Republicans wade into dangerous waters, again


I’ve been applying for a new job like mad and have been on two promising interviews this week. One for a web publishing position that would fit me like a glove and actually pays a living wage. But today in Texas it is icy and cold, so lets us blog and surf the day away.

There’s much apologizing and spinning over the comments of Mike Huckabee and Rep. Steve Pearce’s (R-NM) memoir, “Just Fly the Plane, Stupid!” Huckabee might have been trying to paint progressives as anti-women but he went way off the rails. Pearce channeled his inner cleric and wrote in his book that women should “submit to their husbands,” and that’s not going over real well, either. I’ve placed the Huckabee video below to avoid auto play issues:

SF Gate — — Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee told fellow Republicans on Thursday that rival Democrats were trying to win over female voters by promising them free birth control and telling them “they cannot control their libido or their reproductive system without the help of the government.” Huckabee made the comment as he was making a pitch that the GOP needs to broaden its appeal and end its internal divisiveness.

Oh, women can’t control their libido? Wow, talk about projection. In point of fact 1) it’s not free birth control paid for by the government. It’s birth control covered under standard insurance polices offered by private companies that have to include preventative care including birth control and other services. Second point, Huckabee is now officially a world class ass-hat.

Here’s Pearce’s contribution summed up:

WaPo — He said that, in his family’s experience, this meant that his wife, Cynthia, would submit to him and he would lead. “The wife is to voluntarily submit, just as the husband is to lovingly lead and sacrifice,” he writes, citing the Bible. “The husband’s part is to show up during the times of deep stress, take the leadership role and be accountable for the outcome, blaming no one else.” Pearce, who is Baptist, emphasizes repeatedly in the chapter that submission doesn’t mean inferiority but rather that husbands and wives play different roles. He also says it doesn’t mean his wife doesn’t have a say in major decisions.

Let’s not mince words here. The GOP has a big, big problem in modern western society. They have a huge and indispensable block of voters who have been taught, misinformed, and lied into believing women are second-class citizens and that’s how God wants it. It’s not just abortion, not by a long shot. These clowns hate contraception, some of them work against equal pay and other rights most civilized countries take for granted.

Republican strategist aren’t stupid. They know this is real shaky territory for their candidates and have advised them again and again to shut the fuck up. But, while it might be bad for the movement, it’s great for the wingnut grifting racket to tell troglodytes want they want and have been conditioned to hear. I don’t think they’re going to be able to stop it, because it pays off for individual schemers within the conservative party to continue writing and talking about. Huckabee is being defended as a stalwart hero for women’s rights as I blog this very article. He’s fundraising off of it.

If Clinton runs in 2016 and can tap into that disaffected vote, the election could be blow out of Biblical proportions.

Comments

  1. machintelligence says

    And just think of what the Republican rhetoric will be like assuming Hillary is the candidate!
    Or give them a double whammy — a Clinton – Warren ticket.

  2. New England Bob says

    It is so funny that this lying, god-soaked moron can twist reality into something unrecognizable.

  3. Matt G says

    I don’t think women are supposed to even speak in public, according to the Bible. So all you Republican females running for office will have to come up with a different campaign strategy.

  4. Randomfactor says

    Women control their libido just fine, thank you. What birth control allows them to do is control their FERTILITY.

    And it enrages Huxterbee that they’re allowed to control ANYTHING.

  5. Trebuchet says

    Huckabee is now claiming it was a joke, or hyperbole, or something. I’d find you a link but my internet isn’t working very well.

  6. tubi says

    Here’s one response. It was “taken out of context.” Which is bullshit. Even when they post the whole quote, it still maligns women for relying on their insurance to help pay for prescriptions.

    Caution: The comments there will make you want to grip something strongly with your hands and squeeze.

  7. Reginald Selkirk says

    And just think of what the Republican rhetoric will be like assuming Hillary is the candidate!

    But remember, it’s not because she’s black a woman, it’s because she’s a liberal.

  8. Ysidro says

    At work this morning someone turned on Fox News. I got to hear them talk about how “the mainstream media” and “the Democrats” are upset at Huckabee’s comments because they want to control women’s bodies and don’t think women can make decisions for themselves.

    They said this with a straight face.

  9. says

    I keep hearing on MSNBC, the halfway sane network after 8 AM Central when MoJoe mercifully ceases broadcasting for the weekday, that they have a messaging problem. No, they have a message problem, as in the underlaying message itself is deeply offensive, it’s offensive as hell to me, and I’ve been accused plenty of times for not being supportive enough. There is no way you can spin “You are a giant slutty sinner welfare queen rape crying faker” and make it sound nice to the vast majority of non hard core wingnuts.

    Huckabee has clearly gone full huckster. He’s priming for a fake and very lucrative grifter run in 2016.

  10. says

    If Clinton runs in 2016 and can tap into that disaffected vote, the election could be blow out of Biblical proportions.

    If the dems are smart they’ll pull a move like the republicans did – offer up some candidate that’s not got a lot of baggage, who they can groom as the hope&change candidate. Oh, wait.

  11. doublereed says

    Huckabee has clearly gone full huckster. He’s priming for a fake and very lucrative grifter run in 2016.

    Huckabee has been full huckster for a looooong time. I’m actually not sure what he’s still doing in politics. He always sounds to me like he wants to be a pastor (or reverend or priest or w/e). Just go be a pastor and spread your BS to a congregation, sheesh.

  12. noreligionrequired says

    Damn those women getting pregnant by themselves! Careful Mr Huckabee your chauvinistic views are peaking out! It really saddens me that the Religious Right are standing behind this dumbass screaming their amen’s and hallelujah’s not knowing how badly they are disrespecting women. I have to remember that women are only property to them so they think that justifies their ignorance. I hate to break it to Mr. Huckabee but we are now officially living in the 21st century and women have rights these days. The whole concept of women being submissive to their husbands shows just how ignorant you are.

    http://noreligionrequired.blogspot.com
    https://www.facebook.com/noreligionreq

  13. Trebuchet says

    @11: Huckabee was a pastor (Baptist) long before he was a politician. You can take the clown out of the pulpit but you can’t take the pulpit out of the clown.

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