More and more Republicans are embracing over-the-counter birth control and it’s driving Democrats crazy. S.E. Cupp reports for Townhall Magazine.
Get ready. If other conservatives join Colorado Senate candidate Cory Gardner in his push to make birth control available without a prescription, watch as Democrats systematically lose their collective minds.
So far, Gardner is joined by a few other candidates, namely Ed Gillespie in Virginia and Mike McFadden in Minnesota, in promoting an idea Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal first raised in 2012.
But even with just this handful of Republicans who have the audacity to reach out to women voters with sound public policy that they actually support (how dare they!), Democrats do not know what to do with themselves.
As a general rule, any effort that Democrats find politically confusing is probably a winner for Republicans. But soon the confusion will abate, and the Left will come up with some kind of attack plan to make sure Republicans are still seen as pariahs by women.
In doing so, they will likely ensure women do not get over-the-counter birth control. But improving women’s lives has never really been the objective, otherwise Obamacare wouldn’t have raised premiums for young women by 44 percent, the Violence Against Women Act would actually help curb violence against women, and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act would, in any measurable way, improve women’s pay.
Because Democrats must oppose something most women want in order to attack Republicans on this issue, I am not going to stop them. But I will help you prepare for some of the mistruths you are about to encounter as they attempt this impressive sleight of hand.
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Fallacy No. 1: Republicans are suddenly embracing birth control.
Not long ago on “Morning Joe,” Mika Brzezinski, arbiter of all things lady-related, seemed positively dumbfounded that Republicans had flipped their position on birth control. “This is a huge change for Republicans!” she exclaimed, until a reporter politely corrected her. By a vast majority, Republicans do not oppose birth control. In fact, a 2012 Gallup poll showed that 87 percent of Republicans find birth control to be morally acceptable. To put that number in perspective, 73 percent of Republicans find the death penalty morally acceptable. So there is greater debate and less consensus within the GOP over the death penalty—a conservative pillar—than there is over birth control.
What Republicans have taken issue with in the past is who pays for it, and making it OTC is a step toward taking employers and taxpayers out of the equation.
Fallacy No. 2: Conservative positions on personhood and abortion are inconsistent with increasing access to birth control.
Basic science refutes this one for us. The pill prevents an egg from being fertilized. An embryo is never created. Which is why so many Republicans do not oppose birth control. Personhood initiatives and pro-life legislation protect fertilized eggs from abortion. Democrats lump all this together and think you’re too stupid to know the difference, but the distinctions are actually pretty basic.
Fallacy No. 3: Republicans are just pandering to women.
It will be hard, but try not to laugh at a liberal who makes this charge. And then point out that the entire Democratic agenda is one giant pander to women, who are worse off economically, an actual measure of freedom, because of President Obama’s Democratic policies. On nearly every metric, from the cost of education to job access to median income, women’s lives have gotten harder, not easier. But tell me more about the War on Women…
Fallacy No. 4: Republicans have no credibility on women’s issues.
While it’s inarguable that some Republicans have made painful mistakes over the past few elections resulting in a trust deficit with women voters, Democrats have created their own trust deficit with almost all voters. A majority thinks the country is headed in the wrong direction, and a plurality say the Obama administration is less competent than George W. Bush’s. The Republican push to increase access to birth control isn’t just a “women’s issue.” It’s about making life work better. Democrats have a proven track record of failure on this, and voters are ready for a change.
To turn this around on Republicans, Democrats will have to get pretty creative, so admittedly, I probably can’t even anticipate all the wild maneuvers they’ll try.
But it sure will be fun to watch.
S.E. Cupp is author of “Losing Our Religion: The Liberal Media’s Attack on Christianity.” She has a weekly column in the New York Daily News and is a co-host of CNN’s “Crossfire.”
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