Female senators make push for women voters

With Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) out of the presidential race, 10 female Democratic senators made an urgent appeal Tuesday to try to prevent women from flocking to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in November.

{mosads}The senators unveiled a “checklist for change” that included ensuring that women receive equal pay; keeping jobs in America; making healthcare more affordable; providing benefits for military veterans; and protecting the environment. The push for equal pay also was a subtle jab at McCain, who opposed a bill earlier this year to overturn a Supreme Court decision rejecting a discrimination claim Lilly Ledbetter made against her former employer, Goodyear Tire Company in Gadsden, Ala.

Left off the checklist was protecting a woman’s right to choose whether to have an abortion, a bedrock Democratic position. Democrats later said that pro-abortion rights positions— which polarize the electorate — were included in the idea of establishing universal healthcare.

Clinton, who has not returned to Capitol Hill after she conceded the race to Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) this month, was absent from Tuesday’s event. Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), who supported Clinton’s presidential bid, said that the former first lady would return “later this summer” and supports the checklist.

“The time has come for change,” said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who also backed Clinton.

Democrats are concerned that women who believe that Clinton was the victim of sexism during the primaries might vote for McCain, who is courting that voting bloc heavily. Democrats said that their checklist would unite the party, and plan to repeat the agenda on the Senate floor, at campaign rallies and the Democratic National Convention in August. Tuesday’s event was held at the Sewall-Belmont House, which served as the headquarters of the National Women’s Party since 1929.

“This is a way to show that whether you were for Hillary or whether you were for Barack, that we’ve come together on this checklist for change,” said Mikulski, dean of the Senate Democratic women. “It’s all part of the momentum.”