Bonnie Campbell — the former Iowa Attorney General/prominent attorney/the administrator of the Violence Against Women office in the U.S. Department of Justice during the Clinton administration and Iowa Democratic Party chair from 1987 to 1991 — is one of the guests on this weekend’s edition of "Iowa Press." Campbell’s appearance, alongside David Miles — the president of the Board of Regents, focused mostly on the University of Iowa sexual assault investigation and university-related issues. The last part of the program, however, featured this back-and-forth among me, Campbell and David Yepsen of The Des Moines Register. Subject matter: Sarah Palin.
Henderson: "In 1994, Bonnie Campbell was the Democratic Party’s nominee for governor."
Campbell: "I remember that, yes." (Laughter)
Henderson: "And then this past cycle in the Iowa Caucuses you were a keen supporter of Hillary Clinton. What do you think of Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin?"
Campbell: "Well, I don’t know exactly what to think of the very positive response to her because I’m not a Republican and I’m not supporting her, but let me say that from the perspective of a feminist to have clearly a strong individualist, pioneer, pioneering woman on the Republican ticket is historic with or without my support of her."
Yepsen: "One of the reasons — we’re into politics; we always do that on this show." (laughter)
Campbell: "It’s gotta be."
Yepsen: "Well, one of the reasons John McCain picked her was an effort to attract Hillary Clinton supporters. Now, as one of the leading Hillary Clinton suporters in Iowa, did he succeed?
Campbell: "Well, not with me, no."
Yepsen: "Do you see Clinton people now going over to McCain/Palin as a result of that decision."
Campbell: "I don’t and I keep looking at polling data that suggests that white women are supporting McCain. My theory about what’s happening — I’m not a pollster, as you know — is that those are probably independents who made choices based on other things, but for me to imagine that philosophically people who supported Hillary Clinton because of her experience and her background and her political perspective would support someone who is ideologically the opposite seems a huge stretch."
Yepsen: "We have about 20 seconds left. Is Barack Obama going to be able to carry this state?"
Campbell: "Yes, significantly."
Yepsen: "Why do you say that?"
Campbell: *We know him. It reminds me of 1988. That was mentioned earlier. I just think that Iowa seems to like him and we’re well organized. We’ve registered more Democrats. It ought to be a very good year. We could determine the presidency."
About O.Kay Henderson
Kay is a founding member of the Radio Iowa network newsroom. In 1994, she became the network’s news director. She’s a featured reporter and commentator on Iowa Public Television’s “Iowa Press,” and the 2002 recipient of the Shelley Award.
Women Want Safety, not Biden’s Abuse of Power
Senator Joe Biden proudly proclaims that he was beaten with impunity by his sister as a youth. This is the same sister that raised his two sons after his wife and daughter were killed in an auto accident.
Biden has often claimed that the Violence against Women Act is the greatest achievement of his career. Yet he fails to recognize the role women play as perpetrators of violence against men and children. Hundreds of studies show that women commit acts of domestic violence as often as, or more often than men. Many studies show that lesbian women physically attack their intimate partners at least as often as heterosexual men. It’s also a well established fact that a child is more likely to be killed by the mother than by the father, a neighbor, an acquaintance, a stranger or a sex offender.
As a result of Biden’s Violence against Women Act, the federal government pays states to create laws effectively requiring that innocent men be removed from their homes and families without even an allegation of violence, with no legitimate standards of evidence, when a woman makes a claim that she is afraid.
Elaine Epstein, president of the Massachusetts Bar Association (1999), has said “the facts have become irrelevant… restraining orders are granted to virtually all who apply. Regarding divorce cases, she states “allegations of abuse are now used for tactical advantage”. According to Epstein, who is also a former president of the Massachusetts Women’s Bar Association, restraining orders are doled out “like candy” and “in virtually all cases, no notice, meaningful hearing, or impartial weighing of evidence is to be had.”
State restraining order laws are starting to fall because they’re unconstitutional. The federal law behind them, written by Joe Biden, is likely to fall as well, not because it isn’t popular, but because it is clearly unconstitutional.
There is a rapidly growing activist community dedicated to addressing this issue. One of the focal points of this community is the Glenn Sacks blog, http://www.glennsacks.com .
Supporting Documentation
Here are some of the facts regarding Biden’s abuse at the hand of his sister. During senate hearings held on December 11, 1990, Biden testified to the abuse.
http://www.ifeminists.net/introduction/editorials/2006/0503roberts.html
Senate Hearing Transcript:
http://thenononsenseman.com/Media/BidenViolenceSenateHearing_1990.pdf
(much more available…)
New Jersey’s domestic violence statute has recently been found unconstitutional. The New Jersey Attorney General is taking this case to the state’s Supreme Court.
The New Jersey Law Journal reports that Judge Richard Russell of Ocean City made the following remarks on tape during a judicial training session regarding the issuance of restraining orders.
source: http://www.fathersandhusbands.org/NJ_Rights_1.pdf
“If I had one message to give you today, it is that your job is not to weigh the parties’ rights as you might be inclined to do as having been private practitioners. Your job is not to become concerned about all the constitutional rights of the man that you’re violating as you grant a restraining order. Throw him out on the street, give him the clothes on his back and tell him, ‘See ya’ around.’ “
A new municipal judge attending the training session stated “The statute says we should apply just cause in issuing the order.” “You seem to be saying to grant every order.” Russell quickly replied, “Yeah, that’s what I seem to be saying.”
The article is full of comments from Russell and his colleagues that are equally inflammatory.
Perhaps you think Russell should have been disbarred for instructing judges to ignore the constitution. In doing so, he violated his greatest responsibility as a judge in the most blatant way possible. Perhaps you think he should have gone to prison.
Russell now serves on the New Jersey Supreme Court’s State Domestic Violence Working Group, the Executive Committee of the State Bar’s Family Law Section, and the New Jersey Supreme Court’s Family Practice Committee. He currently is the chair of the court’s Child Support Subcommittee.
Given a recent ruling declaring New Jersey’s domestic violence statute unconstitutional and given the imminent Supreme Court challenge, the truth regarding the real practices that are being used to separate men from their children and their homes must be heard.