Are Bachman And Santorum This Ignorant?

You know what I don't understand?  I don't understand how any person who wants to be taken seriously as a presidential candidate could sign the Family Leader's so-called "marriage vow".  (Pun intended, I am sure.)  Ladies and gentlemen, if you haven't seen this pledge, its original text essentially stared that African American children were better off being born into slavery, where according to this right wing group, both parents were most likely to be present (unless of course one parent was killed or sold off by their owner, but I digress with those pesky historical facts again) as opposed to being born now into a single parent family. 

Read The "Vow" Here

Historically inaccurate, you say?  Outrageously offensive to African Americans, you say?  Insulting to single parents nationwide, you say?  Blatantly bigoted, you say?

Well, I say you're right.  However, Republican (of course) presidential candidates, Michele Bachman and Rick Santorum do not agree with you.  Both of these ultra-conservative candidates have vowed to stand by this pledge with Rep. Bachman being the first to actually sign the pledge and return it to Family Leader.

Now, this extreme right-wing organization has since backed off on this part of their pledge, but the rest of the document is almost equally offensive, mean spirited, and undignified.  Oddly, only GOP candidate Mitt Romney has had the decency to say so.

Right Wing Groups Back Off On Offensive Slavery Language

Mitt Romney Shows Some Class

My question, dear readers, is how Bachman and Santorum could actually agree with this pledge in any for, let alone its original form?  Do they really believe what was written, or are they pandering to the religious right that controls the modern day Republican Party?  Which answer to that question is less disturbing?  Do they actually think black kids were better off being born into slavery, or are they so determined to kowtow to the religious right that they will promise to follow and pledge or vow put in front of them? 

Is this what the Republican Party has become?  Is this what the right wing in this country has become?  If so, ask me again why I am a liberal and a Democrat.

Peace and love, my brothers and sisters.

Rick Santorum Is Against All Abortions Except For His Wife's??

You know what I don't understand? I don't understand how Republican presidential candidate, former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum, can be so steadfast in his assertion that abortion should be illegal in absolutely all cases and that physicians who provide the service should be prosecuted when his wife, Karen, is reported to have had an abortion.

Santorum Is against Abortion Unless HIs Wife Needs One

So let's see if I understand this. Santorum thinks women should bear the children of rapists and incestuous relatives while their medical doctors should be criminalized for providing abortion services. Santorum thinks that all abortions should be illegal even if the mother's health is at stake unless it is his wife's well being that is at stake.

The hypocrisy is astounding.

Or is it?

Folks, as a pro-choice American, I am not too sure this story passes the smell test. Let me elaborate. Did Karen Santorum's physician intentionally terminate her pregnancy, or did Karen Santorum suffer irreversible premature labor resulting in the loss of her fetus? If it is the latter, Mrs. Santorum had a spontaneous abortion, what laymen refer to as a "miscarriage", which is a totally different matter than an elective abortion, which is the medically induced termination of a pregnancy.

The End of Karen Santorum's Pregnancy

Are Pro-Choice Activists Lying About Santorum's Abortion?

You know, folks, it is extraordinarily difficult to sift through the falderal on the internet regarding this topic. Frankly, I don't know what the truth is; and equally bluntly, if Karen Santorum had an elective abortion, I doubt very seriously if Rick Santorum will ever admit to it.

What I do know is this. If Mrs. Santorum did, indeed, undergo medically necessary elective abortion in order to save her life, Candidate Santorum has no right whatsoever to deny the right to the same life saving procedure to any other American woman.

What I also know is that if fellow pro-choice Americans are twisting, distorting, and/or spinning the facts of this matter into half-truths to suit their agenda, they are behaving unconscionably; as unconscionably as those who harass, intimidate, and threaten women entering abortion clinics. If we want reproductive choice to remain the law of the land, we must present our case factually and without the heated, baseless pretentious moral outrage often put forth by the pro-birth crowd.

Take one thing away from this, ladies and gentlemen. Pregnancy, sex, reproduction, childbirth, choice, and abortion are highly sensitive, personal matters. Can we agree that they are no one's business or concern but the mother, the father, their physician, and their God? If so, then you understand why I am a pro-choice American.

Peace and love, my brothers and sisters.