Religious Beliefs and Politics

With Election Day looming ahead and the nail-biting final days of campaigning, the Good Old Party seems to be doing everything to ruin their chances of winning majority control of the Senate.  An editorial from Huffington Post recounts the latest in GOP remarks on rape and abortion.  This article caught my attention because it seems throughout this election I've heard more about religious beliefs than any previous elections.  

During the last Indiana Senate debate the candidates were asked their opinions on abortion.   Richard Mourdock had the following remarks:

“The only exception I have to have an abortion is in the case of the life of the mother," said Mourdock, the Tea Party-backed state treasurer. "I struggled with it myself for a long time, but I came to realize life is that gift from God. I think that even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen."

I’m amazed anyone can make a remark like that in the wake of Senator Candidate Todd Aiken’s now famous ignorant comment that "If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.”  I’m not saying that Mourdock isn’t a kind hearted person with genuinely heartfelt feelings on conception.  He appears to be someone who is deeply concerned about preserving human life.  I don’t think that Mourdock was trying to say that God intends for rape to happen, but I do believe that he set himself up to be portrayed in a negative way by Democrats.  What I don’t understand is why Republicans have been consistently bringing God and their personal religious beliefs into election discussions.  Yes, the majority of citizens in the United States do believe in God, but what about the separation of church and state?  Why can’t the candidates just say I’m pro-life and I’m for returning the issue of abortion to the State-level?  Why can’t they leave their religious beliefs out of it? Especially when 76% of their own party believes that abortion should be legal in the case of rape.  While I do believe that everyone has the right to their own personal beliefs in regards to this sensitive issue, I think that Republicans need to focus more on public opinion and policy instead of voicing their individual (and ignorant) feelings on the issue.  

Future of Women's Rights

A recent editorial in the New York Times, illustrates the problem that Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney may face on Election Day--winning the female vote.  His position on equal pay for women and other women's rights issues has been inconsistent and rife with blunders. The article recounts these mistakes and discusses the detrimental statements made during the last presidential debate at Hofstra University.  When asked where Romney stands on equal pay for women, Romney tried to claim he believed in equality, but basically said that he plans on cutting funding from Planned Parenthood, cutting other free contraception programs, and claimed to have binders full of women candidates put together for his cabinet.  He further stated that he believes it should be the responsibility for each woman and their families to pay for contraceptives.  While I do understand that Romney is trying to find ways to decrease our trillion dollar deficit, what I don’t understand is how he claims to fix that massive problem by denying women the right to have access to health care related items, such as contraceptives.

Mitt Romney seems to always say and do what he thinks will gain him the most political capitol. He has wavered dramatically when asked about women's issues.  In 2005 he vetoed a bill to make it legal to offer contraceptives to rape victims, but at the debate he said that all women should have access to contraceptives in America.

The second laughable blunder that Romney made during the debate was in addressing equal opportunities for women. Romney began by saying that he was a supporter of women in the workplace and that during his time as governor he actively sought out women to hire for his cabinet.  He went on to say, “I recognized that if you’re going to have women in the work force that sometimes they need to a more flexible work schedule. My chief of staff, for instance, had two kids that were still in school… she said, I can’t be here until 7 or 8 o’clock at night. I need to be able to get home at 5 o’clock so I can be there for making dinner for my kids and being with them when they get home from school.”   Instead of just saying that he planned on supporting such important legislation like the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, he decided that it would be a better course of action to paint a picture of women needing flexible schedules so that we can get home to make dinner. 

As a woman, I was outraged after watching the last debate and I agree with the New York Times author's opinion.  Do we really want a leader in the White House who will not regard women as equals and advocate for the programs they rely on?  I attend school full-time and live on a meager budget. I rely on Planned Parenthood, not only for contraceptives, but for check ups and breast exams.  My only hope is that upon graduation, I can be guaranteed the right to equal pay for equal work and that I will have affordable health care so that I no longer need programs liked Planned Parenthood.  If Romney is elected, who knows what rights women will be guaranteed.

The Invisible People

I read an article today on the Huffington Post website that I wanted to share with you.  The story is about the release of a video created by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) union, which aims to humanize Mitt Romney's honest opinion on "forty-seven percent" of our country whom he thinks are entitled, slothful drains on American society.

At a secretly-taped private fundraiser in May of this year, Romney spoke candidly with wealthy supporters about his honest feelings on about half of our country.  In case you haven't heard about the forty-seven percent remarks, Romney presented this argument:

"There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. That that's an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what…These are people who pay no income tax... My job is not to worry about those people. I'll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives."

Romney's comments are directly aimed at those with disabilities who are unable to work, seniors who've left the workforce, students like myself that go to school full-time and do not work, millions of low-income families, and middle-class families who take advantage of tax credits Republicans have long supported.

In response to Romney's comments expressing contempt for nearly half of the American population the AFSCME union decided to put a face on the forty-seven percent of us that Romney believes are lazy moochers.  The union decided to go to the La Jolla-San Diego area (where Romney has a home) and interview a local sanitation worker that picks up Mitt's garbage, a fire-fighter engineer and a former sanitation worker to put a face on the forty-seven percent that Romney refers to as the lazy entitled. The sanitation worker, Richard Hayes, is interviewed and says: “We’re kind of like the invisible people. He doesn’t realize, you know, the service we provide.”

I think that it's important to know that the Republican presidential nominee has such a negative view of such a big portion of our society.  He is running for a job in which caring for the citizens of this country is essential.  His remark that "[his] job is not to worry about those people" leaves zero doubt in my mind that he should not be elected president. Elections are so important as they provide political education for citizens, and ensure that the people are represented in a way that reflects the people. 




Works Cited:

• http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/09/secret-video-romney-private-fundraiser 
• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lee-a-saunders/mitt-romney-garbage-man_b_1929728.html?utm_hp_ref=elections-2012