Some of the ugliest things we have heard publicly about women in a long time haven’t come from idiots in a bar, or louts in the workplace, but from third-rate Andrew Dice Clays - men who have been elected to public office.
Men who would not only redefine rape, but would actually attempt to rewrite the Birds and Bees for all of us, so that pregnanacy itself might be redefined, and how women get pregnant, and when life begins - all without consulting a science textbook.
We have all heard the canard taught in cheap bars that the female body that prevent pregnancy if it really wants to, and that not only is all life is a gift, but it is all “planned” for, even in cases of rape.
And then we have “pro-life” Republican Scott DesJarlais of Tennessee, who was recorded by his mistress several years ago when he was pressuring her to get an abortion.
Veering off from abortion, we have fellows (and they mostly seem to be men, don’t they?) who would rewrite the history of slavery, or ask us to see the world through the eyes of a Christian Reconstructionist.
We raise a great hue and cry, and insist that the Republican Party distance itself from these yahoos, which individual members often do, though the front-runner, Mitt Romney, has pointedly not done so in the case of the man who said that all life is a gift, even in case of rape.
But the glare of publicity is now upon them. They are isolated, revealed to the world, gone to Coventry . . .
Ah, well, no.
There is a line from Romancing the Stone - “Bastards have brothers,” meaning there’s plenty more where they came from. And given the current state of the GOP, we can call them Legion . . .
I think that’s a mistake we are all assuming, that the magical light of day will somehow drive these creatures back to the Dark Regions from whence they came, but we tend to forget something very important, and that is that these folks didn’t come out of nowhere, springing from the forehead of Zeus to bedevil us. Thousands and thousands of people, Earthy Reader, put them there.
Yes, they voted for them. No matter what we might say about those from out-of-state who support them financially, it is the people in their district who put them in office.
Oh, we can excuse them by saying that they are “Low Information Voters” (though no one on this planet should be excused anything at all if they are an LIV), but folks marched into the voting booth and gave them their stamp of approval.
And in 2012, there is no excuse for this, when we have:
newspapers - which often interview candidates before an election
local public access television stations - where candidates can appear and discuss their views
television interviews - they may be shallow at times, but you can still get some good information on occasion.
local government channels - which may often hold debates between candidates
candidate websites - they may be self-serving, but you can still get some valuable information
And you can even look up their past record, if they are already in office.
In short, there is absolutely no excuse for putting these intellectual Neanderthals into office . . . unless their beliefs mirror your own.
And there we have it. These folks are in office precisely because a majority of the voters in their district think they are A-okay. Their supporters not only are on the same page in many instances, but don’t actually believe the evidence of their own eyes and ears when damaging information about the candidate of their choice comes out. They have been well-trained at this point not to trust what Reality Show Governor Sarah Palin often refers to as the “Lame Stream Media.” It tells lies.
In the case of Scott DesJarlais of Tennessee, where a tape recording actually exists of his pressuring his mistress over an abortion, one supporter was quoted as saying she felt that the whole thing was a “smear job.”
So maybe while we are crowing with victory that some politicians’ careers may have been stopped dead in their tracks, we might give a care to reaching out to those who support them, to educate them.
But in an age when so many liberals think they are fighting the good fight by getting into the same tired arguments with the same opponents every day on Facebook, I’m not sure that’s going to happen anytime soon.
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Second Amendment News I
Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Pine Bluff, Arkansas: One man was killed and another wounded in a shooting at the Parkview Apartments in the early morning hours.
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Second Amendment News II - Downey, California
Downey, California: A family-owned fire extinguisher business was targeted, as a gunman shot down three people and later, two more in a home - leaving three dead and two others hurt.
One of the survivors, a 13 year old boy, is in critical condition.
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Second Amendment News III - College Park, Georgia
College Park, Georgia: A prayer leader was shot and killed in the chapel at World Changers Church International.
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Quote of the Day
Children who have been taught, or conditioned, to listen passively most of the day to the warm verbal communications coming from the TV screen, to the deep emotional appeal of the so-called TV personality, are often unable to respond to real persons because they arouse so much less feeling than the skilled actor. - Bruno Bettelheim
sdrake@cox.net