When politicians oversimplify, everyone loses…
Gotta love Romney. According to the Boston Globe, he’s gunning for single mothers, ladies. He has decided that we need to stop our children from having babies before marriage. He has decided that single mothers are a problem. His solution? Marriage.
What an easy platform! How, pray tell, are we going to stop teen pregnancy when we’re not allowed to educate them on the proper use of birth control, when we bombard our girls with sexually explicit messages in the media and don’t counterbalance them with the tools those same girls need to develop self-love and self-respect? Marriage! People are still having sex, so let’s just marry them off so it doesn’t offend our sensibilities. Romney, if marriage were the solution, don’t you think more people would be doing it, and sticking with it?
Let’s legislate marriage, shall we? Let’s make marriage a campaign platform.
“Number one on my list is we have to teach our kids that before they have babies, they should get married,” Romney said to applause before a crowd of supporters at a hotel in Clinton. “Marriage comes first.”
And, of course, marriage will solve all the problems our inner cities face:
Later in the speech, while talking about healthcare to the largely rural crowd, he praised Bill Cosby’s message of personal responsibility, saying to thunderous applause, “Hats off to Bill Cosby… At least where I spent the last 30 years in Massachusetts, boy, if you could have more married couples in the inner city, wouldn’t it be a huge plus for our kids?”
Pay attention to your candidates, single mothers. What are they saying about you? What are they going to do for you? Cause from where I’m sitting, this guy is not playing to our crowd. If women actually went to the polls, we’d rule the US by now. VOTE, ladies.
VOTE.
Tags: Campaign-2008, political-clout, political-power, Romney, single-mom, single-mother, vote, womenRelated Stories
POSTED IN: activism
8 opinions for When politicians oversimplify, everyone loses…
FeeFiFoto
Oct 21, 2007 at 1:24 pm
In 1992 I was newly divorced and completely jaded at the thought of ever dating or marrying again. My niece was 2 and her brother was newborn, and I adored both of them; I had a crib and toys at my house and we spent a lot of time together. Still, I needed that deep security of knowing a child was truly mine.
And then Dan Quayle spoke up.
According to Wikipedia, he said: “[i]t doesn’t help matters when primetime TV has Murphy Brown—a character who supposedly epitomizes today’s intelligent, highly paid, professional woman — mocking the importance of fathers, by bearing a child alone, and calling it just another ‘lifestyle choice.’”
And I thought: “Hmm. I’m intelligent, well educated, financially secure, I have a supportive family… There’s no good reason why I shouldn’t have kids on my own if I don’t have a partner.
Now, I’m not “mocking the importance of fathers” as a single mom. My father’s great, and I know many other great dads too. I wish my kids had a dad, but they don’t; still, I can’t imagine my life without them.
But — what Quayle didn’t understand is that parenthood, by choice at least, is not a “lifestyle choice,” it’s a necessity; becoming a parent was simply something I HAD to do, with or without a partner, as compelling as the need to breathe.
So — all hail Dan Quayle, for doing me an unintentional favor that I bet would make him grind his teeth if he knew about it.
And — thanks to Mitt Romney, who I’m sure will have a similar effect on people like me who are still on the fence on the issue of becoming single parents.
navi
Oct 21, 2007 at 1:51 pm
Talking about government waste, he noted the federal government has 13 teen pregnancy prevention programs — and quipped that they must not be working. Later, he ridiculed Hillary Clinton’s now-abandoned proposal to give $5,000 to every baby “regardless of whether they have a mom and dad or not…”
I like Hillary’s “now-abandoned” proposal. That’s the better part of a year’s worth of child care for one kid. Maybe my hubby would have the time to find a job that paid more than the cost of childcare in that time… and single moms would have the money to put their kids in quality childcare and, and… but it’s now abandoned, nevermind…
methinks Mitt just dug himself a whole with those of us that aren’t ‘Christian Conservative leaders in Washington.’
navi
Oct 21, 2007 at 1:53 pm
um, the first paragraph is a quote from the article. And I meant ‘hole’ not ‘whole’… I need to proofread more often.
daisan
Oct 21, 2007 at 5:23 pm
*shakes fist* Talk about sticking your head in the sand. Ugh. I honestly believe attitudes like this are increasing the number of abortions in this country. Isn’t that a fine contribution for the Republican party to be making?
OBVIOUSLY it’s better to have a two parent family. Newsflash, Mitt: sometimes it doesn’t work out that way. Single mothers deserve a cup of tea, a hug and all the support they can get.
I’ll say something else, and no offense to the many good men who are out there, but if there were more good fathers we’d have a LOT fewer single mothers. How ’bout focusing the campaign on them, eh?
christina
Oct 21, 2007 at 9:38 pm
OH MY GOODNESS
You ladies so absolutely rock my world. I want to holler your words to the skies. Thank you so so much.
Tracee Sioux
Oct 22, 2007 at 4:36 pm
If Mitt Romney really valued families or mothers, working or otherwise, he’d have a plan like Hillary Clinton’s.
Extending benefits for the working family, extending the family medical leave act, more sick days, telecommuting policies, is the only way to get more face time between parents and kids.
kris
Mar 28, 2008 at 6:38 pm
I was an unmarried, university-educated, 30 year old when I found out I was pregnant. So I don’t know where I would fit in in his platform.
When my son was six months old, I discovered that his father already had a marriage certificate with someone else. Good thing I didn’t coerce him to marry me when I found out about the pregnancy, huh? Now, that would have been big-a-me! ;)
christina
Mar 30, 2008 at 12:24 pm
Woah, Kris. That would have been a mess, indeed.
:) But you got the best of that deal, didn’t you…
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