Worthwhile Reads: The Republican Party and Women

I know you’re all tired of hearing about Todd Akin, and it’s a bit of an old story by now. I think though that what sometimes got lost was that Akin’s views were not, well, atypical for pro-lifers. While the Republican party sought to distance itself from Akin, this was in many ways simply an attempt to sacrifice a scapegoat rather than deal with its own problems – it’s like when a herd of gazelles leaves one of its own behind to the hyenas, thus allowing the rest of the herd to escape. The first article highlighted here points out that Akin’s statement about women’s sperm-killing rape detector is actually something that has been passed around in pro-life circles for decades. The second discusses the ties between Akin’s views and the views of the Republican party itself, pointing out that the two aren’t actually that different, like, at all. Finally, the third looks at a rather appalling article in the National Review, that publication so cherished by those on the Right, an article that appears to argue that sons are more important than daughters.

Rep. Todd Akin’s Views Typical in Anti-Abortion Religious Right, on The Slacktivist

Like many people who receive and then excitedly pass on such myths, Akin added his own little flourishes. He prefaced his restatement of this urban legend by saying, “from what I understand from doctors” — the kind of vaguely authoritative attribution often used to suggest that an incredible assertion should be treated credibly.

But the rest of what Akin said was standard boilerplate for this particular urban legend. It’s something he repeated because he had heard it repeated, over and over, in his evangelical, GOP and anti-abortion circles.

Anyone who’s spent any time in those circles recognizes this. Some people are tactically claiming now that they’d never heard such a thing before — that this was some novel, innovative new claim being made by Todd Akin.

Hogwash.

Romney, the GOP Platform, and Why This Isn’t about Todd Akin, on Feministing

This is not about Todd Akin. This is about a presidential candidate who touted the endorsement of the same doctor who told Akin the bunk science he parroted this weekend. It’s about a VP pick who worked closely with Akin and so many other senators on bills that would put women’s health in direct danger. But mostly, it’s about an entire political party that is hell bet on taking away all of your reproductive rights.

Yes, the Republican Party Does Hate Women, on Religion Dispatches

Yes, you are reading those words correctly:  The National Review, one of the chief propaganda publications for the Republican party, is citing Romney having sons over daughters vis-à-vis Obama as proof of him being “boss.”

This is what the Republican Party has sunk down to, touting the virtues of sons over daughters.