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A simple statement. And it’s tragic that in a presidential race in 2012 any candidate has to state the obvious. But the right of a woman to make medical decisions of the most personal and private nature is on the table because of the insistent qualifications of rape by the GOP led by Mitt Romney..
The audience in the studio roared in approval at the ease with which the President dispatched the womb-controlling statements of Indiana Senate candidate Richard Mourdock on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
LENO: The senate candidate Richard Mourdock. He made a statement today — or I — or at least I saw it today. I want quote what he said. He said — he was asked about rape and — “I struggled with it, myself, for a long time, but I came to realize life is a gift from God. And even if life begins in a horrible situation of rape, it is something God intended to happen ” which — I mean, this seems like we’re back to Todd Akin time again.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well — you know, I don’t know how these guys come up with these ideas. Let me make a very simple proposition.
LENO: Mm-hm.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Rape is rape. It is a crime. And so, these various distinctions about rape and, you know — don’t make too much sense to me. Don’t make any sense to me. The second thing this underscores, though, this is exactly why you don’t want a bunch of politicians — mostly male — making decisions about women’s health care decisions. I — women are capable of making these decisions in consultation with their partners, with their doctors. And, you know, for politicians to want to intrude in this stuff, often times without any information, is a huge problem. And this is obviously a part of what’s at stake in this election. You’ve got a Supreme Court that — you know, typically a president is gonna have probably another couple of appointments during the course of his term. And, you know, Roe vs. Wade is probably hanging in the balance. You’ve got issues like Planned Parenthood where, you know, that organization provides millions of women cervical cancer screenings, mammograms — all kinds of basic healthcare.
LENO: Right.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: And so I think it’s really important for us to — to understand that women are capable of making these decisions and that these are not just women’s issues. These are family issues.
***
How bad is the situation? Well, it’s hard to escape the plethora of Republicans who have decided that reproductive freedom and the crime of rape are open to debate. I think this graphic says it all — rape can now be stacked in “terror alert” labeling.
16 Comments
It is tragic.
Thanks Pam for sharing this.
No doubt. However, sex between an 18 year old on his or her birthday and a 17 year and 364 day old partner is not quite same as forcible rape.
Citizen Abdul etc:
“…sex between an 18 year old…and a 17 year and 364 day old partner is not quite same (sic) as forcible rape.”
Indeed, but it IS rape not something else, rape is rape. Let me make it easy for ya, we are not talkin about degrees of sexual assault or the righteousness of punishment for the purpetrator, we are talkin’ about the freedom of the VICTIM of rape to not hafta suffer the consequence of carryin’ a zygot to term after incuring a life altering assault. Sometimes if you get confused by the complexity of meaning, just simplify. Rape is rape and no matter whether aggravated or first or second or third degree, the victim of the rape has the right to control her body and not be punished further by carryin’ the rapist’s child to term. It ain’t complicated and if you had daughters you wouldn’t be so confused.
Citizen Pam Spaulding:
Thanks for the report…I don’t get ta stay up real late anymore and I don’t watch Leno when I do…keep on keepin’ on Sister.
Rape is rape, and murder is murder.
http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/10/24/3-killed-kids-hurt-as-fury-grows-over-u-s-drone-strikes-in-pakistan/
Now, Oscar, I’m sure the failure to mention that was just an oversight on Pam’s part.
4 supreme court justices are in their 70s. Either Romney or Obama will be appointing judges who will consider choice, marriage, and many other issues.
No free passes. What you say is fair, but there are no free passes this Presidential election. Yes, the Republican rhetoric is PATHETIC, but remember Obama’s promises in ’08? We don’t get to choose who we can vote for, only those we can vote against. WE entrusted Obama with a once in thirty year opportunity to right TERRIBLE wrongs that are tearing our country apart. He has has repeatedly and consistently demonstrated our trust was misplaced. Obama is no more than Con man, he’s THE worst Democratic Party President in history and very likely one of two of the worst of all we’ve had. Those “Progressives” who vote for him, after KNOWING of his disregard for “the rule of law”, his disdain for the middle class lose and his cowardice to stand up to our mega-Banks lose all rights to whine for the next four years. I say,vote Obama out to strongly repudiate his deeds. Vote third Party. The Dems will keep the Senate, so the power of the Repub Pres. will be checked. And, in ’16 the Country will be excited to elect Elizabeth Warren or Sherrod Brown to effect the “hope” and “change” Obama promised.
I imagine that TGOPer women rationalize their voting for these troglodytes by saying things to the effect, “Nice christian women don’t get raped. If a woman does get raped, she was asking for it and deserved it. I know I could never be raped because I’m a christian and a god-fearing woman.”
Unbelievable.
I agree with you overall, but remember that Democrats controlled the Senate in 2002 and did nothing to check Bush from his war of choice in Iraq.
Obama losing and Republicans holding on the House would be ok if Progressives were to use the Democrats’ failure as an opportunity to get Progressives in control of the Democratic Party. Didn’t happen leading up to 2006. Probably won’t happen after 2012 if Obama loses.
Yes, and extra-judicial assassination (sans due process) is extra-judicial assassination. Now, lest you Obama defenders should wish to point out this isn’t the topic of the diary, I’ll just as quickly point out that maybe it should be, since “morality” and crime are its implied subject. Only difference is that most people, except for some stupid Republicans, know that rape is rape and hold strong antipathy towards the crime, while so many self-described “progressives” (self-deluded), seem unconcerned that, far beyond the typical and unsurprising anti-women campaign rhetoric of the GOP, your president, Barack Obama, has and continues to despoil our constitution and the rule of law re: due process by killing, including innocent civilians. Talk about morality… at least I know where my priorities lie.
Norske, I think that Abdul’s comment was really to indicate that, although the person at one day short of her/his birthday, calling such consentual sex child rape or child molestation is only technical. It looks to me that Abdul may not be a fluent English speaker.
So o made such a statement on Leno’s program. The statement doesn’t commit him to anything. It doesn’t even indicate that he would actually act to move against any more rapes. It is simply a statement designed as an applause line.
I don’t think the poster called Norske is capable of grasping such nuances.
Of course you’re right, but such rational responses to this subject are largely lost on this crowd.
One good thing about Clayton Williams’ asinine remark is that it cost him the election and resulted in a rarity — a Democratic governor of Texas, the late, great Ann Richards.