Meathands said:
JohnRoberts said:
While young single women supported Obama, older married women did not buy into the "warfare against women" screed put out by the left. This is not even the worst one of the several rather derogatory mischaracterizations of the right by the left.
Why is "the war on women" a mischaracterization? I ask this question in all honesty because I am aware of living in something close to a liberal, feminist echo-chamber. Here's why I ask: Didn't the platform approved at the GOP convention include making abortion illegal with no rape exception? Haven't we heard numerous Republican politicians sound off about rape in ways that came off as deeply unsympathetic to victims recently? Wasn't part of Romney's platform to cut off funding to Planned Parenthood? Let's posit a woman, young or old, who believes in reproductive rights and holds conservative values. Where does she find a place in the Republican party?
I am speaking more for my personal definitions. I consider myself a republican while i don't embrace every convention platform or the extremes of primary wrangling. One reason most of us could never practice politics is how you must adjust your message for different audiences to jump through all the different hurdles to even get to the general election
Look at the primary process... Romney had to position himself to the right of Atilla the hun, to win the primary process, then veer back hard to the center for the general election. Obama has the luxury of no primary race, so he could talk like a moderate, even while not walking the walk.
The democrats very effectively compared the primary version of Romney to the general election version of Romney, arguing that the primary version was the real one. Anyone who has paid an ounce of attention to how he governed in MA knows better.
Of course this raises questions about all politicians but we get what we vote for and "we" force them through these gauntlets.
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I will not defend the most extreme positions offered by any Republican, and contrary to the talking heads Donald Trump does not represent mainstream republican philosophy, He is a clown hungry for any publicity because he makes money from that, promoting his TV shows and other business ventures.
In my judgement women have the right to do whatever they want to their body as long as they don't harm another person. Where life begins is a difficult call, and I don't accept that a zygote qualifies as sentient life, but at some point that baby is a being. I am not smart enough to draw that fine line where life begins.
I think the real heated argument is not about what a woman can do to her own body or her child, but whether I should be forced to pay with my tax dollars for Sandra Flock's free birth control. I don't much care about her personal sexual behavior, but why is it my problem to pay for her personal choices. I am not catholic, or religious, but respect their right to not be forced to pay for things clearly against their beliefs. It is even written in our constitution that church and state are kept separate.
I have no beef with planned parenthood doing what they do, but again why does this need to be funded by taxpayers.
I lean more libertarian than republican about most matters, while the libertarians are not serious enough about actually getting elected. So being a republican is a lesser worse choice. Voting for somebody with no chance of getting elected is a wasted effort.
Do not judge all republicans by the screaming weenies, and I will try not to judge all democrats by their more extreme elements.
On this subject, I am more than a little disappointed how modern culture and practices is giving us so many children growing up without a two parent family. Less free birth control is not going to help that, but we have some serious shortcomings in moral direction, and I don't see much good leadership there.
I am not sure how to fix this, this is failure by our schools, parenting, and modern culture. This can't be fixed by law makers waving their arms. I cringe at the thought of Sandra Flock being the new role model for young girls. While maybe I'd like to date her if I was college age.
Sorry about the veer,,, This election is over, so time to regroup and adjust. I am soon to be in the minority (old grumpy white guy).
It is the nature of politics to change the subject when the incumbent has a bad record, and this is one of several such feints. This is far from a new argument, and not the most important for the next 4 years...
I rank the important issues as employment, spending, and business climate. After we restart the furnace, and fix the broken windows, then we can worry about the weeds in the garden. I thought Romney was the best man to restart that furnace. I was out voted, so I expect we will get more of what we were getting before.
JR