The Republican Party Is No Place for Women

Mitt Romney at the end of the third debate, which, by a broad consensus, he lost.

The text of the Republican Party concerning abortion:

THE SANCTITY AND DIGNITY OF HUMAN LIFE  Faithful to the "self-evident" truths enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, we assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed. We support a human life amendment to the Constitution and endorse legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment's protections apply to unborn children. We oppose using public revenues to promote or perform abortion or fund organizations which perform or advocate it and will not fund or subsidize health care which includes abortion coverage. We support the appointment of judges who respect traditional family values and the sanctity of innocent human life. We oppose the non-consensual withholding or withdrawal of care or treatment, including food and water, from people with disabilities, including newborns, as well as the elderly and infirm, just as we oppose active and passive euthanasia and assisted suicide.

Republican leadership has led the effort to prohibit the barbaric practice of partial birth abortion, permitted States to extend health care coverage to children before birth. We urge Congress to strengthen the Born Alive Infant Protection Act by exacting appropriate civil and criminal penalties to health care providers who fail to provide treatment and care to an infant who survives and abortion, including early induction delivery where the death of the infant is intended. We call for legislation to ban sex-selective abortions - gender discrimination in its most lethal form - and to protect from abortion unborn children who are capable of feeling pain; and we applaud U.S. House Republicans for leading the effort to protect the lives of pain-capable unborn children in the District of Columbia. We call for a revision of federal law 42 U.S.C. 289.92 to bar the use of body parts from aborted fetuses for research. We support and applaud adult stem cell research to develop lifesaving therapies, and we oppose the killing of embryos for their stem cells. We oppose federal funding of embryonic stem cell research.

We also salute the many states that have passed laws for informed consent, mandatory waiting periods prior to an abortion, and health protective clinic regulation. We seek to protect young girls from exploitation through a parental consent requirement; and we affirm our moral obligation to assist, rather than penalize, women challenged by an unplanned pregnancy. We salute those who provide them with counseling and adoption alternatives and empower them to choose live, and we take comfort in the tremendous increase in adoptions that has followed Republican legislative initiatives.

Please note that the platform on abortion does not call for any exceptions under any circumstances.

Now let's look at the positions of various Republicans (I've edited some of these videos to save you time; you can click to go to the YouTube version to see each in their entirety):

Mitt Romney:

More Mitt Romney:

Rachel Maddow adds more about Paul Ryan:

More on Paul Ryan concerning women:

More on Paul Ryan:

Elizabeth Warren on the Blunt Amendment, which failed in the Senate earlier this year:

Mental health break: I am a SF Giants fan. They won big tonight in game 1 against the Detroit Tigers, 8-3, with Panda Pablo Sandoval hitting three home runs. But I feature this amazing three-hits-in-one by Hunter Pence in the seventh game to help defeat the St. Louis Cardinals as a break from the dismal GOP:

That's special, right? BTW, it was a single to drive in a run. Go Hunter! (and go Giants, of course...)

Okay. Back at it with an Obama ad. Yes, it's an edited portrayal of Romney's statements, but do you doubt any of them? I don't:

Get rid of Planned Parenthood is coded language for "women should be barefoot and pregnant." Yes, Romney didn't say that, but do you doubt his intent? I don't. Here it is in context, with threats to get rid of Obamacare, Amtrak, and, yes, Planned Parenthood:

Great. Health care for the masses of uninsured, subsidies for a rail system that's highly popular and vastly increasing in ridership during this economic slump, and, yes, Planned Parenthood, needed by million of American women. Let's get rid of those, ASAP.

Just as an aside: When Mitt Romney talks about getting rid of Obamacare, Planned Parenthood, and Amtrak, can you find where the needs of women and men diverge? Not really. But when you think of what conservatives think of women, minorities, and the uninsured, can you find a divergence? Oh yeah. Mitt's target audience is the privileged class who don't need no stinking help. Got it. Did you ever see "The Philadelphia Story?" I did:

Yes, one of my favorite lines in all of moviedom: "The prettiest sight in this fine pretty world is the privileged class enjoying its privileges." Need I say more? Does this fit in with how Mitt Romney views the world?

It sure fits in with how Ann Romney views the world. It's such a shame that Mitt Romney, after enjoying the fine pretty world of the privileged class has to go back and "be circumspect" in the real world:

I didn't want to end with an Obama ad, but let's face it, Romney was speaking to the fine pretty world of the privileged class, and he sounded, well, like an asshole. Where am I wrong? Okay, I won't end on the privileged class:

Okay, maybe I did. Is this not the privileged class saying you're on your own?