Republicans Hate Mothers.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you House Resolution 1113 of the 110th Congress:

H. Res. 1113

In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

May 7, 2008.

Whereas Mother's Day is celebrated on the second Sunday of each May;

Whereas the first official Mother's Day was observed on May 10, 1908, in Grafton, West Virginia, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania;

Whereas 2008 is the 100th anniversary of the first official Mother's Day observation;

Whereas in 1908, Elmer Burkett, a U.S. senator from Nebraska, proposed making Mother's Day a national holiday;

Whereas in 1914, Congress passed a resolution designating the second Sunday of May as Mother's Day;

Whereas it is estimated that there are more than 82,000,000 mothers in the United States;

Whereas mothers have made immeasurable contributions toward building strong families, thriving communities, and ultimately a strong Nation;

Whereas the services rendered to the children of the United States by their mothers have strengthened and inspired the Nation throughout its history;

Whereas we honor ourselves and mothers in the United States when we revere and emphasize the importance of the role of the home and family as the true foundation of the Nation;

Whereas mothers continue to rise to the challenge of raising their families with love, understanding, and compassion, while overcoming the challenges of modern society; and

Whereas May 11, 2008 is recognized as Mother's Day: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives celebrates the role of mothers in the United States and supports the goals and ideals of Mother's Day.

Now, the Congress spends a lot of time on seemingly meaningless stuff like this- resolutions honoring someone's golfing buddy, naming post offices, etc. If you've ever watched C-SPAN after 5pm, you have an inkling of what I mean. And they pass by overwhelming majorities, making everyone feel good that Congress has some sort of idea of what the American people are for. The resolution above is no different- there's one done for every major holiday, and they always pass unanimously. Ah, but not this time...

The vote was initially Roll Call Number 274- a nice clean unanimous vote. But then, Minority Leader Boehner and his minions asked for a reconsideration of the vote, and another vote was taken on the exact same measure, and the original vote was rescinded. Take a look at the no votes cast on Roll Call Number 275- I'll give you a quick translation; Republican names are in italics. Why, you ask? What would cause them to make such a cold hearted decision? Pure politics.

I understand that the Repugs are all in a tither because the Dems were obstructionist before the balance of power shifted, but come on- Mother's Day? You really want to play politics with the mothers of America? How is this supposed to make those vaunted "soccer moms" feel?

I have two quick theories:

1. Some industrious staffer got on the Wikipedia and discovered that in the U.S., Mother's Day was started as a way to unite all mothers against war. And we all know how much the Repugs hate people who hate war...

2. It's part of their wider campaign to reduce the role of women in society, by removing any acknowledgement that women care for and nurture many of the country's children. Pretty soon, they'll have women reduced to birthing vessels and nothing more, which is just how the wingnuts want it...