Mountain Views News          Saturday, February 25, 2012

10

LEFT TURN/RIGHT TURN

 Mountain Views News Saturday, February 25, 2012 

HOWARD Hays As I See It 

 “(A)bundant evidence proves 
that the agenda . . . includes 
sexualizing young girls . . . 
Denver Auxiliary Bishop James 
D. Conley . . . warned parents 
that ‘membership . . . could 
carry the danger of making 
their daughters more receptive 
to the pro-abortion agenda.’ 
. . . Liberal progressive(s) 
will indoctrinate the girls . . . 
promote homosexual lifestyles . 
. . role models . . . are feminists, 
lesbians, or Communists.”

 - Rep. Bob Morris (R), 

Indiana State Legislature

 

 I left a number of blanks in the above quote, to 
see if you can guess the organization Rep. Morris 
was referring to.

 I considered different topics for this week’s 
column. There’s that issue, foremost in voters’ 
minds, of whether President Obama is really a 
Christian. In Ohio, Rick Santorum described 
the president’s agenda as based on “some phony 
theology, not a theology based on the Bible.” 

 The Rev. Franklin Graham, asked if he could 
rule out the president being a Muslim, replied, “I 
can’t say categorically because Islam has gotten a 
free pass under Obama.” According to Islamic 
law, he asserted, “Islam sees him as a son of Islam”.

 (Asked about Rev. Graham’s comments, Obama 
spokesman Jay Carney replied, “I did meet with 
the president this morning for about 45 minutes, 
and amazingly he didn’t bring this up.”)

 Another topic is the ongoing battle for the White 
House, with the field narrowed down to Paulson, 
Adelson and Friess. (Hedge fund manager John 
Paulson, worth $16 billion, behind the “Restore 
our Future” Super-PAC backing Mitt Romney, 
made $3.5 billion betting against the housing 
market in 2007. Casino tycoon Sheldon Adelson, 
worth $21.5 billion, behind the “Winning Our 
Future” Super-PAC backing Newt Gingrich, is 
under federal investigation for bribing foreign 
officials and involvement with organized crime 
in China. Wall Street investor and supporter of 
Islamophobia Foster Friess, worth $530 million, 
behind the “Red, White and Blue” Super-PAC 
backing Rick Santorum, made news by recalling 
Bayer aspirin as an effective contraceptive when 
“the gals put it between their knees”.)

 I had to return to a topic addressed last week, 
though, when I found the above comments of 
Rep. Morris, contained in a letter explaining his 
refusal to sign a resolution passed by the Indiana 
Legislature acknowledging the 100th anniversary 
of the Girl Scouts of America.

 In an astonishing development, we see a 
national debate targeting not a race, religion, 
ideology, economic class or sexual orientation, 
but an entire gender.

 This became apparent at a hearing called by 
House Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA), 
to address contraception coverage in employees’ 
health plans. The hearing was notable not for 
who was present to give testimony, but for who 
was not.

 The panel of witnesses was not comprised of 
health and medical professionals, but of clergy. 
Testimony was not offered as to medical need, 
but on religious tenets. Rep. Elijah Cummings 
(D-MD) noted that the witness list was further 
limited by excluding representatives from the 
many Catholic organizations supporting the 
administration’s proposal.

 The key question was asked by Rep. Carolyn 
Maloney (D-NY): “What I want to know is, 
where are the women? I look at this panel and 
I don’t see one single individual representing the 
tens of millions of women across the country 
who want and need insurance coverage for basic 
preventive health care services, including family 
planning. Where are the women?”

 Rep. Maloney decried efforts “in dozens of 
states to roll back the fundamental rights of 
women to a time when the government thought 
what happened in the bedroom was their 
business and contraceptives were illegal. Tens of 
millions of us who are following these hearings 
lived through those times - and I can tell you with 
certainty - we will not be forced back to that dark 
and primitive era.”

 She addressed the clergy: “. . . though you have 
every right to follow your conscience and honor 
all the dictates of your faith - no one should 
have the power to impose their faith on others 
- to bend them to your will - simply because 
they work for you. That in itself - is an assault 
on the fundamental freedoms enshrined in our 
Constitution.”

 Responding to a Defense Department report 
on an increase of violent sexual assaults on 
women in the military, Fox News commentator 
Liz Trotta remarked, “Now, what did they expect? 
These people are in close contact.” She went on to 
dismiss the issue as the product of “pressure from 
the feminists”.

 Former Marine Corps officer Anu Bhagwati of 
the Service Women’s Action Network responded 
by pointing out it’s a matter of “power and 
violence, not about women’s presence”. She 
says although perpetrators constitute a small 
minority, the problem is that they have successful 
careers with no repercussions, that victims fear 
almost certain retaliation if they report abuse. As 
for Trotta’s comments, they are “grossly ignorant”.

 Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell (R) has 
gone on record opposing TSA pat-downs at 
airports as too invasive. He’s also recorded 
his support for a measure passed by Virginia’s 
Republican legislature calling for the insertion of 
a probe in a “transvaginal procedure” to obtain 
an ultrasound image. This is not at the patient’s 
request, nor at the recommendation of her 
physician, but imposed by the state upon women 
who seek an abortion.

 I also noted a story last week covered here 
in the MVN; A Pasadena resident was arrested 
on suspicion of domestic violence towards his 
girlfriend. Regardless of family ties and affection, 
his father condemned the son’s actions and 
expressed concern for the girlfriend. At least one 
individual in the news seems to have it right when 
it comes to gender issues – and it’s Hugh Hefner.

DOUBLE 
STANDARD FOR 
RICK SANTORUM

Any Republican candidate who rises in the 
polls and starts to challenge the presumptive 
nominee, Mitt Romney, gets a place squarely 
in Mitt’s crosshairs. That’s the nature of 
political contests, and ultimately will make 
the actual nominee that much stronger 
a candidate. But what should bother us is 
the double standard the press employs as it 
targets conservative candidates if they rise 
above a certain base line level of electability.

This time it’s Rick Santorum’s turn. Not 
too long ago, candidate Obama declared 
unequivocally that marriage is between 
a man and a woman. This assertion and 
promise to defend traditional marriage was 
largely ignored by the press. It was a non-
issue, a complete non-starter. A dog getting 
a bad flea infestation would have been a 
bigger story. 

Rick Santorum says the same thing, and 
you’d think he just suggested we go back to 
the bad old days of the Spanish Inquisition. 
Some might be confused as to why Obama 
was ignored and Santorum crucified. The 
reason is that the mainstream press knows 
Santorum means what he says; whereas, 
Obama was assumed to simply be mouthing 
a cultural piety in order to placate the great 
unwashed hordes of common voters in 
what’s affectionately referred to as “fly-over 
country” – in other words, those voters with 
good old-fashioned traditional Mid-western 
values. 

I can’t think of a more obvious and significant 
double standard in public life or of a more 
obvious example of the condescension 
with which the mainstream press regards 
the average American. Consider a few 
inconvenient facts on this issue.

According to the most recent CBS News/
New York Times poll, taken this month, 
60% of Americans oppose gay marriage. 
That leaves only 40% approving it. This 
isn’t an extremist position. To date, voters 
in 31 states, including deep blue California, 
have rejected same-sex marriage. The media 
elites would have us believe that 60% of 
the population are homophobic, hateful, 
backward and extremists – unworthy of 
public office and 
probably of the right 
to vote. 

It’s a ridiculous claim. 
One can support the 
rights of any two 
people to associate 
with one another, live 
with one another or 
engage in consensual 
relations while at the 
same time supporting a religious institution 
and bedrock principle of every major culture 
and religion in history. Pro-marriage is not 
anti-gay!! How odd and down right deceitful 
it is to call those who want to defend the 
4,000+ year norm as being the extremists 
and radicals. The truth is the other way 
around.

On the broader scale, the mainstream 
elites are opposed to anyone who supports 
normative, Judeo-Christian social and 
moral values. Hence when an artist puts an 
image of Christ in a jar of urine, it’s called 
artistic expression. When a Westerner dares 
draw a cartoon about Mohammed, it’s called 
hate-speech and offered as evidence of the 
intolerance of Western Christians. Never 
mind the fact that not a single riot, burning 
or protest march was ever launched in 
reaction to the Christ-in-urine episode. At 
the very worst, thoughtful voters wondered 
why their tax dollars had to be used to 
support something so obscene. Thousands of 
Muslims, on the other hand, went apoplectic 
at the Danish cartoons, fatwa’s (sanctioned 
death threats) were issued against the 
cartoonist and publishers, and several very 
nice eco-friendly cars were burned.

Returning to Obama Vs. Santorum, the 
President used the annual prayer breakfast 
to state that Luke’s Gospel mandated raising 
taxes on the rich. Rick Santorum had the 
poor taste to point out the theological 
stupidity of that statement, and he’s called 
extreme, intemperate and hateful. Go figure.

These are just a few of the examples to date. 
As the campaign gets into full swing, I’m 
sure we’ll many more examples of just how 
biased our press has become. 

Gregory J. Welborn is an independent opinion columnist. 
He writes and speaks frequently on political, economic and 
social issues. His columns have appeared in publications 
such as The Los Angeles Daily News, The Orange County 
Register, The Wall Street Journal and USA Today. He can be 
reached at gwelborn@mtnviewsnews.com.


MARTHA Randolph Carr

LEAP YEAR IS UPON US AND ACCORDING TO 800 YEAR 
OLD LORE DATING BACK TO ST. PATRICK THE TIME IS RIPE 
FOR ANYONE HOPING FOR MORE LOVE OR MONEY. 

To all the dreamers out there, get ready because your day fast approaches. 
Get some rest, dust off your plans and start talking up your new idea. The 
cosmos are on your side, and in this instance, it only happens once every 
four years. 

After a Great Recession that has dragged on for almost four years the desire 
to finally hope for more and grow our lives a little probably includes just 
about all of us..

The one day stuck on the end of the month, February 29th, which makes 
this a leap year, is also thought to be particularly good for making money and finding love. Children 
who are born on this day are also thought to have a shot at a more abundant life. It’s all good. 

The practice of a leap day started as more of a simple solution to an accounting error that was finally 
noticed in 1582. Ironically it was the 13th pope, Pope Gregory XIII who mandated the new calendar 
because the old Julian calendar had strayed by ten days over the years. 

Every four years the Gregorian calendar self-corrects with an extra day stuck on the end of February, 
the shortest month as a means to keep us on the straight and narrow. It doesn’t sound like much but 
eventually the growing season would have been stuck in November on Black Friday, which could 
throw off shoppers. 

There’s a certain order to things. Tomato and squash seedlings in May and bargains on electronics in 
November. 

Besides, there’s already very little that’s predictable to just being human and having the seasons stick to 
the months they were originally assigned is a little comforting. Spring will come again in May and the 
first leaves will start to drop somewhere in October, at least here in Chicago. My mother takes a little 
bit of pleasure in pointing out that she’s blissfully unaware of that in Florida.

True to our nature, however, no one would listen to Pope Gregory, and it wasn’t until the 18th century 
that most of Europe agreed to finally fix the calendar. That’s another truly human characteristic. We 
don’t care to change until the error personally affects us and we’re uncomfortable enough. It’s not very 
often that we’re inspired en masse to set out and mix things up just because we’re hoping for something 
better. First we have to hate where we are just enough to risk the familiar.

It’s also a part of human nature to look for signs. No matter how much we pooh pooh the whole notion, 
we all still do it. 

For once, though someone wanted to attach something good to this odd little bonus day and the two 
biggest motivators, love and money got a nod. The straight-laced Victorians who were big on social 
conventions and following the rules saw that this day was already outside of the norm and designated 
it as the one day a woman could as a man to marry her without breaking the rules. 


Independent’s Eye by

JOE Gandelman

SANTORUM: A (RISKY) 
CHOICE, NOT AN ECHO


With former 
Pennsylvania 
Senator Rick 
Santorum, you know 
that what you see is 
what you’re going to 
get. And that’s going 
to be the problem for 
Republicans if the 
most popular anti-Romney yet is nominated.


Santorum is surging. A new Gallup Poll 
now finds that even though a majority of 
Republicans consider former Massachusetts 
Gov. Mitt Romney more likely to beat 
President Barack Obama, Santorum 
leads him 36 to 26 percent nationally.


Santorum heading the GOP ticket would 
be to Democratic strategists what candy 
from a shattered pinata is to sugar-loving 
kids at a birthday party. And reports 
indicate top GOPers know it. One unnamed 
Senator told ABC News that if Santorum 
got the nomination the GOP would lose 
35 states. Predictions like that won’t halt 
his ascent, since he talks the talk from his 
heart and connects with conservatives.


 But Santorum is scaring off women and 
independent voters. Every day his spin 
mavens scramble to defend or partially 
walk back controversial quotes. In the 
past two weeks he questioned Barack 
Obama’s “theology” (later insisting he 
meant environmental theology) and came 
out against contraception, pre-natal care, 
women in combat and public education. He 
should do well in upcoming primaries due to 
his views, moderate Republicans’ exit from 
the GOP, talk radio’s positive reinforcement, 
approving tweets from News Corporation’s 
Rupert Murdoch, and his contrast 
with the sincerity-challenged Romney. 


While some pundits insist Romney will 
still be nominated, former Bush Press 
Secretary Ari Fleischer reportedly thinks 
Santorum could win it. If so, Santorum 
will face problems on several fronts.


He’ll be easy to define. Remember Democrat 
Michael Dukakis defined by Republicans 
in 1988 as Snoopy in a military tank? Or 
Democrat Sen. John Kerry defined by GOPers 
in 2004 as a flip flopping wind surfer? Or Barry 
Goldwater defined by Democrats in 1964 as 
a right wing extremist who could unleash a 
mushroom cloud? Just imagine the imagery 
fun Democrats will have with Santorum.


Also: his controversial comments will 
be vetted and highly publicized by the 
news media, Internet websites and social 
media now in the controversy-loving, 
mega-instant news cycle mode. A quote 
becomes a day long narrative that can 
obscure a planned political theme. He’ll be 
defended by GOPers but can’t move to the 
center without looking like a flip flopper.


And perceptions increasingly count. Pat 
Buchanan was axed by MSNBC after an 
outcry over his latest book, which was 
actually not much different than what he has 
said before. Some conservatives are upset 
at Fox News for becoming too moderate 
after network boss Roger Aisles nudged 
it to be a mite more fair and balanced.


If Santorum gets the nomination can he beat 
Barack Obama? He has blue collar appeal, 
knows how to motivate the base with social 
issues and is an experienced campaigner and 
debater. But many agree with Rep. Ron Paul, 
who when asked about Santorum being elected 
said: “I don’t see how that can be possible.”


 That’s the conventional wisdom as well. But 
the conventional wisdom also that suggested 
Texas Gov. Rick Perry would zoom to the top 
to get the nomination and wrote off Newt 
Gingrich several times. It once suggested we 
could see Rudy Giuliani or Fred Thompson 
as Republican nominees and that the Clinton 
political machine would be unstoppable 
in the 2007-2008 Democratic primaries.


Many 21st century conservatives, Tea 
Partiers and conservative talk show hosts 
insist the Republican Party could win the 
White House and control of Congress 
if the Republican Party only offered a 
real, hard-right choice, not an echo. 
Wasn’t “A choice not an echo” used 
by 20th century conservatives when 
Barry Goldwater ran in 1964? 


Joe Gandelman is a veteran journalist who wrote for 
newspapers overseas and in the United States. He has appeared 
on cable news show political panels and is Editor-in-Chief of 
The Moderate Voice, an Internet hub for independents, centrists 
and moderates. CNN’s John Avlon named him as one of the top 
25 Centrists Columnists and Commentators. He can be reached 
at jgandelman@themoderatevoice.com and can be booked to 
speak at your event at www.mavenproductions.com.