JD, thanks for bringing this archaic issue front and center. It has lurked in the dark for much too long. I would like to suggest that the republicans, historically speaking, are not the problem. Make no mistake, I am not a republican. They stupid. And they are evil. And evilly stupid as well as stupidly evil. I think that covers it. The republicans cannot be blamed for the ratification not being completed any more than an orangutan occupying the captains seat in a jetliner can be blamed when the plane crashes. They simply do not have the intellect, even the genetic coding, to comprehend the concept of equal rights for women. I believe the democrats must eat the blame for this one. It is a issue that is right down the center lane for them, and they passed on the opportunity to make it more important and visible. If they had a spine, that 38 state threshold could have been crossed long ago, and ratified while they held control of both chambers and the presidency. It is convenient to blame republicans for nearly everything because we all know they are fools. But the democrats need to grow a pair and step up. They have been feckless, and corrupt in their own way, for too long!