Forewarned: no synchro here.
There is something compelling about Joe Biden. I have always liked this man, liked his voting record, his personal biography, and his ability to discuss issues in a powerful yet grounded way. Joe is….well, Joe. Middle class. His name pretty much says it all.
He has lived through tragedy that would kill lesser mortals – the death of his wife and daughter in a car accident in 1972, shortly after Biden, 29, was elected to the U.S. Senate, one of the youngest people ever elected to that position. As a sudden single father of two young boys, he did what any parent would do, devoted himself to them unconditionally.
Joe understands that any country is only as strong as its middle class and this point came through strongly during the VP debate this evening. Ryan was clearly in over his head when it came to foreign policy, Medicare, Social Security, taxes, the right of a woman to choose, and just about every other issue covered in the debate. When the moderator, Martha Raddatz, a correspondent for ABC News, asked him a pointed question, asked for specifics, Ryan sought refuge in talking points.
Martha was fantastic, a terrific moderator in that she didn’t allow these two guys to take over. Better than Jim Laher, for sure .
MSNBC’s Laurence O’Donald felt it was inappropriate for Raddatz to ask the candidates, both of them Catholics, how their religious beliefs influenced their policies – particularly on abortion. O’Donald feels that religion shouldn’t enter the debate because of the separation between church and state. But the fact is that the separation between church and state has been eroding for years, Religion has been a factor in politics since the Nixon/JFK debate in 1960, when JFK’s Catholicism became an issue. And in the first twelve years of the new millennium, religion has gained a foothold in politics that is unprecedented.
For instance, Paul Ryan co-signed a bill with U.S. Congressman Todd Akin that would declare personhood upon a fertilized egg. Akin, by the way, sits on the U.S. House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, and wants all of you women out there to know that pregnancy from rape is really rare. “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.”
Really? And this guy is sitting on a science committee?
That’s a whole other post. The point here is that Ryan co-wrote this bill with Akin – and is now struggling to distance himself from it. When Joe Biden answered this question, he pointed out that his religious beliefs tell him that its right for the government to take care of those who can no longer take care of themselves – the poor, disenfranchised, elderly, sick – the very people, in fact, whom Ryan’s budget would dismiss completely. In terms of abortion, Biden said it isn’t up to government to intervene in such personal decisions, that he wouldn’t interfere in Roe v Wade.
Ryan would appoint supreme court justices who would overturn that ruling and basically render any woman and/or doctor involved in an abortion a murderer. Nice, huh?
An abortion is not an easy choice for any woman. And it’s shocking that decades after the supremos ruled on Roe v Wade it’s still an issue, that we have candidates who actually believe the government should have the right to dictate the choices a woman makes about her own body. But there is no corresponding proposed ruling about what men do with their bodies.
Years ago in college, I remember having this discussion with Dr. Millet, a professor of English Lit whom I absolutely adored. He was trying to convince me to stick with English Lit as a major (rather than Spanish). “You women, Trish, always hold the upper hand because you are the ones who birth life.”
“Uh, we don’t do this alone, Dr. Millet.”
“Well, no, but because you’re the ones who actually give birth, you’re the ones who come under under scrutiny by those in government who seek to control your bodies.”
This conversation happened around 1967, before Roe v Wade. I was a 20-year-old hippie who was against everything the government stood for. And here I was, having this surreal conversation with a professor at least 20 years older than me who nonetheless understood the stakes. “Go write your novels and books, Trish,” he said. “You will always follow the path of your heart.”
It sounded nice but it took me many years to understand what he actually meant by that statement, the greatest compliment I ever got from any professor. And right now, my heart tells me we are still a country where racism is prevalent, where many people who are going to vote for Romney/Ryan will do so simply because Obama is black. Reactionary voting is often a vote against your own self- interest.
Here’s what I’m sure of: Any woman who votes the Repub ticket needs extensive and profound psychiatric intervention.
Biden won.
I asked a Catholic male friend of mine what decision he would make if his eleven-year-old daughter, already having periods, were snatched by a pedophile, brutally beaten and savagely raped, was later found and was pregnant. His answer? No abortion. I was and am speechless that ANY parent would require a lifetime of such trauma to be endured by a child. This is a gentle, compassionate man who has been completely brainwashed by his religion. And to base this decision on some “law” given centuries ago by a human man who said the law came from God? As I said, I’m speechless. And horrified. My respect for my friend took a tumble so far down it will never be recovered.
That really is horrifying.
Couldn’t agree more. I have not liked everything that Obama has done – and I still think we are rolling towards totalitarianism – but I could never vote GOP in this climate, and I could never vote for Romney – ever.
The constant running of the Romney commercial where he states that the 47% of the population aren’t “his problem”, that they need to take responsibility for their lives, etc etc etc, added to his women’s rights platform, makes him much less of a human in my eyes. That 47% is the poor, the elderly, the sick. He wants us dead. End of story.
As I have said before, I wasn’t interested in US politics until reading your posts. I’ve seen nothing of the VP debate so far in the UK press. I did read on the Wall Street Journal that Ryan wants to cut business taxes – this can’t be bad, can it? Otherwise I’ll leave the decision making to you – though it looks like you and most of the commentators have made up their minds!
Yes, he supposedly does want to cut business taxes. But as it stands now, some of the largest businesses – corporations like general electric – don’t pay any taxes at all. He would also rise taxes on the poor and the middle class and cut taxes for the uber rich.
I only have one comment. So, if a rape is truly “legitimate”, a female’s body shuts down and pregnancy doesn’t occur. I think that man has that attitude because he probably can’t get his …. up when the occasion calls for it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Makes me wonder how many Catholic men rely on Viagra………..
Have you seen a picture of Todd Akin with his wife and daughters? I saw it when some San Francisco blogger wrote about it. The photo revealed a lot. The wife was standing about as far away from him as she could while still being photographed with him. She was looking down and had the look of a sad, submissive woman in a prison of a marriage. His two young daughters were standing off to his other side and they didn’t look too happy either. I bet he’s a real terror in his household. It’s sad to see that such a man could even have a relationship with a woman.
Excellent post, thank you. I like Biden too, and always have. To me, the Repubs really do represent an old paradigm that is so utterly out of touch with the reality of the time we now live in.
“we have candidates who actually believe the government should have the right to dictate the choices a woman makes about her own body. But there is no corresponding proposed ruling about what men do with their bodies”………seems to me that Church and Government has been one and the same for a very long time in human history, and telling women (actually, with unwanted and unready pregnancy, the proper term is more often “little adolescent girls”) what they could do with their bodies (and not with their minds) has been central to the theology.
Your professor was so sensitive to see how deep this issue of the control of the life force, and “womb fear” runs in the course of history – the power to birth life is something patriarchal cultures have been worried about, and wanting to co-opt, since very ancient times. And the Bible has no female voices, no women’s votes, and plenty of examples in the old testament of rape, and female slavery.
Thanks to Adelita above for her comment as well. If life is so precious that even a little 13 year old girl can be a “murderer” for having an abortion, how come we spend most of our money, and endlessly glorify, war?
Good points, Lauren. I’ve never understood this fascination with war, either. Or the $ we spend on war.
I was waiting to see your post on the debate last night…I agree with everything you just said and I loved every moment of the debate. Plus, Martha Raddatz rocked! I appreciated the real questions she asked and was really pleased about the abortion question at the end.
Martha knew her stuff!
Great summary of last night’s debate, Trish. My favorite Ryan double speak moment was when he invoked the first amendment to decry how the Catholic Church was being pressured to give fair medical coverage to women! To me this election has a lot to do with freedom of religion, my freedom from their religion, sacred underpants and all. Ryan, the uber Catholic, (I wonder if he’s opus dei?) wants government so small it can fit in every American woman’s uterus. I don’t know why people tip-toe around this issue; if life is so sacred how come war is so prevalent? Separation of Church and State is the cornerstone of our democracy; that’s why it’s the First Amendment, it needed spelling out.
Opus Dei – ha. Probably. He and scalia.
I was never a fan of Joe…until I finally read his memoirs, “Promises To Keep” a few months ago. He wrote about some synchronistic moments in his life that I found interesting. I learned a lot about him and was really impressed, particularly his passion to end the genocide in Bosnia and the leadership he took in the Senate to get the U.S. to act. My admiration for him shot up after reading his memoirs. I thought it was going to be a typical campaign bio and wonky book (the kind Romney’s book is), but it was well written and full of passion. He was honest about his flubs (the plagiarism incident that killed his presidential bid in 1988), but he is definitely a man of integrity. He probably won’t be president, but he’s a great vice president!
He’s a perfect VP!
That he is! I loved it when he just laughed and rolled his eyes!