The 32-year-old Georgetown law grad, Sandra Fluke, came into the national spotlight in 2012 when she was denied the opportunity to speak on the Affordable Care Act’s contraception mandate at a hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Her views on birth control and women’s health sparked a series of lewd comments from conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, which catapulted her name into the public dialog. Once considered a possible replacement for the retiring Rep. Henry Waxman, she recently announced her candidacy for a California state senate seat. So how well do you know Sandra Fluke?
We caught up briefly with Sandra Fluke, the attorney and activist who announced that she will seek a state senate seat in California, passing up a chance to run for Congress to replace retiring Rep. Henry A. Waxman and surprising many of her progressive fans.
Here’s a lightly edited transcript of what she had to say about that decision and what it says about women and politics.
During an appearance on MSNBC's The Ed Show Thursday to discuss her bid for the California State Senate, Fluke told Ed Schultz that she believes she will affect the most "progressive change" in the state legislature.
As a Georgetown University law student in 2012, Fluke was initially barred from testifying on contraception to an all-male Congressional panel by its Republican members before ultimately testifying to Democrats on the issue. She argued her school should have to include contraception in its health care coverage.
Democratic attorney and activist Sandra Fluke has decided against running for retiring Rep. Henry A. Waxman’s congressional seat, instead planning a bid for the state Senate.
“I am extremely moved by the outpouring of local and national support I have received since I announced that I was considering running for office. My entire career has been devoted to the public interest, whether representing victims of human trafficking or advocating for working families,” Fluke said late Tuesday night. “I am committed to continuing that fight in Sacramento, working to protect our environment, ensure our access to health care, and create the jobs that are desperately needed.”
Fast-food workers and other protest participants chanted and marched through a Los Angeles McDonald's restaurant Thursday morning as part of a nationwide strike involving industry employees in about 100 cities. Attorney and women's right activist Sandra Fluke -- the target of on-air attacks by radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh -- and Pastor William Smart Jr., president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Southern California, joined the demonstration.
"I was really determined that I was not going to be that cautionary tale, that instead I was going to try my best to demonstrate to anyone who was watching that in fact you could withstand personal attacks. You could answer them in a way that was appropriate and professional without stooping to that kind of level, and if you kept your eye on the principles that you were fighting for, there would be others who would stand with you." - Sandra Fluke
Sandra Fluke, the law school graduate who became famous after Rush Limbaugh called her a "slut" for demanding that health insurers be required to pay for contraception, made the rounds at the California Democratic Party on Saturday.
The 31-year-old Los Angeles resident spoke to party delegates about federal student-loan reform and the California domestic workers’ bill of rights, which would require overtime pay, meal breaks and other benefits for housekeepers, nannies and caregivers.
Sandra Fluke is out on the campaign trail with President Obama in Colorado, advocating for women’s healthcare. Ed Schultz talks with Sandra about the choice in November, what’s at stake, and Rush Limbaugh.
