Hell Hath No Fury Like A Wisconsin Woman Scorned:
There’s no sweeter place to live than Wisconsin. We have friendly people, hard working families and pristine outdoors. At least we did. Not so much anymore. When your shogun ruler is Scott Walker, skies turn green, the air smells of sulfur and it’s always overcast.

When you thought of Wisconsin 10 years ago, most people would have envisioned a progressive paradise. A place full of left-wing politics. Where we produced genuine politicians who you could count on to stand up for women, education and the working class. We had fully funded schools and social programs. You could get health care and feed your family. You could afford college. But now, our only saving grace is Tammy Baldwin and our Democratic representatives in congress. But in the past 3 years, the Tea party and the Koch brothers have moved in. Everywhere you look (with the obvious exception of Waukesha and Ozaukee counties) you could say to yourself in earnest, “I’m not in Wisconsin anymore.” In that 3 year span, we've seen the rise of Scott Walker, a Republican Godzilla. A terrifying creature who has risen from the cold, black abyss of the Tea Party. Those with political sanity countered with a massive recall that was ultimately defeated with corporate cash. Our economy, our schools, our working class families have all suffered considerably. With our latest state budget, that Walker signed with an eagerness comparable to a rat finding a hunk of cheese, he stole money from hard working families to pay for corporate welfare and voucher schools. And if that wasn't bad enough, this right-wing take over has been especially bad for women. But we’ve taken notice. And now we’re pissed. Apparently Republicans aren’t aware of the phrase, “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.”

For reasons we still have yet to dissect and understand, the Republican party has an obsession with the female reproductive process. Not an obsession on a biological scale, or a scientific scale, but on a fascist scale.  Not only do they believe that a woman cannot make her own decisions, because the GOP feeds off of medieval patriarchy, but they feel that medical decisions are best left to men. And the GOP here in Wisconsin seems to be even more ultra-dumb than the rest. One of our more notorious state senators, Mr. Glenn Grothman, wanted to go so far as to make a law indicating single parenthood a form a child abuse. I’ll let that sink in. He wants to force women to have children, then turn around and make raising them in a single parent household akin to abuse. Honestly, there is really nothing more terrifying than allowing people like Grothman and Scott Walker to decide on your vaginal health and your future.

When the Koch brothers paid for Walker’s win to Madison, there was never a true focus on job creation or expanding education. We all knew that was BS. Instead, men descended on Madison and we now have a law that forces a woman to be vaginally probed before obtaining a safe, legal medical procedure, Texas style. During the debate of the bill and after it was signed into law, many doctors and medical professionals in the state expressed their concern of forcing a women into additional, unnecessary and downright cruel procedures. And to make the entire situation worse, Scott Walker signed the law in what was essentially secret. He didn’t even have the nards to own up to his own bullshit. He took the cowards way out. Only a Republican would celebrate the 4th of July holiday by signing away women’s reproductive freedom.

Because of this bill, Wisconsin will see the closings of most Planned Parenthoods. Only two clinics will be left to perform abortion services, Milwaukee and Appleton. Affiliated Health will now be gone. Women in the north and western parts of the state will have to travel incredibly long distances to obtain medical services. But the cruel irony of the entire situation is that the state GOP wants to cut every single service that parents rely on to feed and obtain medical care for their kids. It’s certainly true that the only time a Republican cares about a child is when they can use it against a woman. How much did Walker give in tax cuts to corporations in Wisconsin? Billions. How much is he actively gutting from state services? Billions. Coincidence? Absolutely not. There is a silver lining to this story in the form of a judge’s injunction on the provision of the bill that makes it a crime for a doctor who does not have hospital admitting privileges to perform abortions. Planned Parenthood stood ready to challenge the law in court. Unfortunately, I think that part of the law will be upheld.

I suppose the obvious moral of the story is to never vote for a Republican. They should be forewarned that our grandmothers and great-grandmothers fought the first wave of the War on Women, and women today, well we’ll be right there on the front lines to finish it. We won’t let them get away with taking back our rights centuries. Wisconsin women will continue to fight the fight. Fists up, women. The GOP started this and we will finish it. Women will be victorious.