Mom Politics
November 1, 2010
LINDA MCMAHON, the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Connecticut, is one of many smart, engaging, and well-spoken female GOP candidates making last-minute pitches today. Here’s a three-hankie ad by McMahon (click the rally ad on her main page) in which she talks of being approached by a “single mom.” The woman is in tears because she has lost her job and takes the candidate’s hand to plead her case. “Please when you get to Washington don’t forget about me. Don’t forget about the moms like me who are struggling.”
“I’m not going to forget,” McMahon says. “I can picture her eyes right now. I can feel her hand in mine and those are the things that move me so much so I’m not going to forget.” Welcome to mom politics. Watch and weep. Gone are the days when conservative candidates lamented the existence of single moms. Now they openly pander to them. A cultural revolution of unwed motherhood is sweeping the land. Conservatives adjust their message accordingly.
McMahon promises in another ad to work for “working moms” and “stay-at-home moms.” The interests of working moms and stay-at-home moms are often radically opposed, but those are just details and promises are promises. The point is, if you are a mom, Linda will work for you. Good moms. Bad moms. Big moms. Small moms. Washington has something for all.
‘Mom’ is the perfect buzz word for a false, sentimental, matriarchal age. No one can say no to a mom.
— Comments —
Karen I. writes:
There are many things I don’t like about Linda McMahon, but I will vote for her tomorrow. As a Catholic, I take seriously my obligation to vote for those who will be least harmful to the unborn. Few politicians are anti-abortion in liberal Connecticut, so the best voters who oppose abortion can do is vote for the candidate who has the least liberal abortion stance. In this case, McMahon is clearly the better choice.
McMahon stated her views on abortion on her website. It says, “I am pro-choice. However, I oppose partial-birth abortion and federal funding of abortions unless a mother’s life is at stake. I am in favor of parental notification / parental consent legislation.” From what I have read, pro-choice organizations seem concerned she will be even more of a threat to the “right to choose” if she is elected.
In contrast, Blumenthal has a well-documented history of support and advocacy for abortion on demand, regardless of the circumstances. On his website, he states “I will fight to protect a woman’s right to choose and to ensure that abortion remains safe, legal and rare.” Blumenthal has the support of several pro-choice organizations, and according to the website for Planned Parenthood Southern New England, they are looking for volunteers to make calls today to help get Blumenthal elected. In a CT Mirror article dated Oct. 10, Nancy Keenan, President of NARAL Pro-Choice called Blumenthal “a proven ace.”
Neither candidate is a good choice when it comes to the issue of abortion but McMahon is clearly the lesser of the two evils. I cannot see how anyone can vote for Blumenthal and still call themselves Catholic.
Laura writes:
I would vote for her too if I lived in Connecticut.
