The traditional "Eggs and Issues" breakfast at the beginning of the legislative session may take on a whole new meaning this year with the "Human Life Amendment" on the table for this session. I posted about this yesterday, and Catherine Morgan over at Political Voices of Women picked it up today with this comment:My Opinion: This is the kind of thing that really infuriates me. With issues like the war, our broken healthcare system, education, the economy, and so on and so on…Tricking the voting public with wedge issues like this makes me sick. The only thing worse than using a wedge issue to manipulate the voting public, is a wedge issue that will take take away personal rights of women…This is an infuriating story.
This is a national issue for the next election cycle as republicans seek to put this on the ballot in critical states. It's wedge issue politics, and I agree with Catherine: the only thing worse than a wedge is a wedge that tramples on women's most basic rights.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Eggs at Issue
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3 comments:
I think we need to be careful when we throw around labels like “wedge issue.” The right to life is more than a “political strategy” to millions of American women (Democrats and Republicans), who believe that an embryo is just as human as a baby outside the womb.
There really is a difference of opinion and basic philosophy of life, so I guess you would be right in saying it is a wedge. I just don’t think we can accuse the other side of trying to “trick” the public, by asking them to vote. It seems that is the definition of choice. I welcome votes on controversial issues like this.
PS. I came through Political Voices of Women.
Hi, Sarah, I'm glad you stopped by. Actually,I'm sticking to my guns on this one. There are plenty of people at the grassroots who feel strongly one way or the other about the issue of when life begins and what protections should be offered. I can deal with those differences, but this piece of legislation is a wedge issue-a political strategy that plays on those strongly held beliefs and divides voters into camps. Political operatives devised the strategy and it is designed to put an issue up for a vote that will drive certain voters to the pollsin several key states. I believe that there are plenty of politicans who do not care one bit about the substance of this issue, but they are willing to use it to get people to vote for them-or against others.
I will be posting my thoughts about the actual merits of the legislation and hope you will stop by for the discussion.
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