McCain, in my eyes, represents the republican view of science and technology. He employs a series of beliefs that have little to no scientific standing or evidence, and goes against scientific findings. First, it was his pandering to those who seek to remove evolution from public schools. Then, it was his stupid position on vaccines and their "risks of autism." Now, its condoms and whether or not they help prevent AIDS, as well as McCain's position on sex education in the united states. His support for bush's policy on sex education is not even nearly as egregious as his statements here. I don't even need to editorialize, here it is straight from the horses mouth:
Reporter: "Should U.S. taxpayer money go to places like Africa to fund contraception to prevent AIDS?"
Mr. McCain: "Well I think it’s a combination. The guy I really respect on this is Dr. Coburn. He believes – and I was just reading the thing he wrote– that you should do what you can to encourage abstinence where there is going to be sexual activity. Where that doesn’t succeed, than he thinks that we should employ contraceptives as well. But I agree with him that the first priority is on abstinence. I look to people like Dr. Coburn. I’m not very wise on it."
(Mr. McCain turns to take a question on Iraq, but a moment later looks back to the reporter who asked him about AIDS.)
Mr. McCain: "I haven’t thought about it. Before I give you an answer, let me think about. Let me think about it a little bit because I never got a question about it before. I don’t know if I would use taxpayers’ money for it."
Q: "What about grants for sex education in the United States? Should they include instructions about using contraceptives? Or should it be Bush’s policy, which is just abstinence?"
Mr. McCain: (Long pause) "Ahhh. I think I support the president’s policy."
Q: "So no contraception, no counseling on contraception. Just abstinence. Do you think contraceptives help stop the spread of HIV?"
Mr. McCain: (Long pause) "You’ve stumped me."
Q: "I mean, I think you’d probably agree it probably does help stop it?"
Mr. McCain: (Laughs) "Are we on the Straight Talk express? I’m not informed enough on it. Let me find out. You know, I’m sure I’ve taken a position on it on the past. I have to find out what my position was. Brian, would you find out what my position is on contraception – I’m sure I’m opposed to government spending on it, I’m sure I support the president’s policies on it."
Q: "But you would agree that condoms do stop the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. Would you say: ‘No, we’re not going to distribute them,’ knowing that?"
Mr. McCain: (Twelve-second pause) "Get me Coburn’s thing, ask Weaver to get me Coburn’s paper that he just gave me in the last couple of days. I’ve never gotten into these issues before."
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/...
Poor, undereducated people in Africa are not going to stop having sex because you tell them to stop. This antiquated, religion-based, and downright foolhardy policy of abstinence has only hurt the effort to stop teen pregnancy, STDs, and the spread of HIV in Africa. Studies have shown that teaching methods of contraception and STD prevention in Africa--as well as handing out condoms--have dramatically lowered the transmission of said STDs--forgive me I haven't got the information on me at the moment to cite. This policy only hurts and serves to further the ignorance of teens and of people in Africa. It's absolutely shameful. How many abortions do you think this policy against sex education has resulted in? I wonder if Bush thought of that.
Update: Just in case you missed this last week, here is what McCain said about vaccines causing autism:
McCain was responding to a question from the mother of a boy with autism, who asked about a recent story that the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program had issued a judgment in favor of an unnamed child whose family claimed regressive encephalopathy and symptoms of autism were caused by thimerosal.
"We’ve been waiting for years for kind of a responsible answer to this question, and are hoping that you can help us out there," the woman said.
McCain said, per ABC News' Bret Hovell, that "It’s indisputable that (autism) is on the rise amongst children, the question is what’s causing it. And we go back and forth and there’s strong evidence that indicates that it’s got to do with a preservative in vaccines."
McCain said there’s "divided scientific opinion" on the matter, with "many on the other side that are credible scientists that are saying that’s not the cause of it."
Update 2: Thanks for the rec list, guys. Now, things are going to get a little more important. Forward this to people, and those with press connections, let them know about this quote. People need to see how closely McCain is linked to Bush, and his willful ignorance on issues like this.
Update 3: This is real. The reason it says "somewhere in northern iowa" is because it happened on the campaign bus as it was driving through north Iowa. The reporter was keeping track of what was said. Do a google search and you will find that the story was reported in 2007.
Update 4: I urge everyone who has any questions about vaccines and autism, or who may have heard bad misinformation lately, to read this diary by a fellow Kos writer, Soberish: http://www.dailykos.com/...