It’s actually quite simple, and I believe it plays directly in to why Democrats and Barack Obama specifically support the court’s decision. Abortions will happen, regardless of what the law says. The goal of Roe v. Wade was to make clear the conditions under which abortions should be legal, to minimize the overall number of abortions and to give women a choice. Before Roe v. Wade, this was all-too-often the choice of women in America.

This detail is often omitted from the mainstream media’s coverage of the heated debate. ProChoice.org offers a history of abortion, including back-alley abortions which were the crux of the argument against making abortion illegal. Here’s a link to the original decision, provided by FindLaw. Here’s a recent article from the Boston Globe about how we achieved a culture of pro-choice in this country and how it figures to play a role in the upcoming election. CNN has also recently published a piece on the lack of a shift in public opinion over the last 15 years and how it also plays a role in many other key issues, such as women’s rights and stem cell research. 

The Roe decision did not prompt “abortion on demand,” as many opponents of the procedure predicted it would. 

Barack Obama has repeatedly stated that his goal and aims for being pro-Choice is to reduce the overall number of abortions. Only a nut like Sean Hannity could misconstrue Obama’s words on this issue.

Nobody is pro-Abortion.  The argument is not pro-Life vs. pro-Abortion, it is simply a matter of choice. Should women have control over their own bodies? Banning abortion will not stop abortion, just as making abortion legal did not create a culture of “abortion on demand”. Personally I wouldn’t choose abortion for myself, but my own choice of life is what helps me respect a woman’s right to choose.

Health Care for America Now (HCAN) – the unprecedented coalition of large labor groups, community-based organizations, women’s groups, doctors, nurses, small businesses, think tanks, and leading netroots activists – released the following statement today in response to Senator McCain’s repeated false claims that Senator Obama’s health care plan will “force small businesses to cut jobs and reduce wages and force families into a government-run health care system where a bureaucrat stands between you and your doctor”

“Senator Obama’s heath care plan offers the American people and American business a choice. His plan allows individuals to stay with the private insurance they have now, choose a new health care plan similar to the one Congress has, or opt into a new public plan so we are no longer left at the mercy of the private insurance industry. His plan includes lowering health care costs for small business and allowing employers to offer health insurance by paying for it as a percentage of their payroll rather than continue to feed into the current system where premiums are completely disconnected from what a business can afford.

Too many Americans already know the frustration of having a bureaucrat stand between them and their doctor because that is exactly how the unregulated private insurance market operates now. McCain’s health care plan, which proposes taxing your health care benefits at work and eliminating what little regulation already exists by allowing people to purchase across state lines, will raise costs and lower consumer protections.

Health Care for America Now asks Senator McCain to level with the American people and stop lying about Obama’s health care proposal.” – Richard Kirsch, National Campaign Manager, Health Care for America Now

This organization is a large base of Americans from many walks of life. This isn’t a partisan (although it ends up with partisan conclusions) attack. It’s despicable to see the lies coming out of the McCain campaign on everything from tax proposals to health care to the meaning of rhetoric. Jason Rosenbaum has done a great job compiling some of the fact-checking that has taken place surrounding this particular lie. The facts just need to come front and center and they will be impossible to ignore: John McCain will hurt most Americans at a time when we’re already in dire straits.

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ThinkProgress has the scoop, but the analysis was done by the Tax Policy Center, a non-partisan group. This is the main message that must sink in with most Americans. If you do not make over $250,000 per year (which is most of us), you will be better off with Barack Obama as President.  Maybe the most telling example of these bold-faced lies is the exposure of John McCain’s record on economic reform, which is absolutely ZERO according to House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank.

It’s a pretty sad state of affairs for Republicans when even Megyn Kelly of Fox News is forced to call the McCain campaign out on their typical “he’ll raise your taxes” lies. Alan Greenspan even admits the country cannot afford the $3.3 trillion in tax cuts proposed by Sen. McCain without a corresponding cut in government spending. McCain claims that earmark reductions will help finance the cuts, but this is baseless at best. CNN says of McCain’s tax proposals that “high-income taxpayers would benefit more than everyone else” while Obama’s would favor “in terms of reducing their taxes as a percentage of after-tax income – are in the lowest income groups”.  Even wealthy Americans should understand that when the middle class has more to spend, they will have more potential to capitalize.

Wow!  After two long weeks of great reading and poll shifting the dust is finally starting to settle and the facts are beginning to seep into the consciousness of average Americans.  It’s been a wild ride, but the race has only begun. Here’s my two-week roundup of stories and events that caught my attention.  Certainly it isn’t everything over the last two weeks, so updates may follow.  I also will try and exclude topics I’ve already discussed at length in other posts.

There is a great post up at Mudflats right now (actually quite a few great posts) about Sarah Palin from the Alaskan politician’s perspective.  The guest poster, Les Gara, is the kind of politician I wish I could support in my own home district.  His examples are clear and his contentions are substantiated.  The post is well worth the read, as is anything from Mudflats.  Here’s my highlight:

Did I mention the personal attacks against our local public officials only started after Sen. McCain sent his flacks up to our small state on August 29?  They came with a mission to make America believe a Republican-initiated investigation, started with a unanimous committee vote of 8 Republicans and 4 Democrats, was a “partisan” plot.  That’s only a tough sell if people know the facts.

You know there are problems with the economy when even Alan Greenspan says this is the worst economy he’s ever seen. What’s even more striking is that Greenspan goes further to say that America could not afford Senator McCain’s tax proposals. Unless you’re a complete atomaton, the typical argument that Democrats will “raise your taxes” while Republicans fight for lower taxes will simply not fly this year. McCain has frequently stated he can clean up the budget by cutting earmark spending, but cutting pork alone will not come close to balancing the budget. Eliminating the needless bloodshed and drain of resources that is the Iraq War would certainly be a bigger step toward getting spending under control.  

One of the surprising, yet inspiring, stories from the campaign trail was the turnout at the “Alaska Women Reject Palin” rally in Anchorage, Alaska over the weekend. The photos alone give me hope for our political process.  Many are calling this the largest protest rally in Alaska’s history.  Below is my favorite photo/sign from the rally.

Stories about Sarah Palin’s affinity toward crony hiring practices became evident over the weekend as well. Once elected to public office, she fired professionals and hired former classmates from Wasilla High School. She went a step further to trim down her own duties as Mayor, passing the buck on responsibility while accepting all the credit.  If that alone doesn’t scream of “politics as usual” and a repeat of the Bush-Cheney administration, I don’t know what would actually get that message across.  Willed ignorance seems to run rampant in this country.  

Then there was the barrage of all-out lies from the McCain campaign, beginning with “Thanks, but no thanks” and continuing through a few ads that were only on TV for a short period of time but generated a lot of buzz in the media and blogosphere.  This is not only disheartening, but also disturbing.  The Associated Press and many other trusted news sources have called shenanigans on the McCain lies and admit this is “testing voters”.  I really hope we pass this test, diligence is patriotism.

Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri sets the story straight on Sarah Palin’s record with earmarks, pointing out that she asked for nearly $750 million in federal funds in her two years as Governor of Alaska.  To call Gov. Palin an earmark reformer is to call Nick Nolte a model citizen.  Here’s a link to the ThinkProgress story, and the video is below. The argument given by Carly Fiorina is also a far cry from the early arguments that she’s here to eradicate the earmark completely, now she thinks we simply “must ask for less of them.”  And just to put things into perspective in terms of expertise, here’s a reminder of Carly Fiorina’s effectiveness at Hewlett-Packard.

You’ve no doubt heard about the money Palin took from the state to live at home, if not from the news then from Weekend Update on SNL.  What you may not have heard about are the questions surrounding whether or not Gov. Palin actually paid taxes on that income.  It’s interesting to see Republicans try to pose one of the most money-hungry state officials as the leader in reform.  If that’s reform, I’m filthy rich.

Senator McCain keeps repeating how he’s enjoyed introducing Palin to the American people, and how he can’t wait to introduce her to Washington. On the campaign trail, this comment often follows his declaration of a willingness to reach across party lines. It makes me recall the recent grilling McCain faced on The View about exactly how she’ll reform Washington.  McCain said just today at a town hall meeting in Orlando “wait ’til the pork-barrelers and the earmark spenders meet her”.  This was laughable in the sense that most of Washington already knows her well, after she requested (and received) the largest per capita earmark spending in the nation over the last two years. Someone tell Senator McCain that he won’t get to introduce her, he’ll simply be the one scheduling the reunion.

One of the best things the primary season gave us was the triumphant return of Saturday Night Live to the top of the satire game.  Some of the material provided by the Democratic Primary would hold up against any former cast of SNL, which is something I never thought I’d be able to say again about the show. This Saturday’s show with Michael Phelps hosting did not disappoint and certainly got off to a hot start. This was also the highest-rated premiere of SNL in six years, according to MSNBC. Here’s the clip.

The rumor that was most swiftly debunked about the extent of Sarah Palin’s “list of books to ban”, which did not exist.  We do know now that the book which provoked the conversation with the librarian about removing books from the shelves.  The book is called Daddy’s Roommate and is geared toward helping children with homosexual parents better understand the situation.  Salon.com also has information on a Baptist pastor who was also targeted by Palin’s effort to ban books. After being encouraged to read the book for herself, Palin refused, instead favoring the removal of the book.  The story played out and the librarian ultimately kept her job, but the question itself is scary to anyone who loves the 1st Amendment.

Just as an example of how widespread the criticism is for recent false ads coming out of the McCain campaign, here are some links, and keep in mind the actual firestorm only began over the weekend.  The Turd Blossom, Karl Rove himself says the recent McCain ads have “gone too far”.  FactCheck.org (a non-partisan group) found lies about Senator Obama’s tax plans. Jon Taplin has a video and some audio clips, but Gordon brings the highlight of the post in the comments section — just take a look at the 9th commandment (the 8th if you’re Catholic). Then there’s this week’s Sunday New York Times, which was ultimately a collection of facts correcting the lies of the McCain camp.  

Today, Carly Fiorina spoke with Andrea Mitchell and explained away the lobbyist issue by saying the McCain campaign has the most strict rules for conflicts of interest.  I wonder if those rules were applied as a top McCain adviser was plucked by the Bush Administration to oversee the (now government run) Freddie Mac? I wonder if Randy Scheunemann’s associations with Georgia have been a conflict of interest as the McCain campaign beats the Cold War 2 war drum? Has that conflict of interest been “strictly regulated” when Charlie Black pushes for a Columbian Free Trade Agreement? The same Columbia where simply wanting to unionize will cause your family to make final arrangements. Sounds like one hell of an agreement to me. Later in the same hour Andrea Mitchell called shenanigans on a McCain campaign spokesman who tried to claim the recent McCain ads are “documentedly true”. That’s the kind of think Americans need to see from our journalists, don’t be biased, but don’t be fooled. Andrea has certainly learned something from her time spent near the late great Tim Russert.

Monday morning also brought the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy and the buyout of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America. Of course, the campaigns were both asked about the situation, and Senator McCain had to re-state that he thinks the fundamentals of our economy are strong. Chris Matthews pointed out on Hardball today that President Herbert Hoover said the same thing about the economy as we sank into the Great Depression. McCain says that a lack of regulation is to blame. He fails to point out that one of his own campaign advisers, Phil Gramm (of “we’ve become a nation of whiners” fame) helped cause much of the current turmoil in the marketplace. That lack of regulation did not exist just 8 short years ago. Senator Obama makes a great observation, saying that this situation is in year 8 of President Bush’s administration, which has taken a toll on our entire economy. 

Finally I must point out that the McCain campaign is applying pressure on Ron Paul of Texas to support the Republican ticket. Ron Paul has been responsible for much of the mobilization of libertarians and constitutionalists who are fed up with the reckless Bush Administration. It’s no wonder he refuses to support the McCain campaign, which looks to be equal to or worse than Bush-Cheney. I’ll close the post with a couple of questions I (would) have for Senator McCain.

On what specific issues have you bucked your own party, and where do you stand on these issues today?

In your first 100 days in office, what specific reforms would you push and how will they positively affect the American people?