Another Etch-a-Sketch

It happens so infrequently that when a Republican says or does something that actually promotes a sensible idea… it can be rather startling. It surprises me whenever one of these modern-day religious right crusaders has anything to say that even remotely promotes a woman’s right to choose, but Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has done just that. From the WSJ:

“The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists announced its support last month for selling oral contraceptives over the counter without a prescription in the United States. I agree with this opinion, which if embraced by the federal government would take contraception out of the political arena.”

However, In the same WSJ piece, Jindal goes out on a limb in a twisted and tortured effort to deflect the criticism many GOPers have so justly earned. He does so with a demonstrable lie:

“As a conservative Republican, I believe that we have been stupid to let the Democrats demagogue the contraceptives issue and pretend, during debates about health-care insurance, that Republicans are somehow against birth control. It's a disingenuous political argument they make.”

Is that so? A “disingenuous” argument that “they” make…

Does Brother Bobby not think the American people have memories? Does Mr. Jindal not understand that the people can hear what the religious right has been saying… notice how they have behaved once they achieved majority? Does he think we don’t read? Listen to the radio? Watch television? Is he expecting us to have short memories?

That would be a mistake, Mr. Jindal.

Let us recount just a few of the more recent, and memorable bits of evidence that the current crop of Republicans is top-heavy with old, white bible-thumpers who are either ignorant, stupid, truth-impaired or simply dishonest when it comes to equality and the rights of the alternatively plumbed segment of our population.

Let’s see… the garbage got rolling back in the George W. Bush administration. In 2008 we saw John McCain and Sarah Palin, and four years later we find Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, Rick Perry and the Texas Legislature, Michelle Bachmann… and even Mitt Romney. The only top tier Republican presidential candidates in a dozen years to not get caught up hook, line and sinker in the shove-it-down-your-throat religious dogma of anti-contraception, anti-choice and anti-equality were John McCain… who moderated his stance after initially voting for the Blunt Amendment, and Jon Huntsman… who actually got a nod for his stance by that far-left ezine, Media matters. Huntsman was also the first to exit the field, reemerging as the Libertarian candidate.

But the clown car is far from empty. Recent history provides us with a wealth of Republicans wanting their women barefoot, pregnant and in the kitchen. For instance we have the likes of Jon Kyl, Scott Walker, Todd Akin, Richard Mourdock, Jan Brewer, a dozen Attorneys General, including Colorado’s John Suthers and Nebraska’s Jon Bruning, "Ultrasound" Bob McDonnell, Lovable Louie Gohmert, wannabe congress critter Danny Rehberg,Tea Party hack Tom Smith, all-around hack Rush Limbaugh [You Tube] and a host of others.

• For the complete review of state level actions in 2011 click here.
• For summaries of major state-level actions in 2011, click here.
• For a table showing reproductive health and rights-related provisions enacted in 2011, click here.
• For the status of state law and policy on key reproductive health and rights issues, click here.

The 2010 Republican takeover of the Congress, many statehouses and governor’s mansions begat the 2011 onslaught of anti-woman and anti-science bills (where Huntsman again stands a fair distance from the rest of the GOP.)

And then of course there was Jindal himself joining in with the rest of the moronic, anti-science Republicans. These actions have nothing at all to do with demagoguery, Mr. Jindal, and everything to do with religious social engineering. Your comments to the contrary speak of a familiar arrogance.

Brother Bobby is Johnny-come-lately to this dog and pony show. Perhaps the former silence was because he was angling for the VP slot on the Romney ticket (Romney would have fared far better) or maybe he is just bright enough to after-the-fact see the writing left on the walls from the 2012 elections. Whatever his reason I’m glad he is willing now to step back from the anti-equality stance of the Republican religionistas and call them out on that which lost for them.

Still, new spots on an old dog don’t go unnoticed. Until the smackdown of the anti-woman, anti-choice agenda, Jindal supported the “love it or Leave it” GOP in lockstep. Because of that he deserves watching. He might be the real-meal-deal, but we’ve already had to suffer one flip flopper. I’m not all that keen on the thought of having to go through that again.

###