EMILY’s List President Statement on Linda Lingle’s Stunning Embrace of Right-Wing Senator Roy Blunt

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, EMILY’s List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, released the following statement after learning that Sen. Blunt is a “special guest” at a fundraiser for Hawai’i GOP Senate candidate Linda Lingle.

“Linda Lingle’s days of pretending to be a moderate are over,” said Stephanie Schriock, President of EMILY’s List. “She may still be dodging questions about whether she supports right-wing Senator Blunt’s infamous proposal to give your boss control of your health care coverage, but she’s telling Hawai’i everything they need to know by highlighting Blunt’s support for her campaign at a Washington DC fundraiser. Let me be clear – in their zeal to deny women access to birth control, Republicans have threatened the health care of every man, woman, and child in Hawai’i by literally placing your medical decisions in the hands of your boss. If your boss thought childhood vaccinations were wrong, he would not have to cover them under Blunt’s proposal. If your boss thought unmarried women shouldn’t have babies, he could deny their maternity care coverage. It’s nothing short of stunning for Linda Lingle to publicly embrace Roy Blunt just days after his radical amendment was defeated in the Senate. And Hawai’i is definitely watching.”

EMILY’s List raised more than $38.5 million to support its mission of recruiting and supporting women candidates, helping them build strong campaigns, and mobilizing women voters to turn out and vote. With a community of more than 1,000,000 members across the country, EMILY’s List is one of the largest political action committees in the nation. Since its founding in 1985, EMILY’s List has worked to elect 87 pro-choice Democratic women to the U.S. House, 16 to the U.S. Senate, nine governors, and hundreds of women to the state legislatures, state constitutional offices, and other key local offices. In the 2009-2010 cycle, EMILY’s List had the largest number of members and donors in our 27 year history.