Note: This column has been updated to include the Federal Election Commission's campaign contribution limits (see the end of the article.)
The breathtaking issue of the week involved Rush Limbaugh, a predictable clown with an inexplicably large audience through his syndicated radio show and his take on women.
The bombastic King of Missing the Point remarked that the young law student who testified about contraception coverage to a Democratic informal hearing, after being barred from testifying at the Republican formal hearing, was a slut and a prostitute.
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Limbaugh demanded she submit a sex video so that the public can see what their tax dollars are paying for. Still not satisfied, Limbaugh expanded the bizarre insult to encompass all women who insist that contraception be covered under their own private
insurance policies.
Wow. The hootin’ and hollerin’ in disgust could be heard all the way to the White House. A day later, after defending his position, Limbaugh apologized, sort of. On his website (not on his syndicated radio show where millions were treated to the initial rant) Limbaugh said, “My choice of words was not
the best…I sincerely apologize to Ms. Fluke for the insulting word choices." This followed an earlier statement in his apology where he noted, "I did not mean a personal attack.”
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Nice, except he then wrote, “What happened to personal responsibility and accountability? Where do we draw the line? If this is accepted as the norm, what will follow?”
Erectile dysfunction, that’s what follows. The day that the health insurance industry decided to cover the cost of Viagra and its cousins while refusing to cover any contraception for women was the day Congress had to legislate common sense, forcing the insurance companies to cover contraception. Again, wow.
What does this have to do with Moorpark? The deafening silence coming from the candidates for the newly-drawn 26th Congressional District. Where was the outrage? Why didn’t every decent person with access to the public megaphone, especially those wanting to represent Moorpark in Congress, denounce Radio Boy and stand up for women’s health?
Predictably, Republicans have morphed this into an issue of freedom of religion because, well, that’s what they do. I don’t know where State Sen. Tony Strickland, the only Republican in the race, stands on contraception being included in an individual’s premium, but it has sweet nothing to do with being pro-choice or pro-life.
Which brings me to the upside-down world of local politics. Here we are in a Democratic-leaning new district but new primary rules will likely twist the election so that there will be no Democrat in the run-off. Democrats, in their old familiar pattern, are so busy vying with each other for the seat that they most certainly will split the vote and lose, lose, lose.
A rundown of the candidates includes Strickland, who has been given the blessing of the Republican Party and is now the only Republican in the race.
Ventura County Supervisor Linda Parks, another candidate, has switched her affiliation from Republican to Decline to State (Independent). Good enough. Parks has paid her dues in local politics and is a leader in environmental issues. We also could use more candidates who follow Parks’ lead when it comes to campaign finance.
She stated at the outset that she would not take special interest contributions, specifically from unions, corporate PACs, and political parties. She will accept individual contributions. She is starting with the handicap of not being able to accept money from any political party, especially when compared to the slick machine of money that Strickland has cultivated for years. So if you are a fan of Parks, your contributions will be her only source of funds. (See the Federal Election Committee's contribution limits at the end of the article or visit the FEC's website.)
On the Democrat side, with the abrupt and confusing withdrawal of Ventura County Supervisor Steve Bennett from the race, the remaining candidates are Assemblywoman Julia Brownley, a strong advocate of environmental issues, Moorpark City Councilman David Pollock, Oxnard Harbor District Commissioner Jess Herrera, and businessman David Cruz Thayne.
As long as we allow ourselves to get bogged down in irrelevant minutiae, which this distraction about contraception happens to be, the economy will continue to be vulnerable to the vagaries of the bad people who eviscerated the housing market, the stock market, and the employment market. We have a rare opportunity to elect someone who represents the majority’s beliefs. But Democrats seem to be stampeding for the ballot only to be caught in the bottleneck like so many Keystone Kops.
Now is the time for all of the candidates to search their souls and sort out whether what is best for them is also best for us.
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