Eve Ensler

One of the things I know for sure is that if we watch what people do rather than what they say that the truth about their character and integrity will ultimately be revealed.

The Republican party has revealed itself this week, and I hope the voters are paying attention.  I hope the folks who never developed their critical thinking ability will wake up to the fact that they are being manipulated by the Republican party.  Rep. Kevin Yoder (R-KS), a Tea Party Republican, went skinny-dipping in the Sea of Galilee where Jesus is believed to have walked on water.  He didn’t apologize until he got caught and feared his actions wouldn’t play well back in the Bible belt of Kansas.

Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO), who is also a man of the cloth, had the audacity to minimize rape during an interview on Sunday.  The political flap is about abortion, but underneath it all is a boiling rage fueled by the callous indifference regarding violence against women.  Rep. Akin is running against Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO), who has long been a champion for women and veterans.

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO)

The Republican’s War on Women has targeted Sen. McCaskill intensely.  Karl Rove’s Crossroads GPS had spent $5 million on attack ads to defeat her until Rep. Akin made his outrageously misogynistic remarks.  He too has apologized and claimed he has empathy for women, but his actions tell another story.  The Republicans want him to bow out of the race because they know they can’t get elected without women’s votes.

Pres. Barack Obama, who is brilliant at revealing the truth in spin, opined:

Rape is rape.  What I think these comments do underscore is why we shouldn’t have a bunch of politicians, a majority of whom are men, making health care decisions on behalf of women.

Eve Ensler

Eve Ensler, who is a rape survivor, wrote an open letter to Rep. Akin for Huffington Post:

I am asking you and the GOP to get out of my body, out of my vagina, my womb, to get out of all of our bodies. These are not your decisions to make. These are not your words to define.

Why don’t you spend your time ending rape rather than redefining it? Spend your energy going after those perpetrators who so easily destroy women rather than parsing out manipulative language that minimizes their destruction.

And by the way you’ve just given millions of women a very good reason to make sure you never get elected again, and an insanely good reason to rise.