08.20.2012 11:03 PM

In today’s Sun: conservative and crazy

PORTLAND, MAINE – Folks in these parts are friendly. Their politicians, however, are crazier than an outhouse rat.

Especially the conservative ones.

As a people, Americans are outgoing, friendly and gregarious. If a Canadian paying a visit looks lost, or like she needs some help, there’ll be no shortage of Americans pausing to offer directions or lend a hand.

Their politicians, meanwhile — the Republican ones more than the Democratic ones — would just as soon shoot you than extend assistance. They’re a mean and miserly bunch, these stateside conservatives, and they’re plenty different from conservative politicos back home.

In recent days, the latest GOP cretin to achieve notoriety is Todd Akin, a Missouri congressman. Currently running for a Senate seat, Akin gave a TV interview in which he said women’s bodies are able to prevent pregnancy in the case of “legitimate rape.”

Like many conservatives, Akin opposes abortion even in cases of rape or incest. When asked to expound on his views, Akin stated that it was “really rare” for a woman to get pregnant in such cases.
“If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to shut that whole thing down,” he said.

11 Comments

  1. Np says:

    “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: DEMOCRACY DOESN’T WORK”
    Kent Brockman of the Simpsons

  2. Dan says:

    My idea of Canada will always have room for the Progressive Conservatives. If only so someone will ask “how much does it cost?” That’s not being ideological. That’s being practical. Frankly, I’m glad to see all three major parties ask this question.

    What’s ideological is the “government never does anything good” crowd. (Let alone the “government is the biggest threat to liberty” crowd.) Ideology allows you to get away with not thinking, and instead relying on a stock answer that supposedly works in every situation.

    In a sense, ideology is a form of stupidity.

    • Which certainly applies to lLiberal ideology, NDP ideology, Rhinocerous party ideology and on and on as well.

      • Dan says:

        Agreed. I think knee-jerk “centrism” and knee-jerk “corporations are evil” is just as bad. There’s a time for public solutions, a time for private solutions, and a time for something in between.

  3. Michel says:

    Uhh… What exactly is a “legitimate rape”? Is it different from “despicable” rape? Isn’t rape, well, rape…?

    These people are insane; a clear insight into the inherent nastiness of their closed little minds.

    • don craig says:

      “these people”? I believe only one said it. the rest have condemned what was said.. a clear insight into your narrow insight.

  4. WestcoastJim says:

    Warren

    Two quick points:

    1. What do you have against outhouse rats. I am sure they are offended to be included in the same sentence as offensive creep. You also should note that this is a postion that Paul Ryan has publicly supported.

    “Like Akin, Ryan is a co-sponsor of the “Sanctity of Human Life Act,” a so-called personhood measure that defines life as beginning at “fertilization, cloning or its functional equivalent” and empowers the federal and state governments to pass laws to protect life from that point on. The bill makes no exception for rape.

    Ryan has voted in favor of a restriction on federal funding for abortions — known as the Hyde Amendment — that includes exceptions when a pregnancy results from rape or incest, or endangers the life of the mother. The amendment, which has changed over the years, has maintained broad enough support in part because hard-line abortion foes have been willing to accept the exemptions to ensure that the basic ban stays in place.

    Ryan also was a co-sponsor of legislation banning taxpayer funding for abortions that included exemptions for “forcible rape,” incest and the endangerment of the mother’s life. Before the House passed that bill, known as the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, the word “forcible” was removed because it offended some Republicans.”

    See – http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0812/79887.html

    2. Harper is smart enough to know that a number of his caucus members hold similarly offensive and small minded views. That is one of the reasons he does not allow them to speak off-script. You may recall another conservative leader in this country who liked to speak off script when he thought that there were no cameras in the room.

    • Jon Adams says:

      “You may recall another conservative leader in this country who liked to speak off script when he thought that there were no cameras in the room.”

      And he was the most wildly popular premier of Alberta since the days of Lougheed; there’s no accounting for taste. Some people love evil garbage like Akin.

    • Robert Jago says:

      From what I remember, wasn’t there recently some celebration round these parts because some similarly ignorant, offensive, and small minded ‘Liberal’ sh*t got an election thrown out? Seems like we should all be smart enough to know that each party – including the Liberals, the NDP and Greens – hold offensive views.

      The difference between us and them in the States, is that outside of the editorial pages of the Sun chain and the front rooms of the Parti Quebecois, everyone in this country agrees on the basic facts of pretty much every issue.

  5. Kevin says:

    Eve Ensler’s article is very powerful. You can feel the rage behind it.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eve-ensler/todd-akin-rape_b_1812930.html?utm_hp_ref=canada&ir=Canada

  6. Philippe says:

    As we know Warren Harper’s done a masterful job at keeping his yahoos under the hood. There are some up here as well in the CPC & if they were allowed to speak their minds publicly, I suspect we’d hear some pretty wild stuff.

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