We all know that guy. You know, the one who no matter what story is being told, he's got one up on it. If you got a mosquito bite he punched a bear.
I'm watching the Republican primary for U.S. Senate closely and they all seem like that guy. Who can out-crazy whom?
Case in point this week was the questionnaire filled out by the candidates for an organization that raises money on hating gays and trying to control the reproductive choices of women. The group claims to work for Alaskan family values but doesn't weigh in on minimum wage increases or food and housing security for those in need. Their only questions pertain to women's rights and the "sanctity of marriage." (Please note they don't ask if the candidates would vote to make divorce illegal.)
Alaska has a tradition of privacy, and a Republican majority decriminalized abortion three years before Roe v Wade. They considered the government involvement an invasion of personal liberty. Oh, how I miss those Republicans.
So, ladies, (and gentlemen who consider women people too) you may want to pay close attention to what these men are saying.
All three candidates want abortion to be illegal. This isn't about government funded abortions -- it's all of them. We know without access to doctors women have died attempting to abort for whatever reason. Theirs is not a pro-life stance -- it's pro-birth.
Mead Treadwell has gone a step further. As APRN reported, "Treadwell says abortion should only be allowed if both the mother and baby would otherwise die."
Really? Who is going to explain that to a husband -- your wife is going to die because we just can't save her without her "get-out-of-death-free card" for delivering a child. Ladies, Mead's position makes you a walking incubator that has no right to life or self-determination unless it's producing offspring.
This is sick. I know women who have had to make this decision and it's the hardest thing they've had to do. Saving your own life is considered selfish by this policy.
Not to be outdone, Ohio Dan Sullivan thinks abortion should only be legal for incest victims -- but they should consult with their family first. Again -- WHAT? We live in a state that sadly has the one of the highest rates of incest in the country. Do you need a permission slip from the family member who got you pregnant?
These are the same people who talk about smaller government. Small enough to fit in a uterus. I'd expect to see their pictures pop up on an ultrasound screen.
I guess I'd take them more seriously if they were really trying to prevent abortions -- not stop them. Affordable access to birth control is a start. All three candidates support the recent Supreme Court decision to allow employers to dictate contraceptives to their employees.
The men running for this federal job would be in a position to vote on issues affecting the entire country. In 31 states a convicted rapist is allowed to sue for visitation or custody of a child they sired through a crime. Think about that. In Ohio, one of the states where it is allowed, a man who pleaded guilty to 937 counts of rape petitioned for visitation of the 6-year-old daughter born to a woman he held locked in his basement as a sex slave for years. There's a bill in the U.S. Senate that has stalled that would address this issue.
While debating at tea party-sponsored events or filling out forms about their views, each candidate pushes the line of sanity and goes more radical.
Where do they go after the primary? "Oh, I didn't really mean that?"
Here's the push -- if they don't mean it, that's even more offensive. I believe Joe Miller. I think he's wrong in his position, but nonetheless a true believer. Treadwell and Sullivan, widely regarded as the more "moderate" candidates, appear to be pandering to a radical sect of primary voters who already have a candidate in Miller. Whatever it takes to make it to the general.
Women who make the choice to become mothers -- or not -- should be trusted to make decisions for themselves. The heartbreaking decisions that families make aren't scenarios up for debate by political panhandlers who will never know them. Sadly, this crop of candidates doesn't trust or respect women or their families.
Shannyn Moore is a radio broadcaster.
The views expressed here are the writer's own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, e-mail commentary(at)alaskadispatch.com.