The world is spinning out of control and the spin rate is
accelerating.
Having to pay for your own contraceptives has suddenly
become a national crisis. In one way it is beyond belief and in
another it is totally predictable.
Sandra Fluke, a third-year law student at Georgetown law
school, in testimony before a congressional committee argued that
she and forty percent of her fellow students are “struggling
financially” because they have to pay for their own
contraceptives.
The Democrat-media complex, rather than laughing in her
face, is making Ms. Fluke a hero. She even got a phone call from
President Obama urging her on.
How did we get to this point? Birth control is not a
significant budget item. Recreational sex is not a necessity. Sex
with contraceptives is not imperative for survival of the
species.
If the cost of contraceptives is straining Ms. Fluke’s
budget I have some simple suggestions, ones she may have even
considered herself. For example, why not ask your sexual partners
to share the expense? As a liberated woman I assume you don’t
always expect them to pay for dinner. Besides you, your sexual
partners are the primary beneficiaries of your intimacies. You’re
obviously not too timid to broach the subject. Politely explain to
them that from now on if they want to play they will have to pay.
If you’ve ever taken an economics class you can explain to them
that there’s no such thing as free sex. Sharing the cost would be a
kind of “user fee.” What could be fairer than that? It’s simple
voluntary exchange. Seems to me it’s a whole lot fairer than asking
the rest of us to bear the expense.
The fact that contraceptives have become a hot political
issue is bizarre beyond belief. Before the January 7 Republican
debate in New Hampshire it was nowhere on the political horizon. In
that debate moderator George Stephanopoulos badgered Mitt Romney
about whether or not states have the constitutional authority to
ban contraceptives. Romney was understandably befuddled by the
question. In retrospect it is now clear that there was a method to
the madness of Stephanopoulos’ question.
The Urban Dictionary defines “wag
the dog” as follows: “When something of secondary importance
improperly takes the role of primary importance.… To start a war or
military operation to divert negative attention away from
yourself.” President Obama cannot run on his record. His reelection
team knows that. “We don’t want to talk about the economy,
Obamacare, or gasoline prices. Let’s talk about contraceptives or
Rush Limbaugh.” In the movie Wag the Dog the president did
not start an actual war, he faked one.
Ms. Fluke has become a hero of the Democrats. For what?
For whining about the tragedy of having to pay for her own
contraceptives? She is the latest in a long line of pathetic people
who have been used to further their despicable objectives. Ms.
Fluke has allowed herself to be used as a Democrat prop. Like those
who have preceded her she will soon be dumped on the land-fill of
no-longer useful chumps. Cindy Sheehan and Monica Lewinsky are two
names that come to mind. For the rest of her life Ms. Fluke will be
known first and foremost as the woman who publicly pleaded for free
contraceptives. I feel sorry for her. I’m extremely thankful that
she is not my daughter. Ms. Fluke is a sad commentary on our
dysfunctional educational system. Her bachelor’s degree was in
“Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.” What a joke!
The controversy employs some of the favorite tactics of
the Democrats, one of which is complete corruption of the language.
We are told, for example, that the contraception debate is about
women’s “reproductive freedom.” Is anyone on the right advocating
interference with anyone’s freedom to reproduce? Isn’t what the
Democrats want the prevention of reproduction? Democrats
will claim all manner of bogus connections if it helps them further
their agenda. If you’re against forcing insurance companies to pay
for contraceptives, it’s because you’re a misogynist and you don’t
care about women’s health. As Mona Charen
points out, “Democrats are geniuses at muddying the waters and
twisting the debate in a direction they find congenial.” If the
mainstream media came within shouting distance of its
responsibilities, Democrats would never get away with such
absurdities.
Nevertheless, Republicans should not be discouraged. This
whole bizarre episode demonstrates just how desperate the Democrats
are. As the Wall Street Journal’s James
Taranto
says, “There seems to be wide agreement that the Sandra Fluke
kerfuffle handed the left a major victory. We respectfully
dissent.” Maybe the world isn’t spinning out of control.
