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Truthout

The McCain campaign has an active fantasy life — one that includes the fantasy of feminist women flocking to the polls to vote for him. As if!!

In The Nation, Katha Pollitt put it simply: “[T]o vote for McCain, a feminist would have to be insane.”

There are a lot of Hillary Clinton supporters out there who are angry and disappointed, but they are not stupid or insane.

Much of the recent talk has focused on PUMAs (the acronym stands for “Party Unity My Ass”), a group supposedly so angry about the Democratic primary that they won’t vote for Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.). But as blogger Amanda Marcotte reported, PUMA PAC was started by a McCain donor, according to the Federal Election Commission.

McCain counts on his constant pandering and flip-flopping to keep people confused about his actual record on ANYTHING, let alone women’s issues.

In 1999, McCain said he backed Roe: “Certainly, in the short term, or even the long term, I would not support repeal of Roe v. Wade, which would then force X number of women in America to [undergo] illegal and dangerous operations.” But on NBC’s “Meet the Press” in May 2007, responding to a question about his statements in 1999, McCain said: “Well, it was in the context of conversation about having to change the culture of America as regards to this issue. I have stated time after time after time that Roe v. Wade was a bad decision.”

McCain has also voted in support of “backdoor” and “parental rights” pro-life issues.

[I]n 2004, he supported the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, which makes it a criminal offense to harm or kill a fetus while committing a violent crime – essentially deeming the fetus a person in the eyes of the law. In July 2006, McCain voted for legislation that would fine and/or imprison physicians who perform abortions on out-of-state minors if there are parental notification requirements in their home state. In October 2007, he voted for legislation that would cut Health and Human Services grants to organizations that perform abortions.

Regarding sex education, contraception and healthcare for low income women and children, McCain is positively midevil.

He opposed legislation requiring that abstinence-only programs be medically accurate and based in science. He voted to abolish funding for birth control and gynecological care for low-income women, and against funding for public education on emergency contraception. He also voted against a measure that would require insurance companies to cover prescription contraception, despite the fact that many currently fund male reproductive pharmaceuticals, such as Viagra.

This exchange between McCain and Adam Nagourney of the New York Times is chilling:

In March 2007, the New York Times’ Adam Nagourney asked McCain whether grants for sex education in the United States include instructions about using contraceptives, or if they should abide by Bush’s abstinence-only policy. After a pause, McCain responded, “Ahhh. I think I support the president’s policy.” Nagourney followed up: “So no contraception, no counseling on contraception? Just abstinence. Do you think contraceptives help stop the spread of HIV?” After another pause, McCain replied, “You’ve stumped me.”

He “thinks” he supports the president’s policy? And he has no clue as to whether or not contraceptives help stop the spread of HIV.

This man is a parent! It’s obvious McCain is completely out of the parenting loop, or he should be, since he has no clue.

Then there’s this exchange during the 2000 primary, after McCain was asked what he would do if his then-15 year old daughter became pregnant:

“The final decision would be made by Meghan with our advice and counsel,” McCain said, referring to himself and his wife, Cindy. When reporters suggested that this view made him, in fact, pro-choice, McCain became irritated. “I don’t think it is the pro-choice position to say that my daughter and my wife and I will discuss something that is a family matter that we have to decide.”

Um, that would be a pro-choice position, Mr McCain. Unless he’s confused about the definition of “choice,” which is very likely.

McCain had this to say about the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act (for which he didn’t vote either way):

“They need the education and training, particularly since more and more women are heads of their households, as much or more than anybody else. And it’s hard for them to leave their families when they don’t have somebody to take care of them.”

Wow. I think I just felt a pat on my head… The Ledbetter case was about 20 years of pay discrimination, not education and training. Who needs someone to take care of them…?

Frankly, this is only the tip of the iceberg. McCain is running for president of pasty-white rice cake rich old guys — not as president for ALL Americans. His ability to call his wife a trollop and a cunt in the presence of reporters, or at all, is an indication of his lack of respect for 50% of the population of this country.

Go here to read the whole article, it’s well worth the read.