John McCain And Reproductive Rights II

John McCain's stance on women's issues and reproductive rights is abysmal. From SCHIP (McCain: Bush right to veto kids health insurance expansion) to HIV and condoms ("Should U.S. taxpayer money go to places like Africa to fund contraception to prevent AIDS?"... McCain: (Long pause) "Ahhh. I think I support the president’s policy") to the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act (McCain: "I don’t think you’re doing anything to help the rights of women, except maybe help trial lawyers and others in that profession"), McCain is in lockstep with George W. Bush on disrespecting women (and men and children, which is quite a triple play).

Joe Conason, writing in Salon, notes

Nowhere is the gap between "straight talker" and pandering faker more obvious than on questions of reproductive freedom and sex education. Usually obscured by his image as a "maverick" Republican and (former) critic of the religious right, his actual record infuriates many women when they learn what he believes -- and how he has voted.

From a March DNC memo that Conason links to via Marc Ambinder:

Women panelists in the focus groups reacted surprisingly strongly to the fact that Senator McCain opposes requirements for health plans to provide contraceptive coverage and favors abstinence-only sex education. Even among women who described themselves as pro-life, those aspects of Senator McCain’s record cast him as someone who is "unrealistic," "out of touch," and "stuck in the past." Many of the women in the groups were resentful when they learned that Senator McCain favors overturning Roe vs. Wade, and were disappointed because they expected him to be more moderate on this issue.

Put more bluntly:

You want to know what's coming with a McCain presidency? How about the overturning of Roe vs. Wade. I'm not kidding. The latest case to reach the U.S. Supreme Court on abortion made it clear that the two newest justices, John Roberts and Samuel Alito, will vote for substantial incursions into abortion rights, if not their outright elimination. It turns out that Roe isn't a "super-duper" precedent after all. It's now hanging by the thread of 87-year-old Justice John Paul Stevens' continued vitality.

The next president will be the decider on whether women's emancipation from the slavery of the womb will continue in this country. We are on the cusp of losing the right to control our bodies and determine our family size. McCain promises as much.

From EMILY's list and Debbie Wasserman Schultz(D-FL):

"We are now moving into general election mode," Malcolm said, "and it's quite clear there are vast differences on the issues between Sen. Obama and John McCain. ... We are focused on the goal, to change the direction of this country, and we will do that."

McCain is "wrong on issues that matter to us most," Wasserman Schultz added.  "There is a real fear that John McCain is dangerous for women. ... The last thing that women need to do is to vote for John McCain."

There'll be more on this topic... much more. McCain's computer illiteracy can't shield him from his own words. The interesting thing is many voters don't know this about McCain's positions on reproductive rights.

They will by November.