The Truth about McCain and Women's Rights

You get involved in politics and you realize how insane some of it can get.

A good example, Arianna Huffington writes about the female Hillary supporters who also think they will like McCain:

We've seen the exit polls. We've read the unequivocal quotes. Many women who are avowed Hillary Clinton supporters are declaring they won't vote for Barack Obama in the fall.

I get the anger and the disappointment. But to quote SNL's Amy Poehler and Seth Meyers: Really? You'd rather vote for John McCain, a man who has a 25-year history of voting against a woman's right to choose? A man who over the last eight years that NARAL has released a pro-choice scorecard has received a 0 percent rating (in his time in office, Obama has received a 100 percent rating)? A man whose campaign website says he believes Roe v. Wade "must be overturned"? A man who has vowed that, as president, he will be "a loyal and unswerving friend of the right to life movement"?

Really?

In Clinton vs. Obama, the policy differences were minor (hence the overriding focus on minutiae like flag pins, Bosnian sniper fire, and the real meaning of "bitter"). In McCain vs. Obama, the differences are enormous. Staying the course in Iraq vs. ending an unnecessary and immoral war. Universal health care vs. less regulation for insurance companies. Rolling back the Bush tax cuts vs. making them permanent.

And nowhere is the difference more profound than with reproductive rights.

For anyone -- male or female -- who cares about reproductive rights, family planning, and women's health issues, the choice this fall is not even close.
....
The only way John McCain can win is if his reactionary views on choice and women's health issues remain obscured by his faux maverick reputation and the blinding disappointment of Clinton die-hards.

I agree with Arianna. I have seen many older women who right now are so ticked off they can't think straight because of the way they feel Hillary has been treated and her being denied her rightful place. They almost view it as a personal attack on themselves and all they have gone through. I want to get in their face and say "This is not an attack on her or you!"

Hillary captured the hearts and minds of older women voters. Obama did the same for most younger voters and many well-educated. Obama supporters saw there were little differences in their positions but saw a few that were in Obama's favor. A huge majority of Obama supporters could support either. But then the Clinton campaign started the desperate anything to win phase.

Sigh...

We could still use Sen. Hillary Clinton's tenacity and experience in the White House - as VP. Her experience on the campaign trial and her attack dog posture would be good as a campaign running mate to Barack Obama. That is the best she can hope for. If she wants it. If her judgement returns.

The sooner her campaign and her supporters realize she has lost and join with other Democrats to stop a man and a party deeply opposed to their beliefs the better off the Democratic Party will be. The better off America will be.

Tags: Obama, Clinton, McCain, Arianna Huffington, VP, women's rights, come together, it's over