The hot season of 2013 is shaping up into the Summer of GOP Sneakers. First, there was the repeated attempts to shut down Wendy Davis's filibuster of the Texas lege. Any excuse would do to rack up the "three strikes" needed to stop her from continuing her speech: dinging her for getting help adjusting her back brace, and claiming that a discussion of mandatory ultrasound testing was not germane to her discussion of the bill at hand. Not happy to stop Wendy from Speaking, the Republicans actually faked the time of the vote on the bill to make it seem like the vote happened by the midnight deadline.
Just last week, Wisconsin governor Scott Walker waited until the middle of a holiday weekend to sign a bill restricting abortion:
Wisconsin’s new law requires doctors to obtain admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles. A separate provision of the new law mandates ultrasounds, transvaginal or abdominal, for all women seeking abortions.The latest Republican legislative legerdemain happened in North Carolina, whose worthy representatives snuck anti-abortion legislation into a TWO bills:
Last week, just hours before the North Carolina Legislature recessed for a long holiday weekend, state Republicans inserted sweeping abortion restrictions into an “anti-Shariah Law” bill. The underhanded tactic was criticized by Democrats and Republican Gov. Pat McCrory, who denounced the sneaky move and threatened to veto the bill unless significant changes were made.
On Wednesday, Republican lawmakers did it again, this time injecting language to severely restrict abortion into a completely unrelated measure — a motorcycle safety law — without public notice.Worse still, the new language for the motorcycle bill was not even publicly announced:
Melissa Reed of Planned Parenthood Health Systems said in a statement. “Once again there was no public notice that this bill would be heard. The public and even many legislators on the committee only learned this was a possibility at 9:57 a.m. — three minutes before the committee was to meet — when a political reporter was tipped off and posted it on Twitter. This is outrageous and not how the people’s business should be conducted.”A question, if I may.
If abortion is such a bad thing, and the people want to end it so badly, then why do Republicans have to resort to sneaking language into bills? What's wrong with allowing debate on the issue? Why not legislate the full light of day? Why not
The answer is likely that public support is not a strong as they think, even in the Bible Belt. The reps are likely terrified that a) women will see them fiddling with their ovaries once again, b) that both sides of the issues might get public coverage and c) that the legislators' efforts will be seen as being more about pushing their own religious views than in seeking the safety, welfare and participation of their citizens.
I look forward to the day that the grown-ups get back into the state houses.
2 comments:
I find it interesting that you bash the GOP for attempting to shut down a filibuster and of sneaking anti abortion language into bills. You ask what is so bad about a debate on the issue. Well, isn't a filibuster a means of stopping the debate? Isn't the purpose of the filibuster to keep a bill from ever seeing the light of day?
Secondly, wasn't it the Democrats from Wisconsin that ran away and hid from the debate a few months ago when it came time to talk about paring down unionized labor in Govt? How is that a form of debate and how is this responsible Govt?
As far North Carolina goes, what's stopping the Gov. from vetoing the bill? It's his prerogative isn't it? Is he just full of hot air or will he not do it for fear of losing the next election to a more conservative candidate?
If I may I'd like to ask just a few more questions?
a) How does legalized murder equate to the safety and welfare of the citizens?
b) Aren't politicians the elected reps. of the people?
c) Why is it okay for pro abortion politicians to be vocal but not the anti abortion politicians?
d) Why is the Supreme Court legislating laws and not Congress?
e) Why do you seem to support abortion and still call yourself Catholic?
This is not a piece supporting abortion, but criticizing those who use unlawful or dishones means to oppose it.
I ask you to read Pope John Paul II's Evangelium Vitae, and tell me why he does not address the value of a mother's life. Is it not murder to tell women they must give up their lives to save that of a fetus?
Iam a baptized Catholic. Even if I were to be excommunicated, I would still be a Catholic -- in my mind and in the eyes of teh Church. yet conscience demands that I speak out when my Church is acting immorally, as I believe it does when it disregards the gift of a mother's life.
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