Wednesday: Catch Up

So yes, I did not get to write my post for yesterday, but today I'm going to play catch up. There are a couple things in politics that I wanted to talk about. First up, I am giving kudos to the state of Washington, because they just legalized same-sex marriage! This is just an awesome thing to hear, especially months after New York did the same. Like I've said before, it is a step in the right direction. The bill passed with a 55-43 vote in the House and that made Washington the seventh state to legalize gay marriage. I am really looking forward to seeing who else will take this step in 2012.

On a similar note, in California a federal appeals panel has voted that the ban on same-sex marriage is a violation of the constitutional right to equal protection. So right now, the next step is that opponents can try to appeal this decision in the U.S. Court of Appeals, or take it to the Supreme Court. I am really hoping that if it does get taken to appeals again, that this doesn't get put back into action. Proposition 8 has no place in our government. It would be amazing to see the state of California legalize same-sex marriage eventually, and this is how it will happen. As long as the opponents don't get their way again, and it would be interesting to see how the Supreme Court rules it, seeing as they've never ruled on this topic in the past. My prediction though: the Supreme Court would rule Proposition 8 unconstitutional.

I wanted to speak a little about the Susan G. Komen foundation. Obviously now the big news is that the Vice President has resigned. I just still cannot wrap my head around the whole thing. A foundation dedicated to breast cancer, stops giving funds to Planned Parenthood to give breast exams, because they're being "investigated"? It was an utterly stupid move on their part. Planned Parenthood is often the only place people can go for health care. Women's health is a huge area that needs all the support it can get. To see the internet and people come together and have this decision reversed in only a few days, was incredible. It makes me really optimistic that people really can make the difference.

I was also really happy to hear about Obama's new regulation about birth control. Of course, the religious groups and Republicans are up in arms, but I say screw 'em. The regulation requires almost all employers to cover birth control, which means no co-pay for women we get it. So many women are using birth control, and the reasons why are endless. Some are using it for family planning yes, but others use it for other purposes. Here's a graphic with information that is on President Obama's website:

Click graphic to enlarge :)

Tuesday: Florida Primary

     So Tuesdays are going to be my political days here on the blog :) Tonight was the long awaited Florida primary, where Mitt Romney took the victory over Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, and Ron Paul. This isn't the first time Romney has fought to win Florida, but it is his first victory. As of 10:40 pm reported on The Washington Post's website, Mitt Romney came in with about 46.4%, ahead of Gingrich who had 31.9%, Santorum came in with only 13.4% and Ron Paul with 7%. My initial thought is, oh God, Romney won. Then it was, at least it wasn't Newt, and then it changed to, it doesn't matter they're all terrible. In his victory speech Romney had the audacity to say this:

"Leadership is about taking responsibility, not making excuses,” he said. “Mr. President, you were elected to lead. You chose to follow. Now it’s time for you to get out of the way.”

     Excuse me? Obama is a follower? I'm sorry, while I will admit his presidency has not been the amazing show we had hoped for, he was trying to get things passed while you Republicans shot it down in Congress. He has been trying to get health care, he's been fighting for jobs, he's pulled us out of Afghanistan...and you call him a follower? Mitt Romney is an idiot as far as I'm concerned. Plus, while watching the results on MSNBC tonight, I couldn't agree more with Chris Matthews who pretty much said that unless Romney has a script or a teleprompter, he is useless.

     So, then Newt Gingrich comes on to give his speech. First, let me say that I find his wife terrifying to look at. Her face does not move in the least bit. His speech was pretty much all his thoughts mashed together in no particular order. That's fun to follow, isn't it? I will admit though, he is a better speaker than Romney ever will be. Even if it isn't a smooth speech, at least he forms somewhat coherent thoughts. Essentially what it boiled down to though, was a lot of campaign promises. My favorite is his promise to reverse the "war" that President Obama has waged on the Christian Religion. Say what? Awesome, bringing once again two things that should have never been combined in the first place.

     So what do I think will happen from here? I think essentially Romney and Gingrich will battle it out until the end, but it will get ugly. Not that it hasn't already, after Gingrich won South Carolina, Romney went after him like a beast. To get an idea, in Florida Gingrich only ran about 300 ads, while Romney had 1000s. The money spent alone by each differs drastically, which tells you a few things. A. Romney just has more resources and B. Newt might just not have been doing enough.

     I think before we get to more mudslinging by those two, Ron Paul may surprise a bit. He did technically come in 4th in Florida, but he has more delegates which by his words, "is what matters". Honestly, I think the public forgets sometimes that Santorum is even in the race at all. He just does not generate any publicity, good or bad, at least at this point. I think the last news I have heard on him is what his last name could mean, and I don't even want to get into that.

     However, I think Ron Paul has a decent chance of at least hanging on for a while longer. He has the fact that a lot of youth is standing behind him. It seems like if they aren't behind Obama, then they've turned to Ron Paul. He also is becoming the lesser of all the evils in this race, which speaks loudly for many people. The Republicans have not redeemed themselves in anyway, Congress is still a disappointment, and it doesn't look like much will be changing. That is why Ron Paul might be so popular among the youth, because he isn't a diehard conservative.

At this point, anything goes, but the mudslinging amongst the two lead dummies will continue.