Last Call For Third Time's Not The Charm

In a shocker to precisely no one in America, Republicans killed the Paycheck Fairness Act in the Senate for the third time in a row today, and frankly they don't believe anyone will punish them for it.

Republicans working to improve their image among women aren’t worried about suffering a political backlash if they follow through with plans to block the Paycheck Fairness Act.

Most Senate Republicans are expected to unite on Wednesday to block the legislation, which would allow workers to compare salaries without the threat of retaliation, force companies to explain pay disparities between men and women and allow those discriminated against to seek punitive damages.

But Republicans don't care.

The GOP is hoping that voters know better than to fall for what Republicans call Democratic “show votes” in the pitched seven-month battle for control of the Senate. Minority Whip John Cornyn of Texas said he’s even privately chided Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) — who’s designed much of the Democrats’ election-year Fair Shot for Everyone agenda — over how transparently political Democrats have become in the past few weeks in laying out a Senate floor strategy heavy on legislation that has little chance of becoming law. 

“This whole thing is really backfiring on the administration and on our Democratic friends because people are seeing it for what it is: It’s a transparent political campaign. It isn’t actually about solving problems, because the law of the land is already paycheck equity,” Cornyn said in an interview.

Added Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the chamber’s No. 3 Republican: “They don’t care about the fix. All they care about is who pays at the ballot box.”

This coming from the party of "We have to make Democrats pay for Obamacare."  That's rich.  And yet the gender pay gap exists, especially for women of color.

But it's all a trick, you see.  No woman actually makes less than what a man earns for the same job, so we don't need laws preventing it.  Just like we don't need laws preventing voter suppression, racism, gay-bashing or misogyny.

Most of all, Republicans are convinced you'll stay home and won't vote in 2014.