June 2011

Michelle Bachmann Stumbles into the GOP Race

A few gaffes during Michelle Bauchmann's announcement in Waterloo, IA feel like more of the same.

     Michelle Bachmann (R-MN) announced in Waterloo, Iowa on Monday that she will be running for the Republican nomination. Having already participated in two presidential debates and having campaigned in a handful of states, this was largely a foregone conclusion but it would continue to set the tone and tact of a growing personality in the GOP field. Her speech was largely characterized by vision statements on things like the economy, foreign policy, and social conservative values; and though there was little substantial detail in her comments, she still managed a few half-truths that were subsequently checked. According to The Washington Post, she grossly misquoted the current state of the economy in comparing it to 50 years ago, and misquoted President Obama on his economic policy. This was partially to be expected, given her reputation for playing "fast and loose" with facts and making outlandish remarks in the service of conservative appeal. (A 2008 appeal to news media to find out of Obama and congressional Democrats are pro-American or anti-American, comes to mind.)

Shakesville and What Tami Said to Host Planned Parenthood Blog Carnival

Don’t you just love blog carnivals? They unite us all into writing for our personal causes while simultaneously raising awareness—even if it’s about something as simple as a disease, or as whimsical as Turn Off the TV Week.

July’s blog carnival, hosted by Shakesville (this blogger’s favorite blog, ever!) and What Tami Said, won’t be in either of those categories, however (though how you choose to blog about it is, of course, entirely up to you). It’s a Planned Parenthood Blog Carnival, and it will begin on July 7. As more and more states continue to defund the life-saving organization, it couldn’t come at a more needed time.

Just this week, states such as Texas, North Carolina, and Wisconsin have all announced their plans to defund Planned Parenthood, rending thousands of women incapable of receiving the life-saving services that PPH provides. They’ve also said point-blank, from these actions alone, that the women of the United States mean nothing to them and their political agendas. They’d much rather watch us die than alienate the small population of the country that has a problem with the abortion services that PPH provides—no matter, of course, that abortion is legal in this country, that it’s less than 3% of what PPH does, and that every woman should have a right to safe, accessible health care.

He's In! Jon Huntsman Officially Enters the Race

Huntsman and Romney: both vying for the title "sane and reasonable" in a field of anything but.

     Last week I wrote about the Republican field's penchant for running on a "platform of crazy", the exception being Romney's flirtations with reason and practicality (for which many of his opponents criticized him.) Now, with Jon Huntsman officially entering the race on Wednesday, it seems Romney may have some company in the really real world. Huntsman, in his opening video and subsequent speech, advocated for a tone of civility and mutual respect; saying the current dialogue has become corrosive. This was off-set somewhat by his opening line during the press-conference, in which he revealed about his campaign motto, "“It goes something like this, see if you like it: ‘Live free or die,’." Not exactly the kind of diplomatic opener one would expect, but he tempered his message nonetheless.

Forced Sterilization in America

When you hear about forced sterilization, you usually think of a really dark, scary operation in the middle of a fascist country. I don’t mean to be racist in any way here, but I know for a fact that many people that I know think of China when they think of forced sterilization—where some women have been forced to have abortions (like in many other countries), but forced sterilization is not legal.

You don’t usually think of the United States, do you? But it turns out that more than 60,000 people were forcibly sterilized—often without even being notified—within this country throughout the past century.

One woman was told she was having an appendectomy—and instead her fallopian tubes were removed.

Many of the victims, like the woman in this article, may have even faced more health problems later in life due to complications from the sterilization. They also often attempt to have families for years, not knowing why they cannot get pregnant.

The reasoning behind these atrocious human rights violations is being attributed to states wanting to cut down on the amount of welfare money they spend on families.

How could this have even been a law in states like North Carolina, especially when victims were not even notified or asked permission prior to the procedure? I am all for sterilizing both women and men who want it done—I, in fact, have been denied the procedure, even though I’ve had one child and been told I would likely die if I have another, by doctors claiming that either their religion prohibited it, or that I was too young to make the decision—and wish more people would do it and perform it; but if the party doesn’t want it done—and doesn’t even know it’s being done!—then something is heinously wrong.

Texas Governor Rick Perry Considers a Run

One of Perry's supporters is feeling out Iowa, while opponents cringe at the prospect.

     Governor of Texas, Rick Perry, is perhaps best known outside of his home state for his rhetorical flirtation with idea of secession. During the Tea Party fervor in 2009 he told supporters, "We've got a great union. There's absolutely no reason to dissolve it. But if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, who knows what may come of that." That said, it seems that the nation he threatened with secession he now wants to lead. According to The Des Moines Register, Perry's supporters are looking at the viability of a run in Iowa, one of the early voting states. Bob Vander Plaats, president of conservative advocacy group The Family Leader, reported an aid questioning him about support for Rick Perry on the platform of social conservatism.

Potential Republican Nominees Run On A Platform of Crazy

How GOP'ers are walking off the crazy cliff to appeal to Tea Party voters.

     We expect it from Palin. We expect it from Bachmann. We expected it from Trump. We even expected it, somewhat, from Huckabee, but when mainstream conservatives start touting right-wing fringe ideology, the Republican party has a problem. So far this race we've seen some formerly grounded individuals say some pretty startlingly radical things in order to appeal to relative minority Tea Party base. It's become painfully clear that the Republican party has lost its center, and when the party's nomination hopefuls swing wide-right during this campaign cycle, it not only hurts their personal credibility, but further damages the integrity of the party.

GOP Debate Recap

Miss the GOP Debate featuring 2012’s presidential hopefuls in New Hampshire last night? No worries—you can get a pretty accurate (and hilarious) recap over at Shakesville. Please note that this is a very brief recap; for full debate coverage, click here. Note: these videos also serve as a natural alternative to Nyquil!

GOP Debate in New Hampshire Tonight

Rumors have it the stage will actually have ropes and a ringside announcer!

    Tonight's CNN New Hampshire Republican Nominee Debate is the first real debate among the relatively coalesced Republican field. Participants include Rick Santorum, Michelle Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, Tim Pawlenty, and Herman Cain. In fact, they are arranged in this order on the St. Anselm College stage in Manchester, NH.  Evidently the rationale for the order, according to a spokesman for sponsor CNN, in order to have the highest-polling individuals in the middle, thereby creating more interesting photo opportunities. Romney takes the coveted middle spot because of his prominence in polls, and his status as the "hometown candidate", according to Vanity Fair, though it's a bit of a misnomer as he is really from Massachusetts, 45 minutes away.

Legislators to American Women: You Don’t Matter

Legislators aren’t even pretending to give a damn about us or our health anymore; Tennessee has recently joined the ranks of the ever-growing number of states working to chop Planned Parenthood funding, stripping women in these areas of their much-needed family planning funding, mammogram services, and free to low cost pap smears that they need each year.

Palin + Bachmann = Frenemies

Bachmann campaign manager says Palin is "not a serious candidate".

    Earlier this week on 2012 Voters was an article called Presi-celeb-realitics; comparing Palin's pseudo-campaign, the Trump bump, and others in the 2012 presidential race to reality television. Suddenly there is another delectably moronic episode of Real Housewives of 2012, starring Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachmann, both of whom love to Tea Party.

     I'll confess, sitting on the couch, clacking away on my laptop, I have caught pieces of the Real Housewives shows by which my wife is so gleefully entertained. I catch a few pieces; begin yelling at the television, at the shows' moral and intellectual erosion of popular culture, until my wife kicks me out of the room. It's true that one person's trash is another’s' treasure.

The Right Attacks Romney for Being Rational

If the nation were a car, the right wheels have gone off the road.

     Imagine the U.S. as a car, with a driver's and a passenger's side: right and left. Now imagine that car is traveling down a bumpy mountainside road (call this the road of recession, if you will), and because of some wonky alignment the right wheels have gone over the edge and are now spinning over the abyss. Now imagine that the left tires are slightly deflated and bald (no pun intended)? How long can that car continue to travel before the right side pulls the whole thing off the road and tumbling down the escarpment? This is a fitting analogy of what I feel is in danger of happening between now and 2012.

     More evidence that the right has "gone off the road"? Mitt Romney has endured major criticism for his "invention" of Obamacare, a conservative buzzword for President Obama's healthcare overhaul. The reforms were largely based on the healthcare system created in Massacheusettes while Roney was governor, and is one of the most efficient and well-run state healthcare plans in the country. Though, to deflect criticism and appeal to his now radical reactionary base, he's distancing himself form it.

Senior Aids Abandon Gingrich

Gingrich's Mediterranean Cruise is "Last Straw"

As I mentioned last month on 2012 Voters, Gingrich's campaign got off to a rough start; slamming his party;s own budget solution, getting beglittered by a gay marriage activist, and facing criticism over an alleged quarter-million in debt to Tiffany's Co. for jewelry. Departing on a two-week long Mediterranean cruise has further intensified criticism of him as a serious candidate, or whether his presidential bid is more pomp and relevance. Whatever the case, it was the last straw for many of top campaign aids, who withdrew from the race one day after Gingrich returned from Greece.

Presi-Celeb-Realitics

The Changing Tone of Presidential Campaign Politics

            Privacy has gone the way of cassettes, radio, and monogamy. Of course, in our preset internet-induced Age of the Voyeur, that’s been a largely understood concept. However, as reality television splashes dysfunctional millionaire housewives whose family values don’t stand up to reality TV’s polygamist Brady Bunch, we’re seeing a change in the tone of politics, particularly the Presidential variety. Although our present commander-in-chief is stoic, even placid, he retains enough charisma and charm to appease many of the monkey-see monkey-do public.

Use the Contraceptives, Already

When I see a family with a dozen kids traipsing around in their minivan, going off to form their own baseball team or something, I just get sick these days. We don’t have the world space for this, people. It’s not sustainable. A single American lifestyle isn’t sustainable; in fact, it would take several planets to sustain the world’s population if everyone lived like an American.

10 Improbable Predictions for The 2012 Presidential Campaign

As factually sound and thoroughly researched as anything else you're likely to find on this race...

     With seventeen months until the election, the news cycle is already dominated by presidential hopefuls campaigning (or pseudo-campaigning in the case of Palin), waffling, entering, exiting, and speaking, mis-speaking, and all of the other things that one expects from peo