Why I Shouldn't Blog About Politics . . .
Political ideologues can whip trivial episodes and misstatements into a frenzy faster than a washing machine during a heavy duty spin cycle. They engage in all the fallacies we're told to avoid: false analogy (comparing health insurance to car insurance), circular arguments (terrorists don't want TSA screenings, so if you complain about airport screenings you're a terrorist), ad hominem attacks (President Obama is a fascist, socialist, etc.)--you get the idea.
Political pundits usually get everything half-right, or half-wrong, depending on which side of the aisle you sit . . . and just when you think someone is getting unduly chastised by a rabid politico along comes a politician who does something so incredibly idiotic that you just can't help wondering how they got elected in the first place.
Enter Michele Bachmann.
No, it wasn't something she said at a political rally, some over the top promise made to supporters, it was something she signed called The Marriage Vow. With its subtitle "A Declaration of Dependence Upon Marriage and Family," it could be seen as just another inane promise from a conservative candidate to conservative followers, but one bullet point in the introduction (which has now been removed) read:
Slavery had a disastrous impact on African-American families, yet sadly a child born into slavery in 1860 was more likely to be raised by his mother and father in a two-parent household than was an African-American baby born after the election of the USA’s first African-American President.
As they text: AYK?
Not only is this completely insensitive, but every school student in American knows slaves had no control over their households and were not allowed to marry. Mothers, fathers, and children could be separated and sold off at the whim of their masters (and often were). Julie Summa, a spokeswoman for the Family Leader the author of the vow, responded by saying, “After careful deliberation and wise insight and input from valued colleagues we deeply respect, we agree that the statement referencing children born into slavery can be misconstrued."
Misconstrued? Again: AYK?
Michele (and Julie) dust of the dunce cap and go take a time out.
Political pundits usually get everything half-right, or half-wrong, depending on which side of the aisle you sit . . . and just when you think someone is getting unduly chastised by a rabid politico along comes a politician who does something so incredibly idiotic that you just can't help wondering how they got elected in the first place.
Enter Michele Bachmann.
No, it wasn't something she said at a political rally, some over the top promise made to supporters, it was something she signed called The Marriage Vow. With its subtitle "A Declaration of Dependence Upon Marriage and Family," it could be seen as just another inane promise from a conservative candidate to conservative followers, but one bullet point in the introduction (which has now been removed) read:
Slavery had a disastrous impact on African-American families, yet sadly a child born into slavery in 1860 was more likely to be raised by his mother and father in a two-parent household than was an African-American baby born after the election of the USA’s first African-American President.
As they text: AYK?
Not only is this completely insensitive, but every school student in American knows slaves had no control over their households and were not allowed to marry. Mothers, fathers, and children could be separated and sold off at the whim of their masters (and often were). Julie Summa, a spokeswoman for the Family Leader the author of the vow, responded by saying, “After careful deliberation and wise insight and input from valued colleagues we deeply respect, we agree that the statement referencing children born into slavery can be misconstrued."
Misconstrued? Again: AYK?
Michele (and Julie) dust of the dunce cap and go take a time out.
Another outrageous comment from a person who collects them like i used to collect stamps growing up!
ReplyDeleteIt reminded me of her reference to a John Wayne when she went to a town in Iowa, she didn't realize that the John Wayne from this town was not the famous movie star but a notorious serial killer or when she states that there are no studies on negative effect of carbon dioxide...
To think that a person like that is able to have such an important position in politics and was credible at some point for the presidential election is just scary!