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From this Monday's Andrea Mitchell Reports, Rep. Marsha Blackburn did her part to make sure that the Republican party remains the "stupid party." I don't think remarks like this are going to help them much with making inroads with women and minority voters.

GOP Congresswoman: I Opposed Domestic Violence Bill Because It Protected Too Many Groups:

Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) on Monday openly admitted that she opposed the latest reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) because it included protections for LGBT, Native American, and undocumented victims of domestic violence.

In an appearance on MSNBC, Blackburn pointed out that the latest iteration of the law protects “different groups” and thus dilutes funding for straight, non-Native American women with the proper documentation:

When you start to make this about other things it becomes an “against violence act” and not a targeted focus act… I didn’t like the way it was expanded to include other different groups. What you need is something that is focused specifically to help the shelters and to help out law enforcement, who is trying to work with the crimes that have been committed against women and helping them to stand up.

Domestic violence is domestic violence, period. And there is no way to justify Blackburn’s suggestion that some victims of this violence are more deserving than others. Read on...

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Fox News host Dana Perino engaged in some victim blaming on Wednesday when she declared that women who had suffered from violence should "make better decisions."

The conservative hosts of Fox News' The Five on Wednesday continued their week-long effort to defend gun culture in the wake of a murder/suicide involving NFL football player Jovan Belcher and his girlfriend, Kasandra Perkins, by claiming that "bedding" and vehicles were more deadly than guns.

"This isn't an issue about gun control," co-host Kimberly Guilfoyle insisted. "This is an issue about domestic violence and a man who had a troubled past; had a history documented of being, unfortunately, sadly, abusive to women; an inability to be able to control his temper and his emotions; a lack of impulse control."

"I'm glad you brought that up," Perino remarked. "On the same day that Jovan Belcher committed this crime, there was a man who beat his wife with a baseball bat and killed her. Okay? He wasn't a pro football player, he doesn't drive a Bentley, didn't make millions of dollars. But on the same day -- that's why I think talking about the gun culture so-called issue is actually a copout and not dealing with the real issue about mental health, anger management and domestic violence."

"Can you name me one person you know that saved their lives by a handgun?" liberal co-host Bob Beckel asked.

"Bob, I think that skirts the issue that women are victims of violence all the time," Perino replied.

"Should have guns," co-host Greg Gutfeld interrupted.

"Or maybe make better decisions," Perino added.

"Why don't we just strap a gun on everybody and walk around the street?" Beckel quipped.

"It'd be safer," co-host Eric Bolling asserted.

"Beautiful!" Gutfeld exclaimed.

(h/t: Media Matters)

Sam Seder gives his take on the latest wingnutterty to come out of Pat Robertson's mouth, just two days after appearing on stage with Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. I wonder if anyone is going to ask Mittens if he's down with that whole wife beating thing since he was happy to be out campaigning with this crackpot.

Here's more from Right Wing Watch -- Pat Robertson: Since 'We Don't Condone Wife-Beating These Days' Husband Should 'Move to Saudi Arabia' to Beat Her:

Mitt Romney this weekend stumped alongside televangelist Pat Robertson, not minding Robertson’s legacy of incendiary, insensitive, heartless and apocalyptic rhetoric that has gotten him in trouble in the past. Apparently, Robertson’s own CBN has become aware of Robertson’s problematic statements, and may even be editing his controversial claims out of episode archives.

For example, today on the 700 Club’s “Bring It On” segment where viewers ask Robertson questions, one man wondered how he should go about repairing his marriage with a wife who “insults” him and once tried to attack him.

“Well, you could become a Muslim and you could beat her,” Robertson responded. “This man’s got to stand up to her and he can’t let her get away with this stuff,” Robertson continued, “I don’t think we condone wife-beating these days but something has got to be done.”

He later said the woman is a “rebellious child” and pondered if she has psychological problems. Robertson told the viewer that since he “can’t divorce her according to the Scripture, so I say: move to Saudi Arabia.”

And as they noted, CBN edited out Robertson's remarks about Saudi Arabia and the wife beating on their web site. I guess they were hoping no one noticed or was recording them. I'm glad Right Wing Watch monitors this stuff, because sitting through Robertson makes watching Fox look pleasant in comparison.

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A judge in Florida has ordered a man accused of domestic violence to take his wife on a date for her birthday, including flowers, Red Lobster and bowling.

Joseph Bray's wife, Sonya, told Broward County Judge John “Jay” Hurley that she had gotten mad at her husband because he failed to wish her a happy birthday, according to the Sun Sentinel.

"Having an altercation in the kitchen, Joseph grabbed her arm, pushed her on the couch, put his hand around her neck, held up his fist to hit her, but didn't actually hit her," the police report said, according to Hurley.

Bray's wife said that although this wasn't the first time she had to call the police, she loved her husband very much and didn't want "nothing bad to happen to him."

"I want him to come home," she added.

"I'm going to order that when he comes home tonight -- do you have a favorite restaurant?" the judge asked.

"I like going bowling," the wife replied. "I go to Red Lobster."

"I like Red Lobster," Hurley agreed. "What we're going to do is, he's going to be out of jail by three o'clock today. And he's going to stop by somewhere and he's going to get some flowers -- he's going to get a card, he's going to get flowers. And then he's going to go home, pick up his wife, take her to Red Lobster. And then after they have Red Lobster, they're going to go bowling. Alright?"

"Does he have to let her win?" someone in the court asked.

"No," the judge said. "But what you're going to do tomorrow night -- tomorrow afternoon, you're going to sit down and figure out where you're going to go to counseling, alright? So, flowers, birthday card, Red Lobster, bowling. You got your work cut out for you."

Shakesville blogger Melissa McEwan pointed out that the wife should not have been asked if she feared further violence while her abuser was in the courtroom.

"I desperately hope that Sonja Bray is safe," McEwan wrote. "And I hope that Judge Ha Ha Chuckles is removed from the bench immediately. He literally facilitated what could very well be part of a pattern of escalating abuse: Violence, elaborate display of romance, violence. No one who thinks that sentence is appropriate, no one who fails to recognize how it fits into a recognized abuse cycle, has any fucking business presiding over domestic abuse cases."

(H/T: Alternet)