Delete Alito Talking Points / DU Anti-Sexism Primer

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January 8th Meet The Press had a lively discussion between Kate O’Beirne, twisted RW author of “Women Who Make the World Worse” and Kate Michelman, former president of NARAL, author of “With Liberty and Justice for All.”

Ms. Michelman is an exceptional communicator and made points that will help DUers educate friends, family and co-workers about the women's rights issues relevant to the Alito Supreme Court nomination. "What is at issue is the individual right to privacy and dignity for American women and the issue of who’s going to get to decide the most intimate aspects of our lives."

:patriot:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10721401/page/3/

RE: DEMONIZATION OF FEMINISM

MS. MICHELMAN: Well, I think that the conservative movement has spent a lot of years denigrating, demonizing feminism, and the word has received a lot of flak for—interesting—for a simple belief in the social, political and economic equality of the sexes. I mean, that’s what feminism was and is about and continues to be important in addressing the inequities in society that exist for women. And I don’t think feminism is dead. I do agree that the word has been so demonized that many young women don’t identify with the word, but interestingly enough, the irony is that even though some young women don’t identify with the label feminism—actually, they’re rejecting all kinds of labels today—they fully embrace the ideals that feminism set forth; you know, equal opportunity, equal education, equal pay, reproductive freedom and choice, the right to determine the course of one’s life. That is what feminism was really about. And...

RE: RESPECTING CHOICE WHEN IT'S NOT YOUR CHOICE TO MAKE

MR. RUSSERT: Can you be a pro-life, pro-anti-abortion rights feminist?

MS. MICHELMAN: You can be a feminist and oppose the act of abortion on moral and ethical, religious, on personal grounds; absolutely can be. And, in fact, many people who are pro-choice in terms of their beliefs that the policies of this nation should respect the diversity of views on these issues related to pregnancy and childbearing, abortion, and reproductive matters, that there is a diversity of views and they are informed by one’s values, as they are mine. My personal values informed my decision about abortion. But you can be absolutely anti-abortion, if you will, and pro-choice; believing that women ultimately, not the government, not Dennis Hastert and Tom DeLay and Bill Frist, but women themselves must determine the course of their lives, and central to that determining the course of their lives is determining when and under what circumstances they will become mothers. Because the thing that most women want is to be successful at mothering. And the first ingredient is being able to determine when that time is right and not being forced by the government and by politicians or by judges to bear a child under circumstances of one—not of one’s choosing. So I...

RE: LANGUAGE MATTERS

MS. MICHELMAN: Could I speak to this “abortion on demand”?  I have to comment about this because I hear it over and over and over again. First of all, I ran a Planned Parenthood affiliate for years. I have been with women who have faced the decision about whether or not to have an abortion. I have never heard a woman demand to have an abortion. I think that that language reveals the lack of respect that those who oppose abortion have for women who face crises. We’ve got to get rid of that language. And Roe does not guarantee women a right to abortion without restrictions. It balanced rights of women to have an abortion in the earlier stages of pregnancy, and allows the states to restrict in the post-viability, roughly last trimester.

RE: PRINCIPLES OF DIGNITY AND PRIVACY FOR WOMEN

MR. RUSSERT: Are the Democrats changing their vocabulary on abortion, because to Kate’s point, the political—the politics are changing?

MS. MICHELMAN: You know, I think those public comments and that public angsting after the 2004 presidential election was unfortunate because the principle that underlies a pro-choice position are the principles of dignity and privacy for women. Abortion rights and reproductive freedom and choice needs to be seen in the larger context of individual liberties, of women determining the course of their lives and having control over their lives. I think that was unfortunate. I’m reminded of the ‘92 election when President Clinton was elected. The House and the Senate were under control of Democrats. The political pundits were writing the obituary of the right wing and the conservative movement, and you didn’t see the conservatives sort of back away from their values or their principles. They didn’t give up and start publicly talking about changing their language. What they did is they stayed focused on their values and that’s what we need to do. And the right to choose is an ex—the right to choose, the right of the individual woman to be guaranteed, to be free from the government and political interference in making this decision is a right that is embraced by the majority of Americans. There may be different views on the individual act of abortion, but in terms of who should make the decision, whether it’s government and politicians or women, there is universal acceptance that women must make...

MR. RUSSERT: But the Democrats want to recapture control of the Congress and the White House.

MS. MICHELMAN: They do, and they can do it on these principles.

[GrpCaptMandrake]

1. We can also make it a lot simpler

by pointing out two of (m)Alito's opinions.

In one, he sanctioned the strip-searching of a ten year old girl. Ewwwwwwwwwww! :puke:

In the other, he sanctioned the broom-handle anal rape of a mentally retarded man. :puke: :puke:

Let's see if America agrees with either of those scenarios!

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3. ...plus his eyes are creepy

:evilfrown:

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2. "Why doesn't he just say it?"

RUSSERT:
That seems very clear, his personal view and his legal view, arguing that the Constitution does not provide a right to an abortion. Why can’t Judge Alito come forward and say, “This is my view. I don’t find the right of abortion in the Constitution”?  Why doesn’t he just say it?

<>

MR. RUSSERT: If he became a Supreme Court justice he could very well say, “I don’t see a right in the Constitution to an abortion. I don’t think Roe v. Wade was not decided appropriately and I’m overruling it.”  He has that right, and he very well could do it based on what he has said in 1985.

<>

MR. RUSSERT: But shouldn’t the American people have the right to hear Judge Alito say, “I believe that there is no right to abortion in the Constitution, but I will respect the 30-some-year precedent of Roe v. Wade and not overrule it,” or “I believe the right does not exist, and I therefore am honor-bound to overrule it”?

<>

SEN. SCHUMER: Tim, two points here. First, you’re exactly right. He should state what he thinks. In a sense, he’s not in the position that John Roberts was. John Roberts never said anything about abortion. You couldn’t—you know, he might have represented Ronald Reagan when he worked for him, but no one knew his view. And so when he said, “I will follow precedent,” well, a lot of people said, “OK. I think he will.”

Judge Alito has stated unequivocally, just as you said, not only his personal view on pro-life, on pro- choice—we approved lots of judges who were pro-life. I’m very strongly pro-choice, but I voted for 190 judges who were pro-life that the president has nominated. But he has stated his constitutional view, his legal view, and that is that the Constitution does not provide for a right to an abortion. The worst thing that could happen with Judge Alito is if he tries to duck the question. Let him say, as you said, one way or the another, he doesn’t agree but he’ll respect precedent or this is one of those precedents that should be re-examined and turned over. But if he says, “I can’t answer that question ‘cause it might show bias,” which is what John Roberts said, he can’t do that because he’s already shown bias not in a pejorative sense. He’s shown his view on this.

MR. RUSSERT: Well, if he has 51 votes, he can do it.

SEN. SCHUMER: Well, you know—but that’s the issue here. And we Democrats...

MR. RUSSERT: If he did that, would you filibuster?

SEN. SCHUMER: Well, it would certainly—if he continued to do that on all of these issues that I mentioned, if he ducked the question, the American people have a right to answer and we know what’s going on here. Seventy percent of the American people say they don’t want a justice nominated who would overturn Roe v. Wade.

MR. RUSSERT: No, but on the question of abortion, if he in your mind ducks that question, is that enough to filibuster?

SEN. SCHUMER: You can’t judge on one specific question. If he continuously given his previous record refuses to answer questions and hid behind this shibboleth, I can’t answer this ‘cause it might come before me, it would increase the chance of a filibuster, absolutely.

[GrpCaptMandrake]

4. Reminds me of the scene from "Life of Brian"

where Stan (played by Eric Idle) wants to be called "Loretta" b/c he wants to have babies. Reg (John Cleese) asks him "Where's the fetus going to gestate? Are you going to keep it in a box?!"

The point is, neither Alito nor any other male on planet earth (including me) has a "constitutional right to an abortion." It's that whole ain't-got-a-uterus thing that keeps getting in the way.

And yet the vast majority of anti-abortion activists/protesters/bombers/nutjobs are pasty-faced old doughy white guys.

For me, I don't need any stunning legal gymnastics: the right to an abortion is in the Fourth Amendment. If a government tells a woman what she may do with her body, that woman has been subjected to a warrantless search and seizure, for her womb is certainly no longer her own.

When Repiglicans say there's no right to an abortion in the Constitution, they betray their bigotry. There's no right to drive to work in an automobile, either, but I don't see them hoofing it to work.

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6. Women are not incubators

but a lot of the Rong Wing ill-logic views reproduction as an automated process which just happens to happen inside those things called women.

Thank You for the perspective. Nicely done.

[GrpCaptMandrake]

7. My pleasure

Way back when Mom and Dad taught me that "mind your own business" should've been one of the commandments, I took it to heart.

The anti-choice movement has at its core a bigoted terror of an empowered female. Almost every Republican "policy" has bigotry at its core, but its bigotry against women is, I believe, its most profound.

On a separate note, Americans need to understand that overturning Roe isn't what the Wrong-wing is ultimately after. It's Griswold v. Connecticut they *really* want to eliminate (that's where the "right to privacy" originates, along with legal birth control on a national basis). And that should scare the bee-geezus out of every person in this country.

[omega minimo]

8. "anti-choice movement - at its core bigoted terror of an empowered female"

wow



"Way back when Mom and Dad taught me that "mind your own business" should've been one of the commandments, I took it to heart."

Yeah, Jesus had to come along and tell it like this: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

Not the Dubya version "Do unto me once, catch me if you can, won't get fooled again." :evilgrin:

"The anti-choice movement has at its core a bigoted terror of an empowered female. Almost every Republican "policy" has bigotry at its core, but its bigotry against women is, I believe, its most profound."

GrpCaptMandrake for Pretzeldunce!!!11 :applause: :toast:


"On a separate note, Americans need to understand that overturning Roe isn't what the Wrong-wing is ultimately after. It's Griswold v. Connecticut they *really* want to eliminate (that's where the "right to privacy" originates, along with legal birth control on a national basis). And that should scare the bee-geezus out of every person in this country."

This point was hinted at somehow in your previous post-- brought to mind that the way things are going, when it gets down to private and/or medical decisions being controlled by government that affect more people (i.e. more wo/men who may not get the concept yet) more people might start gettin the concept.

Happy New Year GCM you have capped off a brilliant weekend; after meeting Cindy S and Sean P and actually getting some new insights, feels good.....

[CTyankee]

9. You are so right!

Griswold is a big problem for wingers. It was substantial in the Texas sodomy case the Sup. Ct decided in 2003, so wingers hate it on two accounts. They clearly don't want us to have a right of privacy when it comes to our sex lives. They feel a need to regulate it. But they know they'll have a problem if they go after Griswold that way because it would enrage straight white men who may not give a rat's patooty for women's or gay's rights. But, hey, keep out of my jockey shorts, buddy, with your laws!

[omega minimo]

10. They disassemble-- we connect dots

:bounce:

[AtomicKitten]

5. The Repubs would like to paint this as his opposition to abortion.

The myriad of that and his other offensive positions makes him ineligible to serve on the Supreme Court.
I really think the Dems are going to spread their questioning around to cover a variety of his opinions so this will not be tagged an ideological divide. And I do believe they are biding their time to filibuster this quack. No sense stepping in it early and being accused of it being a knee-jerk reaction. Besides surprises are so much more fun. By then the Repubs will be weakened by the Abramoff scandal and won't dare (ha, we wish!) pull the "nuclear option." I predict a battle royale.

[bettyellen]

11. k+R

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12. Thom Hartmann: Lindsay Graham coached Alito how to answer questions posed

by the confirmation committee that Graham sits on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11 He coached the nominee he will be voting for?!!!!

:puke:

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13. And there's that Unitary Executive thing

:bounce:

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14. You have One Party Rule-- Ready for One Person Rule?

:thumbsdown:

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15. Kick for reality check

Mary Jo Kopechne, crocodile tears and Nader voters fade in comparison

[spooky3]

16. wish I had seen this earlier, to K&R it--thanks

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17. Cheers then

:toast:

[AX10]

18. Thanks. Copied and Saved.

:kick:

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19. Useful next time the redundant bigotry wars flame on DU

If you can, check out the video-- even better!! :hi:

Best job of any person of any gender I've seen handle a Rong Wing freak with deft skill and calm confidence. Good example of using wit rather than "balls" or trying to outbully the bullies.

More please!

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21. Men-- you don't have to understand, just comprehend

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20. Public service

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