Sunday, October 30, 2005

can't knit for justice

Been thinking about getting an abortion, ladies? Emergency contraception? Better cash in on those privacy rights while you still can, because we have a new Supreme Court justice coming our way, and she ain't going to be no Sandra Day O'Connor. Think Scalia, pounding a bible.

With the Harriet Miers nomination, Bush's "just trust me" strategy fell flat with the extreme-right conservatives who take credit for his presidential victories. For them, it's time to pay the piper. While Bush probably believed whole-heartedly that his own attorney would have been an anti-abortion, pro-gun, born-again conservative vote on the Supreme Court, his people clearly missed the memo. Now they are clamoring for a nominee with an iron-clad conservative record, and based on reports about Bush's short list, they are likely to get it.

Add in some cuts in domestic spending: $2.3 billion dollars' worth, announced Friday, intended to free up government dollars to pay for post-hurricane rebuilding and spiraling war costs. What will those cuts look like on the ground? Think Medicaid. Think prescription drugs for seniors. Think child care programs. Think things are going to get much worse for us, women? Well hey, at least the Supreme Court nominee may be a woman. That would be gratifying.

Mid-term elections are coming up quickly, and this could be an opportune moment for progressives to swing into action and grab a significant number of seats in Congress while the administration is at its weakest point ever, with an abysmal approval rating of around 35% and the whiff of scandal hanging around it. What are you going to do about it, ladies? Well, okay, first stock up on emergency contraception. But after that?

It's not time for another Knit for the Cure, my friends. If you're not engaged in the feminist movement somehow, this is a great time to change that.

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