Syndicate and Hague

Something the Bush administration has taught us is that you can lie through your teeth, doing the complete opposite of what you say, but if no one cares enough or bothers to check out what you’re saying, your lie is seen as truth.

It is the most supremely cynical of tactics and, sadly, it has worked an awful lot over the last eight years.

Jack and Jill Politics wrote today about a perfect, blatant example of this. Those of us who pay attention to politics know that John McCain not only didn’t support, but straight up opposed recognizing Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday as a holiday. Their blog gives the highlights:

* FACT: McCain Supported Republican AZ Governor’s Decision To Rescind MLK Holiday.
* FACT: McCain Supported Gov. Evan Mecham’s Decision In 1987 To Rescind Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
* FACT: McCain Voted Against Creating Martin Luther King Holiday.
* FACT: In 1994, McCain Sided With Senator Jesse Helms and Voted To Eliminate Funding For Martin Luther King Commission.
* FACT: McCain Voted Against The Civil Rights Act Of 1990 FOUR Times.

The reason they bring this up is that McCain is lying about his record. Saying, in the video they post, that “I am proud of that record, from fighting for the recognition of Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday in my state to sponsoring specific legislation that would prevent discrimination in any shape or form in America today.”

Liar. Liar, liar, liar, liar, liar. Heinous, egregious, horrible liar. This is only an example, though, of his lying. Last week, in fact, he said in a campaign event that he wouldn’t raise taxes, then on Stephanopolous said that, when negotiating Social Security, nothing is off the table, including increasing payroll taxes. It’s not even a flip flop, it’s a lie. Because - and be sure of this - next time he’s asked at a campaign event, he will go back to saying no taxes.

If you want citations on the MLK votes, you can Google them. I’m sick of him getting a free pass on his errors. I’m sick of his lies becoming truth. Not knowing the difference between Shia and Sunni, not knowing that the border between Pakistan and Iraq is another country (Iran), having the media continue pretending that he’s a moderate on things like abortion. He isn’t. I am sick. Of. It.

It’s time to stop mocking Ron Paul and Huckabee and take McCain seriously as the Republican candidate.

Don’t believe the spin. McCain is not a moderate. He has an incredibly conservative record. While he has the ability to reach across the aisle on some issues, his core beliefs are NOT moderate. Here is a great video/audio example:

So, today is Blog for Choice Day and…well…I’m blogging for choice. (Confession: I wrote this yesterday, but I knew I wouldn’t have time to write a thoughtful post today.)

I could rail against Mike Huckabee for his radical views on abortion.

I could attack the predatory Crisis Pregnancy Centers, which manipulative anti-choicers are setting up next to Planned Parenthoods (coming to you soon at the Highland Park one in St. Paul, by the way) in order to confuse women trying to go to PP.

I could talk about the violence against Planned Parenthood clinics, abstinence only education, which promotes falsehoods about sex, including: view the cited sources

• Do condoms make sexual activity moral? Legal? Healthy?
• AIDS can be transmitted by skin-to-skin contact.
• A young man’s natural desire for sex is already strong due to testosterone…females are becoming culturally conditioned to fantasize about sex as well.
• A guy who wants to respect girls is distracted by sexy clothes and remembers her for one thing. Is it fair that guys are turned on by their senses and women by their hearts?

But I think this last choice sums it up best: “Abortion is not the best choice…because it unfairly penalizes the baby for the bad decision the baby’s parents made.”

The crusade against a woman’s right to choose isn’t about saving babies. It’s structured on a paradigm of punishment and misogyny. An unplanned pregnancy is punishment for a slut. Women are victims and only acquiesce to the potency of male desire. Women are unable to understand their choices; abortion is too weighty a decision for a woman to make.

This is the crux of it.

And, you know, it boggles my mind that many straight women don’t view this battle as more crucial. Sans something terrible happening, I’m never going to get pregnant by accident. On a completely personal level, and without any thought to the larger scheme of things, it doesn’t matter for my body whether or not abortion is legal.

However, this issue isn’t about unplanned pregnancy. It’s about control of women and our lives. The same legislators who rant about abstinence-only education and how abortion should be illegal are ones who vote against social safety-net programs that help children after they’re born. It’s such a simple and blatant form of hypocrisy that I’m surprised people don’t see it.

What’s more, the personal opposition often takes a back seat to the realities of life. The NY Times took a look at real women, many of whom oppose the right to choose, who still chose to terminate pregnancy. It’s a great article. Under din of abortion debate…

Anyway, finally, take a look at this video that asks people whether women should go to jail for having abortions.