No Choice
But Josh stayed his hand and saith, "It it not mete that ye speak thus before the election, for a little bird shall hear thy words and carry them unto the media, and the people will fear us."
(George Wallace to Curtis LeMay, in The Begatting of a President, a satirical view of the Nixon presidency published in 1970.)
A political gaffe, it is said, is when someone speaks a truth that shouldn't be spoken. That was Todd Akin's problem. It isn't that he said anything wrong, it is that he wasn't supposed to say it.
Some people think that the offense was in the words "legitimate rape". As a friend mentioned on the Face-book, "Legitimate Rape should not be confused with Asking For It Rape or Had It Coming Rape. Consult a misogynist for details."
The problem isn't the idea of "legitimate rape." The problem is that a clueless male who gets his ideas from ancient fairy tales and what he pulls from thin air is stating that he has the right to decide for women what their role and purpose ought to be. The problem is that he thinks his superstitions about the sanctity of a zygote are more important than a woman's bodily autonomy. The problem is that the sort of person who would force a woman to bear a child against her will is the sort of person who'd have no problem at all with chattel slavery.
The last couple days have seen people like Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown urge Akin to quit the race. Even Mitt Romney has finally tested the prevailing winds long enough to point like the well-greased weathervane he is. He’s doing his best to distance himself from Todd Akin.
This despite the fact that his running mate, Paul Ryan, is cosigner of the "Sanctity of Life" bill that defines a fertilized egg as a person and grants it "all the legal and constitutional attributes and privileges of personhood." And Romney himself appeared with Mike Huckabee, who asked, "Would you have supported a constitutional amendment that would have established the definition of life at conception?" "Absolutely!" replied Mitt.
And today we learn that the Republican Party's platform will contain a plank stating: "Faithful to the 'self-evident' truths enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, we assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed. We support a human life amendment to the Constitution and endorse legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment's protections apply to unborn children."
No exceptions. Rape, incest - it doesn't matter. Women are merely the vessels that new people come from. They aren't really people themselves, at least, not so long as they're fertile.
Well, at least it's distracted us from talking about Romney's tax returns...
(George Wallace to Curtis LeMay, in The Begatting of a President, a satirical view of the Nixon presidency published in 1970.)
A political gaffe, it is said, is when someone speaks a truth that shouldn't be spoken. That was Todd Akin's problem. It isn't that he said anything wrong, it is that he wasn't supposed to say it.
Some people think that the offense was in the words "legitimate rape". As a friend mentioned on the Face-book, "Legitimate Rape should not be confused with Asking For It Rape or Had It Coming Rape. Consult a misogynist for details."
The problem isn't the idea of "legitimate rape." The problem is that a clueless male who gets his ideas from ancient fairy tales and what he pulls from thin air is stating that he has the right to decide for women what their role and purpose ought to be. The problem is that he thinks his superstitions about the sanctity of a zygote are more important than a woman's bodily autonomy. The problem is that the sort of person who would force a woman to bear a child against her will is the sort of person who'd have no problem at all with chattel slavery.
The last couple days have seen people like Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown urge Akin to quit the race. Even Mitt Romney has finally tested the prevailing winds long enough to point like the well-greased weathervane he is. He’s doing his best to distance himself from Todd Akin.
This despite the fact that his running mate, Paul Ryan, is cosigner of the "Sanctity of Life" bill that defines a fertilized egg as a person and grants it "all the legal and constitutional attributes and privileges of personhood." And Romney himself appeared with Mike Huckabee, who asked, "Would you have supported a constitutional amendment that would have established the definition of life at conception?" "Absolutely!" replied Mitt.
And today we learn that the Republican Party's platform will contain a plank stating: "Faithful to the 'self-evident' truths enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, we assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed. We support a human life amendment to the Constitution and endorse legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment's protections apply to unborn children."
No exceptions. Rape, incest - it doesn't matter. Women are merely the vessels that new people come from. They aren't really people themselves, at least, not so long as they're fertile.
Well, at least it's distracted us from talking about Romney's tax returns...