Politics

Feminist group excludes Weiner, Filner from ‘worst offenders’ of women’s rights list

Font Size:

The National Organization for Women released their “gallery of worse offenders when it comes to women’s rights” in an email to supporters Thursday.

All the offenders, according to NOW’s list, are Republicans. Noticeably absent from the gallery, however, are San Diego Democratic Mayor Bob Filner and New York City mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner.

Eight women have accused Filner of sexual harassment, including inappropriate touching. Weiner recently admitted to continuing to engage in sexting even after resigning from Congress in 2011 for similar activities.

Filner has refused to resign and Weiner says he is staying in the race for mayor.

NOW’s worst women’s rights offenders gallery focuses solely on pro-life Republican men. “Let’s keep our reproductive rights in our hands, not in the hands of these men!” NOW introduces the gallery.

In addition to their pro-life viewpoints, some of these Republican politicians are on the list also due to their stances on sexual assault in the military, gay rights, pay equity and Violence Against Women Act.

“The Republican leadership’s anti-woman agenda is so unpopular with most voters that they have resorted to a stealth strategy — such as attaching anti-choice bills to unrelated measures, or using misleading rhetoric to defend their extremist legislation,” NOW president Terry O’Neill wrote in the email to supporters Thursday. “You can help expose their covert tactics by reviewing our gallery of offenders, sharing the images with your network and taking action today.”

The list includes: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Arizona Rep. Trent Franks, Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, Texas Rep. Michael Burgess, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss, Majority Leader Eric Cantor, and E.W. Jackson, a candidate for Virginia lieutenant governor.

While the national NOW did not include Filner and Weiner in their gallery of worst women’s rights offenders NOW’s chapters in San Deigo and New York have voiced disappointment in Filner and called on Weiner to drop out of the race.

“We endorsed him with very high hopes of what he would do for women,” Gloria Johnson, president of San Diego NOW told CNN’s Gut Check. “But we are disappointed in what we know about his recent actions.”

She added that she “and the majority of NOW members agree” that he does not have NOW’s support.

“Ending harassment on the job is one of NOW’s top priorities,” Johnson said.

New York’s NOW chapter called for Weiner to drop out of the race shortly after he admitted to post-resignation sexting.

“As if we didn’t already have enough evidence of Anthony Weiner’s utter lack of judgment, impulse control and honesty, these latest revelations show the degree to which his candidacy distracts us from the important business of choosing the next leader of New York City,” Sonia Ossorio, President of NOW-NYC, said in a statement. “He is clearly and compellingly unfit for public office and the sooner comes to this realization, the better for the people of New York.”

NOW did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Follow Caroline on Twitter