"It’s called a women’s act, but then they have men dressed up as women, they count that. Change-gender, or whatever. How is that — how is that a woman?"

"It is good politics to oppose the black guy in the White House right now."

"Last time I checked, women made up more than half the electorate. A political party that so easily allows itself to get painted as hating on the ladies is a party on the road to extinction."

"

The Newtown massacre created a tipping point on the gun debate in America. The Obama administration and Democrats are moving quickly to reframe the issue and move new policy. As a citizen, I think it is appropriate and overdue. As a political observer, I think it’s smart politics. As a Republican, I think it’s yet another instance where the party, by refusing to recognize reality, is going to end up looking like the “stupid party” that fails to adapt and evolve to changing circumstances in our society.

Unless the GOP comes out with a proactive plan that has some appearance of responding to recent events, then it continues to play defense and digs deeper the hole it has been digging for itself in recent years. On issues where the physics are moving irrevocably forward, like immigration, gay rights, and guns, the Republican Party continues to look backward. And backward is a sure path toward irrelevance.

"

"When I see a former governor say that the President is “shuckin’ and jivin’,” that’s racial era slave term. When I see another former governor after the president’s first debate where he didn’t do very well, says that the president was lazy. He didn’t say he was slow. He was tired. He didn’t do well. He said he was lazy. Now, it may not mean anything to most Americans, but to those of us who are African Americans, the second word is shiftless and then there’s a third word that goes along with that. The birther, the whole birther movement. Why do senior Republican leaders tolerate this kind of discussion within the party?"

"One of the standoffs that ultimately meant that the Violence Against Women Act disappeared after eighteen years of implementation was over Native American tribal rights. Cantor explicitly refused to back a bill that included expanded jurisdiction for Native American tribes in the prosecution of rape cases. One in three Native American women have been raped or experienced an attempted rape and in 86 percent of rape cases, the perpetrator was someone non-Native. Legislation that would have worked to allow tribal governments to exercise greater authority in prosecuting non-Native American alleged rapists was deemed unacceptable by Rep. Cantor."

"We have 50 million people without any health insurance. We are the only country, major country on earth that does not guarantee healthcare to every man, woman, and child as a right. Do you know what their solution is? Cut Medicare. Cut Medicaid. You got Social Security, the most successful government program in the history of our country. A program which has not resulted in one penny of deficit for this country, and you know what they want to do? They want to cut Medicaid. They want to cut Social Security. They want to privatize these important programs. These guys are way, way out of touch from where the American people are."

"It makes no sense to make this attack on women. If you don’t feel this is an attack, you need to go home and talk to your wife and your daughters."