Monday, March 13, 2006

This isn't the way to win

Those of you who have known me a long time know I liked Howard Dean when he ran for president and would have voted for him in the Ohio Primary had he stayed in the race and probably would have voted for him as president. I ended up voting third party, but with that written, this bothers me:

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, speaking on South Dakota approval of a ban on abortion:

"Once again, Republican politicians, this time in South Dakota, are injecting themselves into deeply personal and private health care decisions that Americans believe women and families have the right to make for themselves. We can all agree that abortion should be rare, but it should also be safe and legal. This difficult personal health care decision should be made by a woman, in consultation with her physician, and not by politicians."

It's not true...the leading politician on this South Dakota ban is a Democrat. Nor is this the first time Democrats from South Dakota have been supportive of legistlation that would limit or ban abortion. It is intellectually dishonest to continue to assume that we are all one issue voters that agree on the party majority line when it comes to abortion. There are pro-choice Republicans and there are pro-life Democrats. The solution isn't as I've read on some of the blogs to demand the DNC do something about these Democrat's who are pro-life. The solution is to once and for all realize that abortion shouldn't be made a political football for both parties to play with at our expense and that both sides should focus more on preventing unwanted pregnancies in the first place and in making sure the children that are born have access to health care, proper nutrition and a good education. Both parties should focus on what they can to do make our economy better, our government more efficient and cost effective. People with good stable jobs are going to be people who are not going to be forced with the decision of can they afford birth control, can they afford to have this child. Twenty-one percent of women said inadequate finances were the chief reason for their abortion, if this one issue alone could be addressed, that could create a huge reduction in the number of abortions performed each year. Isn't it time for some real answers to these issues that will create a real benefit rather than this continual finger pointing game?

trackbacked at:

Committees of Correspondence who's link for today is here and Pirates! Man your Woman! who's link for today is here

7 comments:

Hooda Thunkit (Dave Zawodny) said...

As long as the Ten Commandments remain in effect, the answer to this question can be found in the fifth.

This trumps any law of man, IMO.

Others (who THINK of themselves as god on earth) will challenge this concept though.

It is what we are taught, it is what we (should) believe.

Hooda Thunkit (Dave Zawodny) said...

And, you are right, it isn't the way to win...

Anonymous said...

It is too bad that your "leader" only has this propaganda to work with. The left and right should hail this as a battle for state's rights. Dems are for states rights...right?

I agree with hooda...on both points.

Unknown said...

He's not "my" leader, though I considered voting for him I don't consider myself a democrat. Even if I was a democrat, I'd still point out what I disagree with and agree with from both sides. Personally I think it was a mistake for him to take the DNC position but then he didn't ask me for advice. :-)

Neither party holds the market on being hypocrits.

Hooda Thunkit (Dave Zawodny) said...

"Neither party holds the market on being hypocrits."

Amen!

Mark said...

The "politician" who represented me, as a constituent, best was, believe it or not, a Democrat. He was a conscientous state Representative. He cared about equal rights, versus special rights. He cared about the farmers (a very important economic staple for Wisconsin, our area especially) and fought for them diligently. He cared about unions, without pandering to him. And...he was pro-life and pro traditional family values. He was a traditional Wisconsin-style Democrat, who sought election because he cared not because he wanted a political career. He has since retired and I miss him very much, even though I recognize his reasons for retiring. The man who has replaced him simply cannot or will not fill such remarkable shoes (partially because he's also a union leader for GM, as if that's not a conflict of interests).

To explain how my family got to know him... It started with my husband's wages getting garnished. Mark was considered delinquent on his child support because he hadn't paid anything in three months. But...there was a catch that the child support agency cared nothing about...Brandon was living with us for that entire time! We were paying for everything, so of course we didn't pay his mom! The child support agency would do nothing, after all my husband was just another dead beat dad on their books...who cares about him. So we contacted our representatives, only one of which even bothered to respond. This man took up our cause, and while he wasn't able to change the legalities, he was able to fix the problem. And, Brandon's mother took Brandon back once her social worker informed her that she was breaking the law by collecting food stamps for a child who wasn't living with her. Charges were never pressed, but we didn't have to pay child support for those three months he was living with us.

Sorry...I had a point in there somewhere.

Hooda Thunkit (Dave Zawodny) said...

stephanie,

Your point was well made, and came through loud and clear!

And, yes there good guys in both parties, just not nearly enough of them...