Today on Meet The Press, John McCain, anti-choice troglodyte of long standing, did a high dive off the hypocrisy board. According to the article on TPM, Senator McHypocrite, when asked by David Gregory if he thinks "there is something of a war on women among Republicans," replied:
“I think we have to fix that,” McCain said. “I think that there is a perception out there, because of the way that this whole contraception issue played out. We need to get off of that issue, in my view. I think we ought to respect the right of women to make choices in their lives , and make that clear, and get back on to what the American people really care about: jobs and the economy.”
The right of women to make choices in their lives? Say what, Senator??? Follow me
below the squiggle for a look at Senator McCain's record on respecting the right of women to make choices in their lives.
For his entire voting career, and it is a long one, McCain has taken every opportunity to limit a woman's reproductive choices.
For starters, his NARAL rating is ZERO.
On The Issues has a summary of his many anti-choice votes. Among the gems are:
Voted YES on restricting UN funding for population control policies.
Voted YES on defining unborn child as eligible for SCHIP.
Voted YES on barring HHS grants to organizations that perform abortions
Voted YES on notifying parents of minors who get out-of-state abortions.
Voted NO on $100M to reduce teen pregnancy by education & contraceptives.
Voted YES on criminal penalty for harming unborn fetus during other crime.
Voted YES on banning partial birth abortions except for maternal life.
Voted YES on maintaining ban on Military Base Abortions.
Voted YES on banning partial birth abortions.
For reasons unknown to me, McCain is frequently portrayed as a "moderate" on social issues when, in fact, his record on women's rights is dismal. Maybe it's his support for stem cell research, maybe it's because he doesn't put his anti-choice views front and center, maybe it's because the media tends to hero-worship him and not look too closely at his Neanderthal views. Whatever the case, the man has always voted against women's reproductive autonomy. He has never respected "the right of women to make choices in their lives."