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Can Social Conservatism Still Win?
Can a staunch social conservative still win an election in an increasingly Democratic state? We’ll find out in November if Bob McDonnell wins the governorship in Virginia. You can read an article exploring his controversial views in depth here.
Here are some highlights:
- He described working women and feminists as “detrimental” to the family
- He criticized a Supreme Court decision legalizing contraceptive for non-married people
- In 2001, he voted against a resolution in support of ending wage discrimination between men and women
- He opposes abortion, even in cases of rape and incest
Unsurprisingly, his Democratic opponent Creigh Deeds is trying to put these social issues front and center. He hopes that moderate suburban women in northern Virginia will sour on McDonnell of his social views. I’d normally expect it to work.
But in this electoral climate it might not. Right now, the biggest worry is the economy. Moderate suburbanites are as concerned as anyone else. They’re concerned they could lose their jobs and homes.
To the extent McDonnell can keep this election about the economy his controversial social views should have only a limited impact. True, some feminists who pay enough attention to know all of the details I listed will be horrified and incensed. But most of them were probably already voting for Deeds.
Many suburban women could be persuaded to vote for McDonnell if he has a better economic message. He can make the argument that “I’m going to make sure you have a job and health insurance. This election isn’t about social issues, it’s about the economy.” He can also say as he already has that he’s changed his mind on some of these issues since he’s been in office.
Remember too, that McDonnell doesn’t need to win every female voter. He was going to lose liberal women anyway. He just needs to avoid being blown out among moderate women, and he can focus on turning out the Republican base to win.
In an ordinary year, his views would be much more of a problem. But in an economic crisis, social issues almost always recede. President Obama was able to win last year, despite voting against the infants born alive protection act as an Illinois state senator. Ironically, that same dynamic will probably help a conservative culture warrior in Virginia.
-Marcus Gadson
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Video: Gov. Sarah Palin’s Indiana Right To Life Speech
Here’s Gov. Palin’s complete speech:
Typical: CNN and NBC Refuse To Run Pro-Life Ad Tonight During Obama’s Speech
CNN and NBC have done the predictable thing and refused to air a pro-life ad from CatholicVote.com during Obama’s speech tonight. I happen to be pro-choice myself, but was blown away by this ad. It’s one of the most effective ads I’ve ever seen (which is why the liberal networks won’t run it). The beauty of this ad is that no matter how you feel about abortion, you simply cannot disagree with it. It’s absolutely 100% accurate in every way.
Take a look:
Yale Student Repeatedly Miscarries For Art Project
This is easily the most vile thing I have ever read in my entire life:
Art major Aliza Shvarts ‘08 wants to make a statement.
Beginning next Tuesday, Shvarts will be displaying her senior art project, a documentation of a nine-month process during which she artificially inseminated herself “as often as possible” while periodically taking abortifacient drugs to induce miscarriages. Her exhibition will feature video recordings of these forced miscarriages as well as preserved collections of the blood from the process.
As a pro-choice advocate I find this to be absolutely appalling. I hope to god this turns out to be hoax, because if true this young woman is an absolutely despicable human being who should be shunned by any decent person on this planet.
The fact anyone could treat pregnancy and termination of a pregnancy in such a loathsome and trivial fashion is not fit to be a part of the civilized world.
The goal in creating the art exhibition, Shvarts said, was to spark conversation and debate on the relationship between art and the human body. But her project has already provoked more than just debate, inciting, for instance, outcry at a forum for fellow senior art majors held last week. And when told about Shvarts’ project, students on both ends of the abortion debate have expressed shock . saying the project does everything from violate moral code to trivialize abortion.
But Shvarts insists her concept was not designed for “shock value.”
“I hope it inspires some sort of discourse,” Shvarts said. “Sure, some people will be upset with the message and will not agree with it, but it’s not the intention of the piece to scandalize anyone.”
The “fabricators,” or donors, of the sperm were not paid for their services, but Shvarts required them to periodically take tests for sexually transmitted diseases. She said she was not concerned about any medical effects the forced miscarriages may have had on her body. The abortifacient drugs she took were legal and herbal, she said, and she did not feel the need to consult a doctor about her repeated miscarriages.
Shvarts declined to specify the number of sperm donors she used, as well as the number of times she inseminated herself.
The only debate this “art” project is going to spark is one which examines how our society has sunk so low that it produced a sick a bitch like this.
Not only should her project be disqualified, but Yale should expel her from the school. People have to at some point put politics aside and draw a line in the sand.
No civilized society can function without some type of constraints on behavior. If this is something we are willing to accept then what next? I hate to even ask that question, because who could have possibly imagined someone committing such a barbaric act?
If we cannot agree as a society that this is just unacceptable, then I don’t really know what future we have.
-Chris Jones
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