California Democratic women gave House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, presidential candidate U.S. Senator Kamala Harris and San Francisco Mayor London Breed a warm, hometown welcome Saturday morning as the state party kicked off its convention in San Francisco this morning.
The high profile politicians were among a number of women who addressed a packed, boisterous room of hundreds for the Women’s Caucus meeting, where caucus Chair Christine Pelosi — the speaker’s daughter — made women’s reproductive health the theme of the meeting.
Speakers railed against recent abortion bans and restrictions passed in red states across the nation, including a lawyer for Planned Parenthood — the group taking several of those laws to court.
When Nancy Pelosi entered the room, it erupted in applause and cheers of “Nancy!”
“What they are saying to women is, ‘ We are going to control not only your bodies, we are going to control what you believe’,” Pelosi told the crowd. “We believe that a woman has a right to choose. We believe that a woman has a right to make those determinations and they cannot foist their beliefs on us — no politicians, no anybody.”
Pelsoi questioned why Republicans pushing the bans aren’t more concerned with family planning.
“These are desperate people,” she added. “I don’t know why they have the insecurities they do about women advancing but that’s their problem and we’re not going to have it affect our lives.”
Harris also thrilled the Democratic crowd, opening up her remarks with an appeal to the room, asking them to support her candidacy —Â and launching into a speech about issues near and dear to the group: women’s reproductive rights and equal pay.
“Women’s rights are under attack –we’ve seen it in Alabama, we’re seeing in Georgia and Missouri. And it fundamentally is an issue that is about people who are supposed to be leaders who do not understand the value of women’s brains and women’s agency and women’s strength and women’s ability to make their own decisions about their own bodies. And we here to tell them we will not take it and we will fight,” Harris said to cheers.
Harris touted her equal pay proposal, which calls for large corporate employers to prove that they are paying men and women equally — and if they aren’t, face fines commensurate  with the pay differential.
“Women are paid nationally 80 cents on the dollar. Black women, 61 cents. Native American women, 58 cents. Latinas, 53 cents and you know what? I’m done having this conversation because it’s not a debatable point,” she said.
Also speaking was Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, another presidential contender — one of 14 swarming the convention this weekend to make their appeal to the party faithful. She called Harris a “friend,” and — in a nod to the crowd — exclaimed, “May the best woman win!”
After praising Pelosi, Klobuchar immediately pivoted to attacking Trump.
“If you guys dont think a woman can beat Donald Trump, just look at Nancy Pelosi!” Klobuchar said. “We have this guy in the White House who is trying to pull us back. He is behind all of this. If if you’re wondering what happened in Alabama and Georgia with those laws, I’ll give you a tip — coming from the Midwest, about how I talk about it. People do not want to put their doctors in prison, and the vast majority of Americans, 73 percent of Americans are with us — they do not want to overturn Roe v. Wade.”
Pelsoi had earlier tied the abortion debate to the 2020 election also.
“We have to win big in the next election —Â hold the House, hopefully win the Senate, and elect a Democratic president of the United States — a proudly pro-choice president,” she said.
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