How often do we hear the Democratic leadership speak to the war against women that has raged on the past 6+ years?

We have a majority leader who voted for S403, a bill so heinous Barbara Boxer said it's one of the most poorly drafted, egregious pieces of legislation she's seen in all her years of being an elected official. On the floor of the Senate she said as a result of the passage of this bill, many young girls will take their own lives because they feel they have no other recourse, they are amongst a group of young girls who are the victims of incest.

The bill gives the father full parental rights, there is nothing that has been taken away from him but suing the aunts, uncles, grandparents or clergy that help the pregnant young girl cross state lines to get an abortion.

Majority leader Harry Reid voted for that bill knowing all of the ramifications it brings forth.

That's merely one example of how silent this leadership has been on women's rights and issues throughout the term of this president. They side with Democrats for Life, they pander to them, they endorse and support them. How many times have we heard them speak out for women's reproductive rights?

John Kerry compromised on the refusal clauses, the right of pharmacists not to fill birth control prescriptions for women. Instead of holding the pharmacists' feet to the fire, he came up with yet another compromise in women's struggles to be free from the assault against us, an assault that is taking us back 30+ years.

This leadership hates, more than almost anything, being pushed to the wall when the issue of abortion comes up. It's as if they dare not utter the very word, a medical procedure that is the right of every woman to choose if she believes it's in her own best interests.

Nancy Pelosi recruited, supported and fought mightily to get Tim Roemer elected DNC chair. Hilary Clinton and Harry Reid have stood shoulder to shoulder with Democrats for Life, an organization that is every bit as strident in their agenda as is the rightwing of the Republican Party.

DFL believe life begins at conception. They heartily endorsed and supported the ban on abortions in South Dakota, leaving in the no exceptions mandate, none for incest, rape or the life of the woman.

DFL also campaigns against stem cell research. They called John Kerry the Democratic Party's answer to Hitler because of his stance on abortion, even though his stand is far from being that of a clearly spoken advocate.

I understand the concern of lumping both parties together. I get that the Democrats were just sworn in as the majority party. I also know, without a shadow of a doubt, that the plight of women in this country did not happen overnight, this war against us has had the support of many in leadership positions in the Democratic Party. Either by their silence or who they stand toe to toe with, women are in a world of hurt in this country and that is so with the help of the Democratic Party.

They have much to prove in my eyes, the burden of proof is theirs because we have a rightwing in both parties and in 'our' party it's considered a more politically expedient thing to do to pander to those who are anti- choice, in the guise of Democrats for Life, all of this while women and young girls' very lives are at stake.

Women are watching and we're deadly serious because it is no less than our lives that are on the line.