House Republians Strike A Blow FOR Forced Child "Marriage" [Anthony McCarthy]

I don't recognize this country anymore. It used to be that you could count on a minimal level of decency to override opportunism and expediency in, at least, the most obvious cases. Clearly, with the Republicans and their enablers in and out of the government, that's not the case anymore.

The House of Representatives failed to pass S. 987 , The International Protecting Girls by Preventing Child Marriage Act because House Republicans voted to kill it. The "family values" party is striking a blow for legalized rape of young girls. The bill passed unanimously in the Senate, ironically enough. The House was under rules suspension and the bill would have needed a 2/3rds majority to pass. I guess the leadership in the House was overly confident that a sufficient number of Republicans had a shred of decency when it came to little girls being sold to adult perverts in "marriage". There is no doubt, whatsoever, that they do now that this has happened.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), who sponsored the bill, had a blunt response in a late-night press release:

The action on the House floor stopping the Child Marriage bill tonight will endanger the lives of millions of women and girls around the world. These young girls, enslaved in marriage, will be brutalized and many will die when their young bodies are torn apart while giving birth. Those who voted to continue this barbaric practice brought shame to Capitol Hill.

Apparently, taking advantage of the frantic, confused atmosphere in the lame duck session, Republicans mounted a lie campaign against the bill that led even its anti-choice supporters to get cold feet.

In the hours before the vote, Republicans circulated a memo to pro-life members of Congress alleging that the bill could fund abortions and use child marriage "to overturn pro-life laws." It also reiterated concerns over the bill's cost. When it came time for a vote, a number of the bill's pro-life supporters in both parties abandoned ship. Even co-sponsors of the corresponding House bill (H.R. 2103), like Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) and Lee Terry (R-Neb.), voted against it.

The bill mentions nothing about abortion.

In all my years of watching Republican-blue dog depravity, this reaches a new low. Resurrecting this bill must be a priority but I doubt it will get done. The Republican Party is the shame of the United States. It is the foremost concentration of pure evil in our society. Which is why we cannot stand by quietly as Barack Obama and Harry Reid capitulate to them.