My Sunday Feeling

I pretty much get along with women.  Always have.  God knows, I have had my ups and downs as well.  But insofar as the gender goes, I like them.  They like me.  It's all pretty good. 

I think one of the reasons women like me is that were I a Member of Congress, and say I was interested enough to convene a hearing that might remotely concern women's health issues, I would have enough goddamn sense to include women on the panel testifying about the issue. 

But I am not Congressman Darrell Issa who chairs the Congressional Oversight and Government Reform Committee who called a hearing which was entitled "Lines Crossed: Separation of Church and State" concerning the Obama Administration's overhaul of the health care system which requires policies offered by employers to cover contraception. 

Look at the picture.  These are the experts that were called to testify.  See any wimmens? 

The official explanation for this apparent oversight was to the effect that the panel wasn't there to testify about women's health exactly.  They were there to testify how this provision in the new was a violation of the 1st Amendment.  And actually they even got that wrong.  A better title for this bit of political theatre would have been "Lines Crossed:  Violation of the Free Exercise Clause."

But I ramble.

But how can you have a discussion about a provision of a law that impacts women without including women?  I mean, surely there are female theologians and Constitutional scholars out there that might lend a different perspective to the discussion.  Not that Congressman Issa was remotely interested in that.

I think that this is just a preview of the dreary Presidential campaign to come.  The economy is improving.  GM just posted the highest profit in its history.  Unemployment, while still too high, is coming down.  The military is pulling out of Iraq and Afghanistan.  Bad guys are still getting whacked.  Things are looking up.  Obama's got a pretty good record to run on after stumbling out of the blocks early on.

So the GOP is going to run against gays.  And against the "food stamp President."  Hell, Santorum's even against the public school system. 

And they are going to run against women. 

Which leads me to a second observation.  Did these guys not see what happened to the Komen Foundation the other day?  Absolute sheer unshirted hell busted loose when they cut off funding to Planned Parenthood.  The decision was quickly reversed.  Heads, they rolled.  But the damage was done and a brand known for charity and the promotion of vibrant good health has taken a major hit.

Did the Rs not catch the hint?

Let me hit them upside the head with this brick.  Women aren't stupid and as we have seen they tend to be pretty touchy as a class over health issues.  Hence, pissing off an entire gender doesn't seem like the greatest campaign strategy in the world.  Duh. 

But what do I know?

This.  I like women and they like me.  This much I know. 

But then again, it's a really low bar.