I read in today’s New York Times that, according to a recent CNN/ORC poll, 31 percent
of Republican woman would be upset if Trump were to receive the GOP nomination.
This is an astonishing number. I mean, only 31 percent? What’s up with those
other 69 percent who wouldn’t be
upset? Haven’t they been paying attention?
I suppose we have to consider the alternatives
though. None of the Republican candidates are all that cool where women’s
issues like abortion rights are concerned. Again, from the New York Times, here’s a bit by columnist Gail Collins:
“One thing that all these guys have in common is a
desire to put themselves in charge of the reproductive rights of the entire
female half of the country. Trump used to be pro-choice, but he ‘evolved’ at some undisclosed point in the 21st century. Ted Cruz opposes abortion even in
cases of rape and incest. John Kasich is willing to allow a troubled teenager
to get an abortion if she’s seduced by her father, but not if the seducer is
the next-door neighbor. This is why Kasich’s the moderate.”
In order to understand what has led the Republican
Party to this point, I consulted my friend, Professor Fulano Sabelotodo at the Reagan-Milhouse Institute of Liberal Studies. Here’s what Professor S. told me:
“Look” [editor’s
note: Sabelotodo always says “Look” when he believes he’s about to dispel
all nonsense and offer us the real, authentic truth], “the Republican Party has
come a long way from its Lincolnite origins. Back in 1860, it was the party of
progress; it led the fight against slavery which was then defended by the Democrats. But in the 1960s, President Nixon decided the party needed to court as many
conservative southern whites as possible, and launched his ‘Southern Strategy.’
GOP leaders since then have faithfully gone along with this. But to hold on to these
voters, they had to do two things at once: 1. Promise to make the economy work
for working class whites, and, 2. Encourage them to blame foreigners and
minorities for their problems. It worked for a while, but now that the working
class has figured out the economic part was a con, they have decided to follow
Trump with his straight up bigotry. So, what started out as the Party of
Lincoln later evolved into the Party of Nixon, and now is about to give birth to
the Party of Trump.”
“I see, Professor S.,” I replied, “I’m grateful
for this clarification, but why all this stuff about abortion?”
Sabelotodo: “Look, the Southern Strategy would
only work if the Republican leaders pretended to be anti-abortion, because that
policy platform had become a kind of litmus test for the evangelical Christians
who made up a big part of the southern conservatives. So, you get Governor
Reagan ‘evolving’ away from his support for abortion rights when he became
Presidential Candidate Reagan – much to Nancy Reagan’s annoyance.”
“Okay, I see. But, Professor S., mention of the late
Nancy Reagan reminds me of the disturbing turn that the GOP campaigns have
taken recently. I’m talking about the trashing of the wives that the Trump and
Cruz supporters have been engaging in. The whole thing is creeping me out - not
only Trump’s tweets but also Cruz’s smarmily indignant posturing in defense of
his wife, Heidi.”
Sabelotodo: “Look, this whole scenario was quite
predictable”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because Trump is a consummate rodent-copulator
and Cruz is an unctuous phony.”
And so ended my enlightening interview with the
learned Sabelotodo.
Sadly, I had hoped that I would be able to avoid
being drawn into the squalid realm of political attacks aimed at spouses, but alas,
I am weak. With apologies for this character flaw, I give you pictures of two
spouses, one Melania’s, the other Heidi’s, in light of which I invite you to
judge the women who married them.
