Finally, someone has pulled back the curtain on the true feelings of anti abortion advocates, and added clarity to the issue of womens' rights.
In an election environment brimming with vitriol, careless charges, and even downright lies, rarely I have seen an issue that is so full of hypocrisy, crocodile tears, and posturing. It all revolves around the offhand comment by Rep. Todd Akin of Missouri regarding “legitimate rape”.
While most Democrats merely had a shocked response, Republicans were even more vociferous in condemning the statement. That is baffling to me and the reason why I support Akin’s statement (but certainly not his position). Frankly…he was simply speaking the truth. Conservatives – and most especially Tea Party members – generally fully support the elimination of abortions, for any reason. There is no surprise here at all.
The Tea Party, although they are really not a “party” at all, does have a platform and agenda. And on the subject of abortion, it clearly states: “We will also spare no effort to see Roe v Wade overturned”. Period. No caveats, rape exceptions etc. If that position were limited to just Tea Party members vis a vis Akin, it might be a harmless minority, but that is not the case.
As Jeffery Toobin wrote in the June 19 New Yorker, “The goals and values of the Tea Party have been absorbed by the Republican Party at large; there is, at this point, no meaningful difference between the Tea and Republican Parties. When the Tea Party surfaced in 2009, it was basically a rebranding of what used to be called ‘the base’ of the Republican Party. But the base now is the party.” So, again, why the “fake” Republican surprise at Akin’s comments? Indeed, the GOP platform accurately reflects Akin’s position.
As for Akin’s role as a Representative in the House, there too the number of bills introduced on the subject of abortion is staggering. Counting all iterations of such legislation, it would amount to hundreds introduced in the current sessions (and you thought Congress was focused on the economy). So the Republican House also provides strong support of Akin’s position and sentiment. But even more revealing are the actions of VP nominee Paul Ryan. His support of Akin’s views is deep, strong and consistent.
Since voters in Wisconsin’s 1st District, south of Milwaukee, first elected him in 1998, Ryan hasn’t voted against any bills backed by the National Right to Life Committee. The group gives him a lifetime voting score of 100 percent.
It has been recorded that Ryan has cast 59 votes on abortion and other reproductive rights issues during his 13 years in the House. Among the bills Ryan co-sponsored was that incredibly invasive measure requiring a woman seeking an abortion to undergo an ultrasound first. He also co-sponsored legislation that would have barred abortions after 20 weeks gestation in the District of Columbia, with no exception for cases of rape or incest. Now Ryan cannot dance away from his hypocrisy fast enough, recently proclaiming his allegiance to Romney’s more moderate position. In a crunch (and if this comes to a Senate vote with Ryan the Senate president)…don’t count on it! The commitment to antiabortion idealogy runs very deep.
Bringing us to the man himself, Mitt Romney. Sure, Romney speedily ran away from the Akin statement. Why not, his credibility with the woman vote is low and sinking. However, Romney has been all over the board on this issue – I would not count on his reliability. Again, back to the Toobin New Yorker article:
“Mitt Romney, as is well known, has evolved a great deal in his views on abortion. When he challenged Ted Kennedy for a Massachusetts Senate seat, in 1994, and when he ran for governor, in 2002, Romney was an enthusiastic backer of abortion rights for women. But once he started running for the Republican Presidential nomination, in 2008, he began a move to a position of Republican orthodoxy. He is now a complete convert. If he is elected President, he has made clear that he will embrace the full range of anti-abortion positions of his party, and that his judicial appointments, especially to the Supreme Court, will reflect these views, as well.”
So what do we have here? A man running for Senate articulating his true feeling for rape as it relates to abortion – though they slipped out inadvertently in an impromptu interview, thus embarrassing his party. A party that (in its own platform) embraces his view. And a House of Representatives that not only embraces that view, but is pushing hard to make it law. Plus a candidate for Vice President who is not only a member of that House, but an active proponent of Akin’s beliefs. And finally, a presidential candidate who has morphed continually on womens’ rights.
I think what we have here, folks, is a duck: if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck…well you get the idea. The truth is virtually every element of the current Republican Party is in full support of the Akin statement, no matter how much they posture to denounce it. We owe Akin a debt of gratitude for bringing clarity to this important issue.