Don't hate me because am a woman... or because I am pro-choice... or because I think every woman should have access to affordable gynecological care and birth control. And Rush Limbaugh, this doesn't make me, or anyone else who has an opinion about women's health, a slut.
It's bad enough that Americans have to suffer the election campaign circus, but why has the fair sex been bullied, slandered, and insulted by the politicians who also seek our votes? I will be amazed if any female Missouri voters cast a ballot in favor of Republican Representative Todd Akin. When he finds himself losing the Senate seat, maybe he can enroll in a human sexuality class and get his facts straight. Or maybe ask his wife if she has been blessed with the superpower to "shut that whole thing down."
Just when I thought the Republican party was out to get me and my reproductive organs, I found a glimmer of hope in That Use To Be Us. Friedman and Mandelbaum ask us to recall Bush Senior, an avid supporter of women's reproductive health: "In George H.W. Bush's two terms as a Republican congressman from Texas, he was such an enthusiastic proponent of Planned Parenthood, and organization in disfavor among most Republicans today, that he earned the nickname 'Rubbers.'"
Did you read that? Rubbers! They weren't even talking about Bill Clinton!
With this bit of information, those ornery, curmudgeons who make the Republicans look sexist should be reminded that one of their own knew well enough to win the female vote by supporting reproductive health care.
The other glimmer of hope I read simply reaffirmed what I already know to be true about Americans, and also validates why I, a Democrat, can have pleasant table conversation with my Republican parents... "While the political views of Republicans and Democratic activists have pulled apart, those of Americans in general have not changed much, and that the public's views skew closer to the center of the political spectrum than the beliefs and preferences of the officials they elect." In other words, the population is relatively moderate, despite the fact that the politicians we elect are extreme in their views. My parents and I can actually AGREE on social issues because, hey, this affects everyone, not just Democrats or Republicans. The drawback to having a population of moderates is that "The political system does no offer [us] moderate choices." So we are forced to vote for the less crazy of the extremist.
I can hear the backlash already... "Don't hate me just because I'm a politician!"
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