It's no secret that I hold Alaska's junior senator, Dan Sullivan, in low esteem. It's a low esteem he has earned. For one thing, he's a carpetbagger. Alaska was just a convenient horse for his raging ambition. He's a political mercenary. I cannot understand the "charm" some Alaskans seem to see in him. If Dan cares about anything, it's the elevation of Dan.
Suffice it to say, my opinion of the junior senator was so low he needed to dig a hole to go lower. But this week, Sullivan, Mitch McConnell's Mini-Me, broke out his shovel. Turns out he's a more craven political hack than even I thought.
The U.S. Senate voted to allow states to defund Planned Parenthood. The vote was a tie until Mike Pence, our vice president and chief ayatollah, cast the tie-breaker. The Pence vote was no shocker; we already knew that as governor of Indiana, Pence cut Planned Parenthood there, which quickly led to the nation's fastest-growing HIV epidemic. Pence also signed a law that health facilities pay for funeral or cremation services in cases of miscarriage or abortion — a law stayed by a judge before it could take effect. Thanks to Pence and his fellow travelers in the legislature, Indiana law bestows second-class citizenship on anyone with a vagina.
[Murkowski splits with party over Planned Parenthood vote, forces Pence tiebreaker]
Lisa Murkowski, our senior senator (who would qualify as a second-class citizen in Indiana), voted on the other side. Sullivan, were he to give a damn about the people he supposedly represents, should have been the deciding vote against the bill. But not Sullivan. He votes the Republican party line every single time. If Mitch McConnell wanted Dan to have principles, he'd give him some.
Did Sullivan know, or care, how many Alaskans use the clinics of Planned Parenthood? Alaska has some of the highest rates in the country for HIV, syphilis, chlamydia and other sexually transmitted diseases. Many poor women in Alaska depend on Planned Parenthood for birth control. Guess what happens when poor women can't get birth control? They have babies, and many of those women and children will struggle just to get by. I guess Sullivan cares about Alaskans — about as much as any guy from Ohio, or Indiana, can.
And for those of you who aren't following this closely, this has nothing to do with spending public money on abortions. Federal law already prohibits the spending of any public money on abortions. This is purely a Republican vendetta against Planned Parenthood for daring to protect the right of women to make decisions about their own healthcare.
In a related news item from this week: The undercover anti-abortion activists who created the thoroughly discredited fake news "documentary" about Planned Parenthood selling baby parts look like they are finally on their way to prison. They've been indicted on 15 felony charges.
As a soldier in the GOP's War on Women, Sullivan doesn't believe that women are entitled to self-determination. Oh, he'll make murffling noises that he does, but just watch how he votes. Maybe this attitude stems from one of the many patriarchal religions that believe women aren't the spiritual equals of men. Maybe if uteruses shot bullets instead of babies more men would want to protect the rights of women.
Maybe I don't care what their reasons are.
The old, testosterone-deficient bulls of the U.S. Senate seem to like nothing better than tormenting poor women. Maybe it restores a sense of virility. That might explain why they spend more time passing legislation to punish American women than they do the murderous misogynists of ISIS.
Dan Sullivan is on the wrong side of the public, and the wrong side of history. In a recent national poll by Quinnipiac University, 70 percent of Americans supported constitutionally protected abortion, and 62 percent opposed funding cuts to Planned Parenthood.
Contrast that with Senate Majority Leader McConnell, whose approval is a humiliating 19 percent in a survey by Public Policy Polling. With him in the basement is House Speaker Paul Ryan, whose approval is 21 percent.
With a boost from Dan Sullivan, women will die, disease will spread and babies will be born into difficult circumstances they don't deserve. Nice work, Mini-Me.
Shannyn Moore is a radio broadcaster.
The views expressed here are the writer's and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary@alaskadispatch.com. Send submissions shorter than 200 words to letters@alaskadispatch.com.