on line with us is barbara higher former reagan
state department staff member author up a brilliant both the all the october
surprise
about the the way that the reagan
campaign won the election as a war of nineteen eighty-something that now
president former president
Iran body solder has baseless said the same thing
a barber welcome back to the program a time but
just just a a-listers know I was with the white house in justice department as
opposed to state
20 I'm sorry okay thank you yeah arm as the
at the white house and and and in fact in the back your book is a picture you
stand between President Reagan and President and Vice President Bush
arm correct you heard our program yesterday were phyllis schlafly was on
and she was talkin
about are you know basically her opposition to
workplace protections for women with regard to wages
and I understand this was actually the issue that provoked you to leave the
Reagan White House to have the right
well yes and no I mean that is just one
a the general reason that I
left the White House was actually because
for the first time in a star
recent American history a both a Democrat Republican Party up until
ronald reagan's campaign for president in 1980
had supported the equal rights amendment and in the
campaign a in order to pander to
the American Taliban Christian fundamentalist based
they for the first time I withdrew their support for the Equal Rights Amendment
and I was in the campaign at that time and I was just it is rated one
and we went into the transition and I was in the West Wing at the white house
I was working for the the chief domestic policy adviser to Reagan doctor martin
anderson
US thing I was it I was so appointed to head the so-called
etre alternative and I resign
on no late August 1983
so after I learned EN
high-level council meetings in the white house and the justice department St
reagan justice department was planning
a secret attack on all the civil rights statutes including the Civil Rights Act
of 1964
using the strategy of the weekly it's a chain
that we did not have an equal rights amendment me and I
expose the perfidy abyss secret plan
and the longest fact-based opinion piece ever published it was a
entire page in the washington post on or around August 23 is
1983 while and that resulted in about 30 and eight international publicity
I right so I actually resigned over
the attack on all women's rights and all civil rights
and of course equal pay for equal work an equal worth Jimmy
marketplace is a special cases that right
and your push back to
phyllis schlafly is she's not her defenders also us to personalize it to
her to those people who
would say that we already have
plenty protections for women the EEOC is for bureaucrats who are looking for
opportunities to defend women
I in the workplace and there's no need for any more legislation
well that that of course ridiculous it's completely ridiculous
under republican administrations especially after
have on after the reagan administration the administration
republican administrations do everything I can but not too
a enforce those laws through the EEOC and a horrible thing is is that
as I understand it if it's still the case is it was bad up women
are forced to go to the EEOC in so-called das
internal remedies in its ridiculously long process
set of doesn't pan out usually doesn't pan out
a and van their a able to
got a question if they have the wherewithal first they don't because
they're discriminated against in terms of
wages and salaries and promotion and all of that and I in the marketplace
to begin with remarkable remarkable
arm so good I wanted to get on the record for somebody who was there and
who knows what was going on and and the concert is are still up to the
their old tricks and they're still pushing this stuff in and a
and they're still pushing back against democrats promoting the idea of equality
in the workplace
on can change the subject the actress prize for a moment which
minders they're your choice I'd like to make a house do
period with women's rights if you're if I could briefly please do
okay I would just like to get people to understand
degree for city up the republican party starting with the reagan administration
and
this is a personal experience I had I was headed to the so-called
equal rights in an alternative ft in the justice department
and spent over a year and a half identifying
every single instanceof gender discrimination against girls and women
in the entire code US federal law and all the
as go to federal regulations and all policy practices
and procedures have all been 46 federal agencies
and that resulted in seven volumes
published by the Government Printing Office it stands about a foot-and-a-half
hi and to this day they are still not corrected time
and I took that those seven volumes after they were printed and
summer late summer's 1983 I had an appointment with jim baker who is
White House chief of staff training and in batch
meeting he had had those volumes for about two weeks
any call me n and just a few minutes of its a good chance
on top of those that stack applause still discriminate against girls and
women in this country
and he looked in my eyes and he said with his Texas drawl
he said Barbara there's me I can't imagine
any advocate for American girls and women better than you
but i just want to go on the record here that equal rights for women is no longer
anything that this administration and the republican party wants to expand
any financial or political capital on unquote
while and I and he said would you like to take the specs I have no use for them
and I just in my arms and I what straight out of the white house
and down to the washington post into meg greenfield toughest
and after that its history so the perfidy
is really unbelievable and the other experience that I had that the american
people
need to understand is it that David the
ratification deadline ran out
a of the Equal Rights Amendment because the state had
a certain period of time in order to ratify
the gate at the Equal Rights Amendment died
there was a huge celebrate ori kenner and
dance you know fancy Washington DC hotel
and because I worked in the West Wing at the white house with a domestic policy
adviser
on the issue of women's rights I was invited
and at that dinner phyllis schlafly without the dice on the stage
and the entire event was thanking her
and celebrating with her for the defeated the Equal Rights Amendment
at at the moment that 10 ultimate moment
the band played game dong the witch is dead to pitch being equal rights for
american
when it him and it was to see if someone had put a nice
into my stomach I just want the American people to know
trial bad the Republican Party is in that the war on women
started consciously a against american women and it is still going on today and
it started with the reagan administration
barber we just have a a a minute left do you
do you think that that war on women is the result love you know reaching out to
miss I just saw ur is there
is there some economic or political motive behind oh
what why well know it well it's both
I'm the the the real reason is that
here are the the Republican man
and I know this from talking to them and being having them being honest with me
in the white house in the justice department
they're scared to death that quote their women if you recall George W Bush
talked about are women there's afraid to death
that their wives especially are going to get out of control
and of course that's the whole point women should not be under the control
as any other human being any more than a man should be
and a we see the reality is
said for for decades and decades and centuries and millennia
%uh the institution that so-called traditional institution of marriage
has been perfectly biological lately don't know economic
lately for that for the other but he did
literally biological slavery for the woman and get we believe no
if there will be time in our history here
planned the traditional very and
fundamentally no different slavery from
I i don't disagree on December this is the Thom Hartmann program
barber honicker I'll formally with the reagan administration and the author of
october surprise
thank you barbara you're welcome please hold on for a sec