Pelosi: Abort the Poor

When someone says something ridiculous, and then follows it up with, "I'm serious," my general inclination is to respond, "No, you're not. You're trying to be outrageous. And you have a reason."

Rarely, I'm willing to accept that they're just making a silly argument to support a position they genuinely hold. I think that's what's going on here.

On Sunday (Jan 25), the Speaker of the House appeared on ABC's "This Week," where she explained to the host, George Stephanopolous, how funding contraceptives and family planning would stimulate the economy. Let's be clear--responsible and honorable people hold positions on both sides of the "family planning" argument. Just because you disagree with the other person doesn't mean they're evil, and anway, that's not the point of this post.

The point is how she made the argument: that family planning would stimulate the economy by cost avoidance, because the children who would not be born would not need state aid. Last I checked, the children of the rich don't need that state aid, and generally don't qualify for it. So, did she think about what she was actually implying? Can you imagine the outraged headlines if, say, her neighbor, Republican Senator John Ensign from Nevada, had made a similar argument?

Now, I believe the Congresswoman holds her positions honestly, and I have little doubt she approves of family planning as a matter of principle. But, can we please not make ridiculous arguments to justify funding our pet philosophies? And, the next time her opposition says something that can be twisted unfairly, I hope she considers what headline could have been written about her on Jan 26. I wrote it here--but, then, not many people read this blog.