Those Republican Classes On How To Woo Women Aren’t Working
After the 2012 election, Republicans announced that they would be changing their ways. Call it outreach, sensitivity training, whatever, they knew they had female problems. They also have minority problems, immigration problems, LGBT problems, 47% problems, but I’m going to focus on their female problems for this post. Let’s start with their latest example. Mike Huckabee.
“If the Democrats want to insult the women of America by making them believe that they are helpless without Uncle Sugar coming in and providing for them a prescription each month for birth control because they cannot control their libido or their reproductive system without the help of government then so be it! Let us take that discussion all across America because women are far more than the Democrats have played them to be,” Huckabee said.
Huckabee argued that Democrats “think that women are nothing more than helpless and hopeless creatures whose only goal in life is to have the government provide for them birth control medication.”
Huckabee also argued that his party is not waging a war on women.
“The fact is the Republicans don’t have a war on women, they have a war for women, to empower them to be something other than victims of their gender,” Huckabee said.
Huckabee’s comments would be shocking if he were an outlier in the Republican party, but he’s not, so they aren’t. These are the views of the base of the Republican party – you know, the group that will decide who will win GOP primaries.
Take a good look at what Huckabee is saying. Love the Uncle Sugar term. It seems he’s comparing purchasing birth control to scoring heroin. Uncle Sugar is the pusher, getting unsuspecting women hooked. And, in my opinion, Uncle Sugar was a carefully placed term, designed to call forth the stereotypical image of a Hollywood drug dealer. Just like the word “thug” is being used today.
The controlling their libido line is Republican gospel. Good girls control their libido by not having sex, bad girls don’t. What is it with Republicans and the Madonna/whore references? They love dividing women into two groups – those that have and enjoy sex and… those that don’t? Is this based on their own sexual experience? And I’m not even trying to be snarky with this question. I simply don’t understand how a person who has any interaction with women could express these views.
The controlling their libidos line is the equivalent of the “hold an aspirin between their knees” comment, and just as offensive. Why do Republicans always focus on women’s libidos when it comes to sex? It takes two, don’tchaknow. Most men have a vested interest in their partners’ birth control. But in GOP land sex and birth control discussions only seem to focus on those slutty women. And when you add Huckabee’s (and others) past comments about how wives should “graciously submit to their husband’s sacrificial leadership” it all makes sense. Men should have control over women’s sexuality. Men should decide when a woman has sex and when she becomes pregnant. Basically, men who support contraception aren’t really men – they are either using woman for sexy time or weak for allowing the women in their lives to call the shots. What’s always missing from Republican discussions on sex is a healthy, functioning relationship. It always seems to be boys will be boys, men only want women for sex and women are in charge of civilizing men… until they get that ring on their finger, then they must relinquish control and submit.
The reverse psychology bit at the end of Huckabee’s statement is priceless. Huckabee claims that Democrats are the ones who “think that women are nothing more than helpless and hopeless creatures whose only goal in life is to have the government provide for them birth control medication.” Really? This coming from the party that supports waiting periods before an abortion because women have to be told to go home and think about their decision, because abortion is an… impulse buy? Like shoes? This is a party that supports invasive, and completely unnecessary, medical procedures before an abortion because women are… “helpless and hopeless creatures” who don’t understand what they’re doing? It boggles the mind.
He goes on to say, “The fact is the Republicans don’t have a war on women, they have a war for women, to empower them to be something other than victims of their gender.” Again, really? This from a party whose latest cry against the ACA is to not only stop contraceptive coverage, but to charge women more than men because women have babies. Another thing that takes two, and one (baby machine coverage) that you’d think “pro-lifers” would support.
Pay attention when Republicans talk about sex, birth control and pregnancy. Notice how men are always missing from the conversation? Me, too.
Keep in mind that Huckabee also supported Akin’s “legitimate rape” comments. Madonna/whore all over again. It’s what they really, really believe. They really believe there’s rape and legitimate rape. The GOP would just prefer their candidates kept that opinion to themselves, or if women would only take rape lemons and make lemonade.
And no matter how many sensitivity courses the GOP holds, this nonsense isn’t going away. I doubt they’ll even be able to tone it down. It’s who the GOP has become, and, truthfully, social issues are all they have left to run on. Lord knows, they have no interest in fixing the economy. Don’t believe me? Go check out the bills they spend their time on.
Rick Santorum ripped the lid off the Republican agenda in October 2011 (not 1911, 2011) when he said:
“One of the things I will talk about, that no president has talked about before, is I think the dangers of contraception in this country.” And also, “Many of the Christian faith have said, well, that’s okay, contraception is okay. It’s not okay. It’s a license to do things in a sexual realm that is counter to how things are supposed to be.”
That was the opening shot toward a subject that wasn’t even controversial – contraception. I’ve included this because Republicans like to pretend the birth control wars were started by Democrats making it up. Not true. The GOP owns the War on Women. 100%.
Santorum, the one who uttered the word “Blah” not black, defended Huckabee.
Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum (R) said Mike Huckabee would probably phrase his “libido” comment about birth control differently if he had a do-over.
How would one rephrase cannot control their libido? Slave to their sexy-time urges? Good girls just say No? Can someone help me out here?
Now, before reading Santorum’s next whopper, scroll up and reread his “sexual realm” comment. Okay… ready? Here’s Santorum today:
“That’s one of the things that’s most frustrating is there isn’t a lot of disagreement on access to contraception,” he said. “Whether the government should pay for it, there is a disagreement.”
That is what’s called lying. He, and many other Republicans, have a huge issue with access to contraception. They love lying about it.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on Friday repeated the misguided conservative talking point that the birth control coverage rule included in Obamacare forces employers to cover abortion-inducing pills.
This, of course, is false.
Many conservatives, including former presidential candidates Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum, have claimed that emergency contraception causes abortions by preventing a fertilized egg from implanting into the uterus. They argue that a fertilized egg is essentially a person, the same logic that is used to lobby for fetal personhood laws.
But scientists and medical experts have debunked the claim that the morning-after pill causes abortions. The New York Times wrote in June 2012 that “the politically charged debate over morning-after pills and abortion…is probably rooted in outdated or incorrect scientific guesses about how the pills work.”
The contraception fight is on the table. Republicans have put it there by allowing their true beliefs to take center stage – and they aren’t above lying about how birth control pills and Plan B works to “shut the whole thing down.” (That phrase never gets old. It also will never go away!)
So, my prediction is that Mike Huckabee won’t be the only Republican failing the GOP’s sensitivity training course – which only consists of one lesson: Stop saying what you really believe. Good luck with that.
Tags: Abortion, contraceptives, Featured, Mike Huckabee, Rick Santorum, Ted Cruz
When the GOP talks about women it all comes down to sex and why having sex outside of hetero marriage it should be punished by pregnancy. That’s it. In the most recent RNC meetings, they have even enshrined abortion as the most important issue facing voters in 2016. Republican candidates will not get RNC support unless they are militantly anti-abortion.
Every time they bring up women, Democrats gain voters. if Clinton picks up the ball and runs with it by also bringing up gender and pay equity – this is going to be an historic blow out.
Also….”Uncle Sugar” holy crap.
I always thought it was a huge inconsistancy that a pregnancy was sacred on one hand but a punishment on the other.
Huckabee goes all in:
We should get ready for more of this talk? Oh please, make it so.
“something other than victims of their gender….’ wow.
see girls? us men havent been keeping your down for 5000 years… you’ve ALLOWED yourselves to be victimized by your pathetic, less than, weak gender.
“If the Democrats want to insult the women of America by making them believe that they are helpless without Uncle Sugar coming in and providing for them a prescription each month for (necessary medication) because they (have a legitimate medical condition dealing with a major system in their body and) cannot control their (monthly pain level, menstral flow, cycle regulation) or their reproductive system without the help of government then so be it! Let us take that discussion all across America because women are far more than the Democrats have played them to be (when they consider them worthy of reasonbly priced medical care),” Huckabee said.
V has hit on it. Huckabee’s left hand and a bottle of Jengen’s lotion isn’t very complex, so by analogy – why would the female reproductive organs be a major, or very complex system that would require occasional medical care?
I am NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT arguing a pro-huckabee position.
I am NOT playing devil’s advocate.
I am going to ask a question, with the intention that the answer will provide more weight to the argument that birth control coverage is NOT about havin lots of sex with black guys, or whatever the GOP is afraid of.
here we go.
Is there any data the shows the percentage of women who take BC for something other than (even if it is also in addition to) pregnancy prevention? Is this a small number? What is the percentage of women who use the “pill”… or other hormonal controls as opposed to something like a copper T, (is that still even used?) which…. from what I understand (although im aware and ok with the fact I could be wrong) is just for pregnancy prevention?
The person asking this question (me) genuinely thinks that JUST pregnancy prevention IS a valid reason (in addition to all the other valid reasons) to have BC covered.. fully… and also thinks that condoms should fall into this category.
Here’s what a quick search shows:
http://www.guttmacher.org/media/nr/2011/11/15/
Anecdotally, the woman Sandra Fluke (who got ALL that flack during the election) was arguing for was a friend of her with a reproductive medical condition (ovarian cysts). If I remember correctly (a quick google didn’t find it) said friend was also a lesbian.
It’s just annoying when that very important part of the conversation is left out. For some people, this is just medicine with a particular side effect. Like how that anti-smoking medication has the side effect of making you feel better (because it’s an anti-depressant).
I then don’t understand why the pro-coverage messaging is what it is. Maybe im very very cynical here, but Americans don’t understand facts. They understand whoever has the more bumper-sticker appropriate stump speech.
It seems to me that the medical community could completely neuter the GOP’s (pun intended) argument by simply re-branding birth control. It’s not like big pharma wants LESS people taking their drugs.
This feels like one of those.. “do we want to win, or lose with honor” type arguments.
I feel like a lot of people are cowed into a position of “well, do you want your TEENAGE DAUGHTER to have unlimited access to BC?????” and when they answer NO!!! (not understandng that their teenage daughter is just as likely to have sex with or without it) they are told they support whatever crazy position is being touted. ( a little bit like how we all got tricked into thinking ethanol was a good idea)
“we” need to be able to answer back with “why do you support women having to pay hundreds of dollars a month so not be in pain?” and have THAT be the answer to all this GOP hyperbolic bullshit.
The hyperbolic bullshit works (not on everyone, but on way too many) and it isnt going to stop.
Let’s be careful with what could turn into “legitimate” birth control debate. There are many reasons to use birth control, and every last one of those reasons is 100% valid. No reason is more or less important. And yeah, I get where you’re coming from… just be careful.
I understand.
Poor wording likely has a lot to do with how offensive I come off. silly me without without formal political communications training 😉
I am a believer in playing to your audience and dealing with the rules you have and not the rules you want….. bullshit as those rules might be.
No matter how high the teen pregnancy rate is… no matter how many Utahins have porn subscriptions….. this is a very very prudish country, and social norms dictate that we act prudish and chased in public to be “taken seriously”
Going off topic…… What if a politician and her husband like to swing? no rules of their marital agreement have been breached, since they … in my example… are both fully and enthusiastically consenting to this activity they may do in the privacy of their own home… but if that ever came ot the public light….. yes VIRGINIA it would be a scandal.
The sad, pathetic fact is that sex… any sex…. is taboo in public American discourse. It is more important, to me… that something like birth control is covered than it is to make it that way using sound, logical arguments. those dont work in our politics.
I guess the trick is to find a way to do it and still be careful not to come off as “slut shaming”.
@ Ben: This might help answer your question. One of the things my wife enjoyed most about the pill, aside from not getting pregnant, was that it made here cycle regular as in every 28 days regular year in and year out kind of regular.
For what it’s worth she’s going to go all ape s&%t when she hears the “Uncle Sugar” phrase! Like a Saturn 5 on a launch pad. Might just send an early check to any Pro Hilary organization kind of ape s&%t.
I’ll be holding a pen for her!
Great stuff Pandora.
Thanks, Knows better! My reaction was similar to your wife’s. My head exploded! 😉