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| Have a Boehner to pick with this man? |
They wanted a "win." No, let's restate that. They needed a win. After eight calamitous years and a sound drubbing in 2008, they are desperate, this full House of Tea-stoked conservatives swept in midyear on the seesaw tide we Americans seem to prefer in our legislative and executive branches. One up, one down ... reverse motion. Neither up too long nor down too long. So the angry new kids who swept in with all their angry rhetoric about red herrings like socialism and the destruction of American jobs needed a win. Even a win that if they lose, still seems like a win to their constituency. That, ahem, would be abortion.
"Jobs" is an easy, monsyllabic word. Easy to say, much, much harder to do. Especially if you don't believe in public sector works on principal. That only leaves you private enterprise and there all the people whose pockets were lined during the last administration are keeping all the candy for themselves. The fatcats have no incentive to fulfill your campaign promises. They got theirs already and are sitting tight on it.
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| Bachman Beck Overdrive--Give Glenn the numbers and he'll solve our budget crisis |
Let's say for the sake of argument that they have some bright bulbs among them, Rep Boehner having a bit more in the wattage department than, say Michelle Bachman. So, asumming the smartest of the new kids know the jobs creation platform is a bogey, this makes Rep Boehner's abortion putsch pure politcal theater. They'll never succeed in getting Roe v Wade overturned, but they might succeed in eliminating/restricting abortion, not for the people who can pay, but for the poorest of the poor, the women in greatest need. Sanctimonious twits. How does this equate to less government intrusion? To me it seems like more government. Duplictious twits.
Carrying this notion of "less (government) is more" to breathtaking idealogical extremes, home-brewed Tea Party activists in Georgia and South Dakota have proposed sweeping assaults on women's reproductive rights. The former would criminalize all abortions and criminally investigate, not just abortions but miscarriages. The latter would legalize "sharia-style" murder of abortion doctors. Takes the breath away, doesn't it? Nothing, not even "jobs" polarize Ameicans like abortion. So I have a modest de-polarizing proposal of my own. One that could radically alter, defuse if not end the abortion standoff in this country. Best of all, it has zero impact on all state and federal budgets.
I hereby propose that all anti-abortion activist organizations zero out their various private organization and PAC contributions and redirect all their funds toward a centralized trust that offers to pay women say $5-$10k not to have abortions. If you truly believe in "the right to life," paying a woman to deliver to term should be far more ethically palatable than killing abortion doctors or allowing the babies you care so much about to die. Furthermore, national and local right-to-life organizations would ban together to offer a network of good homes with parents who would adopt, raise and educate those "bounty children." Call it health insurance for fetuses, a bounty or a bribe, but we'd half the abortion rate in this country if the pro-lifers would only put their money and child-rearing skills where their mouths and guns are.
Standing in a line and shouting at people is easy. Waving gruesome signs, threatening pregnant girls and reproductive healthcare providers is easy. Raising a kid is freakin' expensive. And difficult. Being a man, I am grateful that I can only imagine (having twice witnessed) how difficult it is to squeeze a kid out. Men, whether we're waving subpoenas, signs, flags or whatever ... we have no business meddling in the bodies of women, unless we are invited. So until pro-life bloviators belly up to the child-rearing bar they prove that their true interest is their willingness to legislate morality. They talk the talk, but do not walk the walk. Kinda like House Republicans.
I don't know what to do about jobs, if you aren't willing to fund public works and other true job creation schemes with taxpayer dollars. But my modest proposal offers a clearcut way to defuse the "abortion debate" in this country without guns, taxpayer dollars or more intrusive government.
