Knight Ridder Election 2004: Free-Fire Zone

Another W.hopper

Here's another W.hopper to add to the collection: "W. is for Women."

In fact, the Bush administration has reversed, or is attempting to reverse, many of the major gains made by women in the past three decades -- enforcement of equal pay laws, laws against sexual harassment, gender equality in education and sports.

Bush's war on the poor affects women -- and children -- disproportionately: The majority of low wage earners are female, and the government "safety net" programs that offer lower income households the best chance of survival are being shredded.

And that's before we get into issues of reproductive rights. A study last April by the National Women's Law Center provides details. It's called "Slip-Sliding Away: The Erosion of Hard Won Gains for Women Under the Bush Administration . . . ."

But, you say, Bush seems like such a nice, compassionate conservative. Yet another study, this one by the National Council for Research on Women, suggests how he's managed to pull it off: The Administration simply has not posted the data the might provide proof of discrimination or pay inequality, or removed it from government Websites.

So while the Bush administration uses the supposed new "freedom" of women in Afghanistan as a cover, it's doing its best to reduce the freedom of women here at home.

posted by Carol Towarnicky at # 3:35 PM