Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Mitt Romney Adviser On Lilly Ledbetter Act: 'He Was Opposed To It At The Time'

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- Had Mitt Romney been president in 2009, he would not have signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law, a top adviser to the Republican nominee told The Huffington Post Tuesday night.

Now that the law has been passed, Romney has no plans to get rid of it, that adviser, Ed Gillespie, added. But Romney didn't support it while it made its way through Congress.

"The governor would not repeal the Lilly Ledbetter Act," said Gillespie, following Tuesday night's presidential debate. "He was opposed to it at the time. He would not repeal it."

The statement from Gillespie is the furthest that the Romney campaign has gone in detailing the candidate's position on the law, which allows women greater opportunity to sue over pay inequity at the workplace. Previously, the governor's campaign has said that he would not repeal the Lilly Ledbetter Act, which was the first bill President Barack Obama signed into law, while leaving unanswered whether or not he would have signed it had he been president at the time.

The topic came up during the debate, with Obama criticizing Romney's campaign for demurring when asked about the legislation.

"I just want to point out that when Governor Romney's campaign was asked about the Lilly Ledbetter bill, whether he supported it, he said, 'I’ll get back to you,'" Obama said. "And that’s not the kind of advocacy that women need in any economy."

In the spin room after the debate, other Romney surrogates tried to skirt questions regarding the legislation, arguing that it was more valuable to look at how the candidate had constructed his staff while in public office.

"Governor Romney feels that he is absolutely in favor of equal employment opportunity for women, equal pay for women. I don’t think he wants to be cornered into talking about this particular piece of legislation as a tool of a campaign," said Kerry Healey, who served under Romney as lieutenant governor of Massachusetts. "I think Governor Romney wants to be judged on his own record and how he has dealt with women in his administration and with women's issues throughout his career."

But Gillespie's admission that Romney opposed the Lilly Ledbetter Act while it was being debated -- there is no evidence readily available showing Romney weighing in on the topic in the months before it was signed -- provided ample material for his critics.

"Is that leadership?" said Cecile Richards, the president of Planned Parenthood, who is on leave to serve as a surrogate for the Obama campaign. "If he was president, we wouldn't have equal pay. I think that's the point. He doesn't lift a finger to do anything for women."

Original Article
Source: huffington post
Author: Sam Stein

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