Oh noes! Am I a good/bad woman by Republican standards? :P
Conservatives tend to have unwritten rulebooks that supercede what they say out loud. But unwritten rules can contradict each other. Case in point -- me.
For various reasons I'm currently homeschooling my children as a stay-at-home mom. Traditionally conservatives have loved women who stayed home with their kids instead of getting jobs. Traditionally they also favored homeschooling. They think such women will vote for them. So even though I'm an elitist Green Party Pagan snob and one of Santorum's "smart people (who) will never be on our side", their first inclination is to see me as a good person.
But because I am a stay-at-home mom, I don't earn enough to pay federal income taxes.
Oh noes! Suddenly I and every other SAHM (including Ann Romney) are bad people! We don't pay taxes! We rely on handouts! We'll never vote Republican or be invited to join the country club! Unless of course our husband owns the damn club....
And I'm bad because, since I'm not paying federal income taxes, I'm not taking personal responsibility for myself! Because I'm doing frivolous things instead like -- taking personal responsibility for my children's education?
So good woman, bad woman, which am I by Republican standards based on my occupation? I don't personally care, but it shows how seriously Romney is out of touch even with his own party, let alone the country as a whole.
And to the senior citizens I heard today who said, "He didn't really mean us," yes he did. And the disabled, the veterans, the students, and the soldiers as well as the domestic partners. He really did mean us all.
For various reasons I'm currently homeschooling my children as a stay-at-home mom. Traditionally conservatives have loved women who stayed home with their kids instead of getting jobs. Traditionally they also favored homeschooling. They think such women will vote for them. So even though I'm an elitist Green Party Pagan snob and one of Santorum's "smart people (who) will never be on our side", their first inclination is to see me as a good person.
But because I am a stay-at-home mom, I don't earn enough to pay federal income taxes.
Oh noes! Suddenly I and every other SAHM (including Ann Romney) are bad people! We don't pay taxes! We rely on handouts! We'll never vote Republican or be invited to join the country club! Unless of course our husband owns the damn club....
And I'm bad because, since I'm not paying federal income taxes, I'm not taking personal responsibility for myself! Because I'm doing frivolous things instead like -- taking personal responsibility for my children's education?
So good woman, bad woman, which am I by Republican standards based on my occupation? I don't personally care, but it shows how seriously Romney is out of touch even with his own party, let alone the country as a whole.
And to the senior citizens I heard today who said, "He didn't really mean us," yes he did. And the disabled, the veterans, the students, and the soldiers as well as the domestic partners. He really did mean us all.