Republicans Continue Attacking Women - Ana kasparian weighs in

David: Something that is also crazy to me have been the attacks on women that we're seeing one after another from the Republican Party. And we've covered them extensively, I wrote about it in my newspaper column last week, and it's everything from defunding Planned Parenthood, redefining ***, making it more difficult to access legal and safe abortions under the guise of being pro-life. As a woman, do you feel like this is a direct attack on women? Is it just indifference to women? I mean, how would you even characterize this? Kasparian: You know, one could say that it's a direct attack on women, but you've got to keep in mind that these right-wingers and these conservatives, for one reason or another, believe that they're actually doing something good. Like they think that they're helping society by making abortion something that's very difficult to get, you know, they think that they're saving lives. So I mean, this is a really crazy way to put it, because I can't disagree with their ideology any more than I already do, but in their minds, they're doing good for humanity. You know, they think they're saving lives. But I... David: But you know, the other thing in that, I have to say, I think some do think that, but I also think that a lot of them don't really feel as strongly as they would have us think they do about these issues, they're acting based on corporate and political donations where the donors really care about these issues, and now there is the back-end of the quid pro quo that has to be followed up on. Do you really think it's all that they just think this is the right thing to do, or that they're following up on that money trail? Kasparian: Oh, no. Let me clarify. David: Yeah. Kasparian: I don't think that politicians, especially politicians that we have in office today, I don't think that they really believe in anything, OK? I think that they believe in their own pocketbooks and they believe in money. When I'm talking about the right-wingers and conservatives, I'm talking about the individuals that are funding the Republicans' campaigns. I mean, those are the people who have the power to basically support this type of legislation and pass this type of legislation. You know, they are definitely funding Republicans, and as long as Republicans, and Democrats, as long as they're getting funded and as long as their pockets are getting fat, they're willing to push any type of legislation. David: We had an interesting talk with Jackson Katz who's an anti-sexist activist a couple of weeks ago, and he talked about how there has been this divide where really, the Republicans depend on the white male vote and Democrats, when they have won over the last four to eight years, literally could not win without the woman or minority vote. And I'm wondering, this type of thing, women make up slightly more than one out of every two people in the country, is this going to have a disastrous effect going forward? I mean, I see that the Hispanic vote is, other than Cubans, is not favorable to Republicans. What is going to happen with women? Kasparian: I don't know. I mean, that's a really hard question to answer. I mean, I would really hope that Democrats continue fighting for women and continue fighting for the rights that women are enjoying today. You know, it's interesting that we talk about this today, because Phyllis Schlafly just released a book where she's talking about feminism, right? And you know, she was another perfect example of Republicans doing whatever they can to attack the rights of women. You know, Phyllis Schlafly talks about how women, especially feminists, are all for divorce, right, that all they want in life is divorce. They want to get married and divorced. I mean, it's a crazy theory, but that's what she thinks. And she is basically calling for legislation that would make it even more difficult for individuals to divorce, OK? Only in extreme circumstances would a woman be able to divorce, like in case of, you know, abuse or, you know, just terrible treatment in a marriage a woman would be able to divorce. And you know, you have Republicans, you have conservatives, constantly attacking women, right, and constantly attacking our rights, what we need is a very strong Democratic Party who fights for us, right, that really fights for us. And you know, I think Democrats... women are, you know, something that Democrats can't lose, OK? They really need to fight for our rights and fight for legislation that allows us to continue to choose, that allows us to continue to live lives that are equal to men, and I don't know, I feel like Democrats have been really weak when it comes to certain things, and I really hope that they don't lose the female vote. I really hope that they do fight for us. David: Yeah, I mean, you and I and Cenk and everybody involved with both of our shows, as progressives, I think we're really getting away from the Democrat/Republican thing, because as you mentioned, the same corporate interests that affect one party, the Republicans, affect the Democrats almost to the exact same extent. So I think that the one side or the other arguments won't be good, but it will be interesting to see how the upcoming elections are affected. Ana Kasparian, cohost of The Young Turks, thanks so much for joining us again. Kasparian: Thank you. Transcript provided by Alex Wickersham and www.Subscriptorium.com. 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