In defense of the sanctimonious women's studies set || First feminist blog on the internet

Category: Elections

ElevenSixTwelve: Mobilizing to Re-elect President Obama in 2012

Almost four years ago, President Barack Obama achieved something monumental: he inspired people who had never voted to vote in droves. He motivated college students across the country to organize rallies and voting drives in support of his campaign. And he encouraged millions across the nation – across racial lines – with his message of hope and change.

“Planned Parenthood: we’re going to get rid of that.” – Mitt Romney

Sure, he’s a totally moderate Republican who’s just a good businessman, right?

I actually don’t think Romney actually gives a fuck about Planned Parenthood. One year he loves ’em, the next year he hates ’em, whatever — homeboy will do or say whatever he needs to do or say to get elected. What’s scary is that if he is elected, he’ll be beholden to the party that got him there. And the GOP “base” are some scary folks — including people who are actively hostile to women’s basic health care needs, and would like to “get rid of” Planned Parenthood for that very reason.

What happens if you get rid of Planned Parenthood? You have a whole bunch of women, especially low-income women, who no longer have access to reproductive health care. The rate of birth control usage goes down. The abortion rate goes up. Complications from STIs increase. Fewer women have abnormal cervical cells or breast lumps caught early, and so rates of cancer increase. Literally not one good thing will happen if Planned Parenthood is destroyed.

I realize many people on the left are disenchanted with Obama. I am too! But between Romney and O, there are enormous differences. This is an important one.

Pete Hoekstra is super racist, doesn’t understand the word “satire”

If you’ve gotten someone’s attention by giving them policies to challenge and facts to debate, you’re doing something right. You’re putting yourself out there as a contender. You’re making yourself part of the conversation. Good for you! If you’ve gotten someone’s attention by putting a young Asian woman on a bicycle to pedal through rice fields in a sedge hat to the tune of a gong and a pentatonic scale, so she can smilingly criticize your opponent in broken English, it’s not because you’re a contender–it’s because you’re a racist asshole.

New Rules.

Bill Maher, who I alternately love and loathe (so funny, sometimes! but so misogynist, a lot of the time!) has some New Rules for the new year. And I like them. He suggests, among others:

New Rule If you were a Republican in 2011, and you liked Donald Trump, and then you liked Michele Bachmann, and then you liked Rick Perry, and then you liked Herman Cain, and then you liked Newt Gingrich … you can still hate Mitt Romney, but you can’t say it’s because he’s always changing his mind.

New Rule Internet headlines have to be more like newspaper headlines. That means they have to tell me something instead of just tricking me into clicking on them. If you write the headline, “She Wore That?” you have to go to your journalism school and give your degree back.

New Rule You can’t be against same-sex marriage and for Newt Gingrich. No man has ever loved another man as much as Newt Gingrich loves Newt Gingrich.