If you haven’t read Cristina Page’s devastating article about how un-moderate John McCain is on reproductive justice issues, despite his reputation, you should. Seriously, it’s bizarre how the social conservatives are throwing temper tantrums about McCain, because he’s so very much on their side. Check out this interview, for instance:
Q: “What about grants for sex education in the United States? Should they include instructions about using contraceptives? Or should it be Bush’s policy, which is just abstinence?”
Mr. McCain: (Long pause) “Ahhh. I think I support the president’s policy.”
Q: “So no contraception, no counseling on contraception. Just abstinence. Do you think contraceptives help stop the spread of HIV?”
Mr. McCain: (Long pause) “You’ve stumped me.”
Q: “I mean, I think you’d probably agree it probably does help stop it?”
Mr. McCain: (Laughs) “Are we on the Straight Talk express? I’m not informed enough on it. Let me find out. You know, I’m sure I’ve taken a position on it on the past. I have to find out what my position was. Brian, would you find out what my position is on contraception - I’m sure I’m opposed to government spending on it, I’m sure I support the president’s policies on it.”
Q: “But you would agree that condoms do stop the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. Would you say: ‘No, we’re not going to distribute them,’ knowing that?”
Mr. McCain: (Twelve-second pause) “Get me Coburn’s thing, ask Weaver to get me Coburn’s paper that he just gave me in the last couple of days. I’ve never gotten into these issues before.”
He won’t admit that condoms work. Straight talk my ass.
I’m entirely unsure how someone can be considered a “moderate” on an issue where he’s far to the right of 98% of Americans. I say 98%, because that’s the percentage of women who use contraception at some point in their lives, and I’m sure that number extends to men, who by and large participate in the use of barrier or hormonal methods with partners male and female.
Now, I don’t think that John McCain is a stupid man. I don’t believe for a second that he actually thinks that condoms don’t work, or that he’s unsure. He just doesn’t want to go on record on this issue, because he knows what a lot of people are still in denial about, which is that the powerful anti-choice movement is against contraception and disease prevention, as well. While Amy Sullivan is wringing her hands because she doesn’t sense enough judgment against the 1/3 of American women who have had or will have an abortion,* we’re fighting an often uphill battle against a movement that’s seeking to severely restrict or even ban contraceptive access. A movement that even “moderate” Republicans feel they have to pander to.
Lynn Harris has a list of other ways that McCain buys into the entire anti-choice movement, not just the anti-abortion aspects. Which makes sense—what few anti-abortion types that are pro-sex education and pro-contraception exist in politics are most likely Democrats.
When otherwise left to his own devices, McCain has, let’s see:
— “consistently voted against the right to a legal abortion and … against contraception.”
— voted to end the Title X family planning program, credited with helping prevent over 9 million abortions, and quite a bit of teen pregnancy as well.
— opposed government financing of condom distribution.
— voted against legislation that would have a) required insurance coverage of prescription birth control and b) provided more women with prenatal care. (”So throw in anti-baby too.” Speaking of which …)
— found himself ranked among the 25 worst senators for children by the Children’s Defense Fund.
— voted against making abstinence-only education medically accurate.
— supported taking $75 million from the Maternal and Child Health Block Grant for an abstinence-only program.
*Yes, that is still pissing me off. I’m absolutely sick of the knee-jerk assumptions about the immorality that supposedly hangs over the existence of abortion. I will swear to the moral superiority of the fine doctors who claw through nasty protesters on a regular basis to help women in need out over any sanctimonious person whose claim to morality is a religious label and a hostile view of sexuality. And many of the finest, kindest, hardest-working, service-oriented moral exemplars of human beings I’ve ever had the privilege to meet in my life were women who’ve had abortions. The day I wrote that post about Amy, I biked to campus to hear a talk from Toni Bond Leonard about her activism with abortion funds and an organization called AAWE, and here is a woman whose morality is evident in the hard work she does for others. The sheer number of programs she has helped put together to help women be happier and healthier people was dazzling, and made me wonder how she gets any sleep. She also talked about her personal history, which included abortions, and I couldn’t help but reflect on the people who’d dare sit in judgment of this woman because she’d had abortions. It’s a fucked-up world we live in, where women are often judged more by the amount of penis they’ve permitted in their bedroom than by the actual effect they have on the world.
47 Responses to “Elect McCain and you’ll get four more years of anti-contraception action”
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“I’m not informed enough on it… You know, I’m sure I’ve taken a position on it on the past. I have to find out what my position was.
Absolutely priceless.
“It’s a fucked-up world we live in, where women are often judged more by the amount of penis they’ve permitted in their bedroom than by the actual effect they have on the world.”
I know that wasn’t the main point of your post, but that sentence really resonates. It’s pretty much a one-sentence world history of women’s lives.
Yes, wait’ll Cindy finds out John ’s been cheating on her and DOESN’T KNOW how to prevent STD’s!
Hmm heres a question.
Senator McCain, when you cheated on your first wife, did you use birth control, and if so, do you think all Americans should have that right unfettered?
“Ahhh. I think…” (as in he may not be sure.)
“You’ve stumped me.”
“I’m not informed enough on it. Let me find out. You know, I’m sure I’ve taken a position on it on the past. I have to find out what my position was.”
“I’ve never gotten into these issues before.”
Wait, wait, wait, and Obama is supposed to be the “empty suit?”
Seriously, both Obama and Clinton should be playing videos of these kinds of statements NOW.
“…here is a woman whose morality is evident in the hard work she does for others.”
Well there’s your mistake!
Everybody knows morality is something you impose on other (unwilling) people. It’s something you TALK about endlessly. It CERTAINLY doesn’t require you to DO something yourself!
Amanda, honestly, sometimes you are SO naive…
Dumbass.
WHOA! This is a bit OT (though still about McCain), but OMG: McCain may not even meet citizenship requirements for the presidency due to him being born in the Panama Canal zone.
Supposedly, if he is determined to be a “natural-born citizen” and is thus able to run, that will make citizens out of many other folks born on U.S. military installations who are not considered U.S. citizens at the moment.
There is dusputation in the comments, though. It wil be interesting to see if this goes anywhere. Wouldn’t it be a riot if the rethug nominee isn’t even eligible?!
— voted against making abstinence-only education medically accurate.
And that, right there, tells you everything you need to know about this person. A person who’s actually voted for indoctrination (”education” devoid of scientific accuracy…or, as the case may be, a basis in reality) is either too incompetent or too malevolent to be allowed anywhere near the presidency.
What an utter shame that the pro-science, pro-reality people do not have an effective propaganda machine to expose and ridicule this buffoon. [A buffoon who, mind you, will probaly either be the next president, or come perilously close to it.]
An efficiency-minded McCain aide should really clip this as an MP3, then put it on a voice recorder for Old Straight Talk to play back to reporters any time he’s asked about any policy question.
After all, the pathetic old butt-licker has been saying that for the past eight years, when he hasn’t been hugging the guy who went AWOL while he was sitting in a tiger cage in Nam, and who smeared him and his family in 2000.
Calliopejane,
McCain is a natural born citizen even though he was born outside the US. He got his citizenship because both of his parents were US Citizens
But we can fun implicating that he’s not…..
Hi Amanda!
I think this’ll be one election where there’s little question where voters who care about this issue (on both sides) should go. Either D will appoint pro-choice justices, and McCain will always have to pander to the pro-lifers to get through one last primary.
The thing about McCain is he’s a chameleon, so nobody trusts him on the right or left. Not just on social conservative stuff, either.
Today he’s Mr. Ethics and Mr. McCain Feingold, but 20 years ago - and I hope the general election brings this out fully - he was Mr. Keating 5, helping create the savings and loan crisis that bears eerie similarity to the current sub-prime mess. Mostly he’s just Mr. Flip Flop: I almost envy the oppo people whose job it will be to go after him!
Hope you’re well. I had fun chatting with you on the interview last year and hope to get a chance to visit again sometime. best,
Here’s the legal definition of natural born citizen. The procedure is when a child is born to US citizens abroad, they take the child’s birth certificate and their passports to the nearest US embassy or consulate to get their child a passport and a birth certificate issued by the State Department. That birth certificate entitles that child to all the rights and priviledges of a native born US citizen.
And I’ve done this since my son was born in Germany while I was in the Army.
well, it was fun to dream for a few moments there {-sigh-}
back to fighting on the candidates’ merits, then, I guess. Not that the other side relies on that much…
c,
If you google “legal definition of natural born citizen” there’s a lot of speculation on the right as to whether or not McCain is eligible to be President.
The right is not a reality based community. So if the fact that McCain is not a native born (not natural born;) citizen gets around, people stay home from the polls and viola, we have a Democrat as President.
Now if only the MSM will take this thread and run with it…..
The transcript also indicates how little he cares about most non-war issues. He hasn’t even bothered to come up with a talking point.
In a (somewhat reluctant) defense of pro-lifers, I think they would reply that while anyone can be a moral person, abortion is an immoral act akin to infanticide. Just because Tony Bond Leonard is a good person doesn’t mean her abortion wasn’t immoral (from their standpoint).
duh, I meant to say native born vs natural born.
After all, I know many Americans who think the Constitution says native born.
What a strange country we live in that “Do you think contraceptives help stop the spread of HIV?” is considered an even remotely reasonable question to ask a presidential candidate. How about these:
“Do you think the sky is blue?”
“Do you believe the Pope to be Catholic?”
“Is it your considered position that bears shit in the woods?”
“Is water wet?”
The irony, of course, is that the condom was originally invented to prevent STDs like syphilis. It was only incidental that it could also prevent pregnancy. So, technically, using condoms for birth control is an off-label use.
I’m sure he’d be willing to concede that the Pope is a very religious man…that is, if the president agrees.
You know, even the Vatican has come out and said that condoms are a lesser-of-two evils in the fight against HIV in Africa and endorses their use in particular circumstances, which is a clear sign that the Vatican is WILLING TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THEY WORK. When your public stance on birth control is to the right of the Pope…you know you’ve done Falwell proud.
Ha. He doesn’t know whether condoms reduce STDs. And he cheated on his wife while being ignorant of this fact.
Somebody ought to point out that it is men like HIM (ignorant philanderers) who kill their wives by bringing home HIV in epidemic numbers in Africa.
It is criminal that John McCain and our government won’t fully embrace condom use as HIV prevention strategy while innocent women and children die because of men JUST LIKE HIM. Men with the same vices but who happened to be born in another part of the world.
Makes me fucking sick.
And these people wonder why Michelle Obama is not jumping up and down about how PROUD she is of her country. When we are led by people like this.
I just has this argument this morning with a friend about him and his boy Nader. (and yes true to my blog post I called Nader a Republican stooge to my friend)
Because this friend can’t have the purest liberal candidate he’s more than happy to have Nader jump in . . which I charged syphoned votes from Democrats so it’s the same as if he supported McCain.
That if McCain takes the white house women’s reproductive freedoms go bye bye and that includes the future of his 4 year old daughter. Because McCain has said he will appoint judges to the right of Roberts to SCOTUS
He counter charged that if Democrats had stood up then Roberts wouldn’t have been confirmed. I conceded that point but pointed out that the primary win of Donna Edwards has put all those DINOS on notice.
He further charged that Nadar did not syphon off enough votes to have kept either Gore or Kerry out of office.
His phone hit a bad cell at that point so I wasn’t able to point out that he syphoned off enough votes so that it was easier for the Republicans to steal the elections AND that it’s not just about his daughter’s and my daughter’s reporiductive rights . . . they want to end all contraception.
“He doesn’t know whether condoms reduce STDs. And he cheated on his wife while being ignorant of this fact.”
I seriously doubt this is true. What IS true is that every answer must be carefully designed to attract certain groups of voters without pissing off certain other groups of voters. And speak contemporaneously is a great way to get in even more trouble.
The Koolaid-drinkers will give him a pass for not answering (That Librul Press and their ambush questions!!!). But if he gave a straight answer, either his (yes) answer would piss off Catholics and other BC-phobic voters, or his (no) answer would piss off right-leaning moderates (hey, do these people really exist?).
So non-answers are the order of the day…
When we come back after the break, in further developments, McCain states, “Ahhh, I’ll have to check my position on that. I’m sure I agree with the President,” when asked whether he supports the “theory” of heliocentricity in re: our solar system.
Please stay tuned.
I think they would reply that while anyone can be a moral person, abortion is an immoral act akin to infanticide.
It’s a teeny bit naive to think that the infanticide issue is the dominant motivator, though. It’s about sex. Which is why anti-choicers are also against contraception, Teh Ghey, comprehensive sex education. I find it extremely problematic to ignore the fact that opposition to abortion correlates with anti-sex social conservatism. Even the pro-choicers like Amy Sullivan who want to sit in judgment reveal how much this is about sex. Clearly Amy doesn’t think it’s murder. It’s just icky, morally disturbing to her—because she’s an evangelical Christian and has someone strict beliefs about sexuality and marriage.
I think that a lot of people convince themselves that they think abortion is wrong because of the human life issue. But I’ve yet to meet a person whose squirminess over abortion wasn’t a direct reflection of their squirminess about women’s sexual freedoms.
Say what? That man’s gone insane. This is the equivalent of Sherri Shepherd’s “I don’t know if the world is round” comment, except she isn’t running for POTUS.
“McCain states, “Ahhh, I’ll have to check my position on that. I’m sure I agree with the President,” when asked whether he supports the “theory” of heliocentricity in re: our solar system.”
“…Now some LIBERAL so called SCIENTISTS, who don’t understand that We Live In A Post-9/11 World, have proposed a new THEORY about the sun, that we TAKE RIGHTS AWAY from the earth and give them to the sun, and simply ABANDON the TRADITIONAL Christian Belief, supported In The Bible, that The Earth Is The Center Of The Universe, which, of course, is the VERY BEDROCK of THE AMERICAN FAMILY.
I call on all people of faith to REJECT this THREAT to AMERICAN POWER AND INFLUENCE, and help me pass a Constitutional Amendment to define the universe as a collection of planets and stars WHICH ORBIT THE EARTH, as our ancestors knew and promoted FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS!…”
Brilliant.
For someone who fucks around with dirty lobbyists, he should learn more about protection.
Slightly o/t, but I know a Hagee thread is coming: strange bedfellows.
What an utter weasel.
He’s trying to avoid a “gotcha”, but you would think he would have SOME opinion on the matter. He should be able to say “I don’t recall any particular vote off the top of my head, but I firmly believe that the decision to terminate a pregnancy should be
decided by a woman and her doctorpunishable by stoning.”It’s not just that he’s being pro-forced-childbirth here, it’s the weaselly way he’s squirming around answering it.
Of course, refusing to state your beliefs probably only seems weaselly to liberals. Not knowing what your beliefs are, but knowing that they are written down for you in a book somewhere that you will follow unquestioningly is probably reassuring to fundamentalists.
And to think this guy used to call right-wing Christians “agents of intolerance”.
I didn’t care much even for the year 2000 McCain, but he sure beat this weasel.
“John, explain this to me again. Why do I have to get antibiotics if you’re the one with the bladder infection.”I didn’t care much even for the year 2000 McCain, but he sure beat this weasel.
He’s the same weasel!
To paraphrase a philosopher: you can’t walk in the same weasel twice.
Q: “So no contraception, no counseling on contraception. Just abstinence. Do you think contraceptives help stop the spread of HIV?”
Mr. McCain: (Long pause) “You’ve stumped me.”
Nice that he can just outright lie, too, and not be called on it in any significant way.
Seriously, what educated adult does not have some inkling of the actual answer to that question?
It’s not like he got asked, “What exactly does ‘gemutlichheit’ mean.
“Seriously, what educated adult does not have some inkling of the actual answer to that question?”
A former Navy fighter pilot who doesn’t know what condoms are used for? Not buying it.
In fact, it’s KNOWING that he knows the answer perfectly well but refuses to say anything unless prepped with a soundbite first - THAT’s what’s sickening…
Yes indeed.
I myself would like our next commander-in-chief not to lie and obfuscate, and not to make government agencies lie and obfuscate, on matters of public health and safety.
teac, I hate to be too cynical, but…
…People in hell’d like a glass of ice water . . . that don’t mean they get it…
I know, I know.
A gal can dream, though, cain’t she?
[Oh, hey - wait a minute - there’s no hell! Except for, you know, other people.]
Off topic, but holy shit. A baby died from overheating in Homeland Security detention. The mother and a nurse, who were taking the baby from Am. Samoa to Honolulu for a cardiac repair, were locked in a room while their papers (which were all in order) were checked. The parents are suing DHS. Article here.
This happened on Feb. 13 and never made it into mainstream news. There was one online piece by MSNBC, but other than that it’s all local coverage. Can you say “police state”?
haven’t you heard? it’s now the $traight Talk Expre$$
late to the party, but you know:
American Apparel sent to my inbox a little note saying that I should vote for either Obama or McCain in the primaries.
Couldn’t believe they were endorsing McCain, but whatever. Hasn’t stopped me from buying several pairs of their red tights.
I do think they were crossing the line… of course, showed a pic of him, when he was a strapping young lad. anyway…
have been feeling like AA needs to be told he’s not the maverick that they’re playing him out to be. he’s actually a jerk.
murcielago, that article was horrifying. I have no words.