Republican Mitch Daniels has officially pulled his name from the list of would-be presidential candidates, joining the likes of Mike Huckabee and Donald Trump on the sidelines in 2012. And in doing so, Daniels just offered up a backhanded compliment to womankind. The Indiana governor claims he's stepping out at the request of wife Cheri and the couple's daughters:
On matters affecting us all, our family constitution gives a veto to the women’s caucus, and there is no override provision.
That should be good news, right? A powerful Republican just said he cares enough about women to give them the final say. Sure, but if that were true, Daniels should be heading in to work in the Indiana governor's office today undoing all the incredibly anti-woman work he's been doing during his tenure in politics, right? Who sees that happening?
It's the very work he's done that put him on the short list for the GOP nomination that makes Daniels' excuse sound more like woman-blaming than respect. The governor has had no truck with the "women's caucus" as he was building his way up to this point, ignoring his wife and daughters' needs even as he dragged them along through his own political ladder climbing. If that sounds like a cynical viewpoint, one needs only look at Daniel's past:
1. Earlier this month, Daniels signed legislation Tuesday to bar Planned Parenthood from receiving federal funding in the state of Indiana -- regardless of what the feds themselves had to say about it. The move cut a significant funding source for mammograms, pap smears, and other critical health care for the "women's caucus."
2. During the gubernatorial race in 2008, Daniels made clear that he supports pharmacists being allowed to deny women emergency contraception because of their personal beliefs rather than basing the decision on medical fact.
3. In 2004, Daniels declared himself an anti-choice candidate, and because of it, he enjoyed the backing of a host of anti-choice groups for his stance on abortion when he ran for governor in 2008.
Again, that's just a taste. But we're talking some of the biggest issues affecting womankind, and Daniels hasn't bothered to take the "women's caucus" vote into consideration. I won't question his dedication to his family -- after all, he's married Cheri not once but twice -- but his dedication to "women" remains decidedly circumspect in my mind.
Then again, ladies of America, we just dodged a bullet, didn't we? Maybe we need to send a bouquet and a thank-you letter to Cheri Daniels and her daughters!
What do you think of Daniels stepping out of the race? Is this good for women?
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Comments 10
Here's what I think: That if I wanted to read about abortion politics or hear incendiary terms like "anti-choice" slung about (or the equally incendiary and inaccurate "pro-abortion"), I'd be reading Jezebel or similar, not a fluffy parenting-and-pop-culture blog.
billsfan, as usual, you said it!!
Agree totally with billsfan. Finally someone articulated it correctly.
If half the women want X and half the women want Y, and a man sides with those who want X, why is he automatically "anti-women"?
Plenty of women don't support federal funding of Planned Parenthood not just because of their association with abortions, but because they've been involved in scandal - handing out faulty condoms, for example. Or assisting with illegal immigration and underage sex. There are plenty of reasons to oppose federal funding of Planned Parenthood that have nothing to do with mamograms. They simply believe that, if PP is such an excellent organization, they should be able to survive on their own.
Plenty of women don't support on-demand abortions, either. Many understand that abortion is not a healthy form of birth control. And many understand that the "morning after pill" comes with plenty of nasty side effects that have been downplayed by the "pro-choice" movement.
Are all of those women - who have researched the details and learned the issues - "anti-women" too?
Nonmember, I have never applied for a job at the Stir. (Though I'm a journalist, as I state on my blog, I am a copy editor, not a writer.) Nor, in fact, do I read Jezebel regularly -- I was pointing it out as a place where I would go if I wanted to read a lot of rhetoric about abortion and see the phrase "anti-choice" used regularly.
Wow. This speaks volumes as to how a politician cannot be judged by a rudimentary article found on a Google search. Daniels is highly respected in the state of Indiana and has made huge milestones for the state while he's served as governor. These simple statements don't say a thing about his accomplishments, personality, or his overall stance.
You could set womankind back at least a decade for criticizing him for considering his wife and family before his career choice.