Spring Cleaning

Below the Belt: A Biweekly Column by NOW President Kim Gandy

April 4, 2006

Ah, spring. I love this time of year.  Not only do I love seeing the flowers bloom and the temperature rise—I love the chance to shake off winter's dust and do a little spring cleaning.

I've had extra fun this week, watching the Republicans do a little spring cleaning of their own.

When House Majority Leader Tom DeLay announced his resignation, I felt like popping the champagne! With the indictments stacking up against his aides and political allies—and charges leveled against him as well—his future as the powerful "Hammer" of the GOP was looking increasingly bleak. But then I remembered that the Republican leaders who covered for DeLay, even creating a special "ethics" rule on his behalf, are still running the country...

They're doing a little spring cleaning at the White House, too. Chief of Staff Andy Card got the boot last week, and word is that GOP leaders are pressing the administration to continue sending White House staffers out the door, in an effort to halt Bush's careening poll numbers.

The whole thing brings to mind an image of the crew on the Titanic throwing buckets of water overboard. But the ship of state has taken on too much water already. People are tired of the corruption, lies and incompetence. Tom DeLay and Andy Card are just the beginning. Come November, the voters will have a day of reckoning with the GOP. Call it "fall cleaning." I just can't wait.

Until then, we still have a battle on our hands, as usual. In 2003, Tennessee became one of the 13 states in which lawmakers have approved special "Choose Life" license plates that generate income for adoption or anti-abortion groups. But they rejected a request for "Pro-Choice" plates. A three-judge panel of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals decided on March 17 (PDF) that granting special license plates to fund one viewpoint is perfectly fine, rejecting a lawsuit by Planned Parenthood and the ACLU that challenged the tags' legality.

Not surprisingly, the judge who wrote the majority opinion was nominated by George W. Bush, and he was joined in that opinion by a Reagan nominee. The dissenting judge was nominated by Jimmy Carter. This is another reminder that lower court nominations do make a difference, so remember that when we send you an action alert to write to your senators about some obscure-sounding judge!

On the national level, GOP-led plans to overhaul immigration laws are underway again. Anytime I see Congress trying to "reform" anything, I get nervous. Just think about "welfare reform," "bankruptcy reform," and "tort reform." And this time is no different.

The Republican bill doesn't protect the rights of established workers in this country—in fact, many would be forced to leave. It also aims to punish service providers, shelters, family members and others who are trying to help undocumented immigrants.

NOW supports laws that provide a path to full, legal residency and citizenship, so that immigrants can be openly active participants in society and the political process. This bill is just another way for the Republicans to lock down the borders under the guise of "homeland security."

With the exception of Native Americans, everyone in the U.S. is either an immigrant or is descended from those who came here, voluntarily or involuntarily, from other countries. Immigrants deserve fair treatment and an opportunity to make a better life for themselves and their children.

If you haven't already made your plans to join us in New York City on April 29, do it now. This March for Peace, Justice and Democracy can be a turning point for our country, and I want you to be part of it. The weather should be beautiful ;>)

So, once again, we have our work cut out for us. I'm so glad it's spring. The days are getting longer, which means we'll have even more time to fight our battles. I hope, wherever you are, you're taking time to smell the flowers and feel the sun on your face. Happy spring!

For equality,

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