TO: Interested Parties
FR: DCCC & DNC Communications
DT: September 23, 2014
RE: Sen. Marco Rubio and Barbara Comstock: Two Peas in A Pod Pushing GOP Restrictions on Women’s Rights
Tonight, Marco Rubio is holding a fundraiser for Barbara Comstock in Virginia, and they should have plenty in common to talk about. Both Rubio and Comstock are pushing a right-wing agenda that threatens women’s health care choices and is totally out of touch with the values and priorities of middle class families.
From supporting mandatory ultrasounds to overturning Roe v. Wade, Comstock and Rubio are two peas in a pod when it comes to Republicans’ continued push to restrict women’s rights.
“From voting for mandatory ultrasounds to supporting overturning Roe vs. Wade, Barbara Comstock’s right-wing agenda may fit right in with the leading voices in the Republican War on Women, but she’s totally out-of-touch with the values of Northern Virginia’s women and families,” said Emily Bittner of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “Northern Virginia’s middle class families want a representative who will focus on their priorities like better schools, cutting wasteful spending and supporting job creation – not Comstock’s brand of right-wing dysfunctional politics.”
“As Marco Rubio picks candidates to support in 2014 to build up chits ahead of a presidential run, it’s no surprise he’s choosing Republicans who share his extreme views that are damaging for women and families,” said Lily Adams of the Democratic National Committee. “Barbara Comstock and Marco Rubio would roll back a generation of progress for women in Virginia and across the country — forcing working families to pay more out of their pockets for health care, restricting their health care choices, and preventing women from earning equal pay.”
Just take a look at their extreme records and rhetoric:
| Republican Restrictions on Women | Barbara Comstock | Sen. Marco Rubio |
| Putting their own politics over women and families | Comstock: I’ve Been Part of the Pro-Life Movement’s “Right Wing Conspiracy” for Decades. [Politico, 5/13/08] | Rubio Declared That He Would Oppose Abortion “Even If 100 Percent Of My Constituents Were For It.” [Tallahassee Democrat, 9/5/09] |
| Opposing Roe vs. Wade | Comstock: “Yes, I think Roe v Wade Should be Overturned.” [MSNBC, 10/16/08]
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Rubio Said Roe V. Wade Was A “Catastrophe” With “Horrifying” Results.“ [Palm Beach Post, 2/28/10]
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| Supporting mandatory ultrasounds | Comstock Voted to Mandate Transvaginal Ultrasounds Before Abortion. [HB 462, 2/14/12; Associated Press, 2/14/12]
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Rubio: “’As A State Legislator, I Supported Various Pieces Of Pro-Life Legislation That, Among Other Things, Would Require Doctors To Perform Ultrasounds Before Performing Abortions.” [St. Petersburg Times, 6/22/10]
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| Defunding Planned Parenthood | Comstock Voted to Defund Planned Parenthood. [HB 1500, Amendment Item 295 #2h, 2013 Session, 2/07/13] | Rubio On Planned Parenthood: “I’m Going To Vote To Defund It.” [Fox & Friends, Fox News, 4/14/11] |
| Attacking Equal Pay for Equal Work | Comstock Opposed Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, Called Equal Pay Measures a “Left Wing Agenda.” “ [Salon, 4/17/14] | Rubio On The Senate Bringing Up Equal Pay Bills: “I Just Think We’re Wasting Time.” [CNN, 4/8/14] |
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