, "This is a long delayed, hard won, and badly needed victory for millions of women, especially those who were told that they weren't worthy of VAWA's protections. It means that finally, after over 16 months of struggle, tribal women, the LGBT community, immigrants, and women on college campuses will have the tools and resources this life-saving bill provides."

For those counting on the law's protections and resources, today's vote is obviously excellent news. But in a purely political context, the difficult process offered some illuminating lessons.

First, after 20 years of overwhelming bipartisan support, opposition to the Violence Against Women is now the mainstream Republican position. About half the Republicans in the Senate voted against the law, as did more than half the Republicans in the House.

As recently as 2005, there was a Republican majority in the House, for example, and VAWA was reauthorized in a lopsided, near-unanimous vote. Since then, the number of House GOP members opposed to the law has grown from 2 to 138. What was a fringe position in 2005 is now the GOP majority position in 2013.

Second, we're learning something important about House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and the so-called "Hastert Rule." For those who need a refresher, under modern Republican norms, the Speaker only considers legislation that enjoys "majority of the majority" support -- if most GOP House members oppose a measure, it won't even be considered, whether it can pass the chamber or not.

The non-binding rule is great for party discipline, but lousy for democracy and governing.

For Boehner's part, the Speaker has long believed in enforcing the "Hastert Rule," but he's finding far more flexibility on the issue than we're accustomed to seeing. When it was time to approve the "fiscal cliff" deal, Boehner ignored the rule to pass a bipartisan Senate plan. When he needed to pass relief aid to Hurricane Sandy victims, he bypassed the rule again.

At the time, the Speaker said these were isolated incidents that wouldn't be repeated, but here we are again -- most of Boehner's caucus opposed the Violence Against Women Act, but he brought it to the floor and passed it anyway.

To reiterate a point from several weeks ago, this may seem like inside baseball, but it's extremely important. If Boehner, in the name of getting stuff done, is open to bringing important bills to the floor, and passing them with mostly-Democratic support, there's an opportunity for real governing in the near future. It means comprehensive immigration reform is more likely, and popular measures on preventing gun violence may have a credible chance of success.

If the Hastert Rule is unraveling, that's very good news, indeed.

http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/02/28/17133787-violence-against-women-act-clears-house-headed-to-obamas-desk

I'm thinking that's unlikely, oskar ~ there doesn't seem to be enough self-reflection amongst the collective GOP/TPers to recognize any faults or misjudgments on their own part ~

Sooz

A whole year to end up where they started.
How much did THAT cost taxpayers?

You know what really sucks? That we even need to legislate for protections for women and minorities at all. We are still considered sub-human to the old, white males running the system.

My own reading of the "equal protection under the law" clause does NOT suggest some are more equal or worthy than others ~ emphasis/bolding on the "Domestic violence is domestic violence, period." comment below is mine ~ there are "live links" to more/corroborating info in the original ~ Sooz

GOP Congresswoman: I Opposed Domestic Violence Bill Because It Protected Too Many Groups
By Annie-Rose Strasser and Josh Israel on Mar 4, 2013 at 2:22 pm

Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) on Monday openly admitted that she opposed the latest reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) because it included protections for LGBT, Native American, and undocumented victims of domestic violence.

In an appearance on MSNBC, Blackburn pointed out that the latest iteration of the law protects “different groups” and thus dilutes funding for straight, non-Native American women with the proper documentation:


Watch it:


Domestic violence is domestic violence, period. And there is no way to justify Blackburn’s suggestion that some victims of this violence are more deserving than others. The reauthorized VAWA allows programs targeting LGBT victims of domestic violence to compete on equal footing for grant money with other groups serving underserved populations, and it ensures that LGBT victims will not be turned away from shelters and other services because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. These victims of violence deserve the same protections as anyone else caught in domestic abuse.

Additionally, the reauthorized VAWA includes provisions to prevent serial rapists and similar abusers from preying on Native American women. If Blackburn considers Native American women a “different group,” then it’s one she should be most concerned about: Three out of every five Native American women has been assaulted by an intimate partner.

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/03/04/1669601/blackburn-vawa/

Still no laws protecting pet rocks?
The shame of it.