United Liberty

Well, I was interested in the substance of your post until you dropped the “baby as punishment” canard. I’m amazed at the lengths people will go to in order to distract from the substance of his common-sense statement. He’s a father, he was clearly not saying that babies are “punishment.” What he said was as a parent, he would want his teenagers to be informed of the risks that come with certain behaviors. What’s so radical about that?

It’s always a sure sign that someone knows how weak their argument is when they have to base it on lies about the other guy.

Hey, Jim. Thanks for posting here.

He did say that a baby would be a punishment for certain set of behavior, categorizing it along with an STD. Is Obama like the far leftists I’ve met here in SF who think that there should be mandatory abortion for “stupid people?” No, there’s no reason for me to think that, but he is certainly views things far differently than those that are pro-life.

Perhaps if there were a pattern of statements from Obama that illustrated your point better, I’d see what you’re saying. So far, though, all you have is a snippet that is pretty much out of context or at least open to interpretation.

Look at the rest of his answer:

“This is a very difficult issue, and I understand sort of the passions on both sides of the issue. I have two precious daughters - they are miracles.”

This is an example where good people can disagree. The question then is, are there areas that we can agree to that everybody can get behind? We can all agree that we want to reduce teen pregnancies. We can all agree that we want to make sure adoption is a viable option, too.”

This isn’t the sort of baby-hating stuff that the extreme Right likes to cast pro-choice people as. Obama favors a more comprehensive approach to sex education than includes, but is not limited to, abstinence. Ultimately, this is something he’s said parents should be much more involved in in shaping the views and decisions their teenagers make. That seems eminently sensible to me. There’s simply no evidence that he’s someone who views children as a “punishment,” despite this badly-phrased but sensible answer.

As far as seeing things differently from those who are “pro-life,” (and I have major problems with that misnomer), the hardcore members of that movement have been working for years to limit access to contraception while still telling us that they’re simply in favor of reducing abortions. Though abstinence is the best way not to get pregnant, contraception has to be a pretty close second. Their absolute opposition to it tells us more than we need to know about their true agenda.

There’s plenty to disagree with Obama about, and his pro-choice stance certainly qualifies, if you’re so inclined. But this “punished with a baby” stuff is a stretch. It’s along the same lines as the “won’t say the pledge of allegiance,” “secret Muslim” and “whitey tape” garbage that’s been floating around.

Well, your stance is certainly more sensible and middle of the road than most, which isn’t a surprise.

When it comes to contraceptives, I think private businesses that don’t want to sell them have a perfect right not to, as they would have a right not to sell alcohol or cigarettes or trans fatty foods. They also should have the right to sell them. I don’t view it on par with abortion.

When it comes to this issue, though, I’ll admit there is more emotion to it than a libertarian who tries to exercise reason like myself needs. =P