Betty Sutton

After Missouri Republican Todd Akin’s “legitimate rape” comments, few Republicans would even go near him with a ten-foot pole. That is until Akin could no longer drop out of his race.

This November, EMILY's List women are facing far-right Republicans and Tea Party candidates who have dangerous views on women’s health, Obamacare, the Violence Against Women Act, fair pay for women and so much more. But our candidates know what’s best for women and families and will stand up against right-wing extremists. We’ve already told you a lot about our Democratic women, but we wanted to introduce you to our current Top 5 list of abhorrent Republicans to beat.

5 Worst Republicans to Defeat

Last week Betty Sutton announced she is running in the new 16th district of Ohio. Betty's been in this race for just 8 days and already she’s under attack. Betty has faced down GOP pressures before; it’s hard to forget a certain GOP mailer that claimed it was time to "take Betty Sutton out of the House and put her back in the kitchen." With the help of EMILY’s List, she certainly proved them wrong then, and she will do it again now.

When it comes to a good cause, the Congressional Women's Caucus has one thing to say: play ball!

The annual game benefits the Young Survival Coalition, a breast cancer charity. This year, the Women Members took on the ladies of the DC press corps, with a special appearance by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who threw out the first pitch.

Yesterday, we told you about the outrageous comments printed in the Medina County (Ohio) Republican Executive Committee's Republican Review newsletter, saying "Let's take Betty Sutton out of the House and put her back in the kitchen." You were all as disgusted as we were -- but if you thought the situation was already bad, just wait -- there's more.

There's no doubt we face challenges as the 112th Congress convenes, but there is also reason for celebration. All of you helped elect a strong group of pro-choice Democratic women to fight for us, including four new women of color in the House, and it was a thrill to have them sworn in yesterday.

My few hours spent with our elected women reminded me of the long hours and dedication of our public servants. My feet could barely keep up with the pace at which these women move -- and today was just day one.

What's the best way to move women back decades? Just ask the GOP.

The Republican Review, an apparent newsletter produced by the Medina County (Ohio) Republican Executive Committee, states the following:

"Let's take Betty Sutton out of the House and put her back in the kitchen."

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Last week a talented, young woman full of promise came to me with a flier her family received in the mail from the Republican Party. As she handed me the mailer, with a sense of disappointment and hurt, she pointed to a line in the flier that read, ‘Let’s take Betty Sutton out of the House and send her back to the kitchen.’

Standing up for labor doesn’t just mean standing up for men in hard hats. Standing up for labor also means standing up for teachers and nurses, it means standing up for women who build bridges and build communities.

From my home state of Ohio to states like Wisconsin and Maine, we have seen an all-out attack on working women. We have seen working women silenced, marginalized, and thrown out of their jobs.

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