Last night, I live tweeted the second GOP debate to protect all of you from having to watch it. It was a doozy, alright. Here's a quick recap of everything you need to know that pertains to women's issues and LGBT issues (who are we kidding, though; they didn't talk about transgender anything).
1. Mike Huckabee and Kim Davis
Mike Huckabee talked about how there needs to be an allowance for county clerks who don't want to issue same-sex marriage licenses. According to him, the Supreme Court was legislating from the bench by daring to weigh in on the constitutionality of laws. Poor, helpless elected official Kim Davis took her oath when it meant issuing licenses to normal people. Now, she is trapped having to cater to the unnatural gays and lesbians or go to jail. (Not a direct quote. Wouldn't it be great if Huck actually said things the way he probably meant them?)
2. Carly Fiorina vs. Donald Trump
In the days leading up to the debate, Trump
said some unkind things about Carly Fiorina. Namely, "Look at that face! Would anybody vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next president?" Apparently, he is not at all self-aware. During the debate, Fiorina was asked to respond, and her comeback was on point. "I think women all over this country heard very clearly what Mr. Trump said." Trump jumped in to say that he was somehow talking about her persona instead of her actual face; "I think she's got a beautiful face, and I think she's a beautiful woman."
Let's make one thing abundantly clear: a person's level of attractiveness in no way influences how good of a President they will be. These kinds of critical assessments of beauty seem to really only affect female candidates for political office. For all that Trump's hair looks ridiculous, it doesn't seem to be hurting him in any way. For women, especially those over fifty, every little flaw can and will be picked apart in order to make the candidate seem less qualified.
3. Planned Parenthood
This part had me yelling at my television while my poor dogs looked on in confusion. Carly Fiorina and Ted Cruz both fervently urged the American people to watch the doctored footage put out by the extremist group inappropriately named the Center for Medical Progress. Every single candidate on that stage said they supported the defunding of Planned Parenthood. Jeb Bush touted his record of decimating Planned Parenthood funding in Florida back in 2001. He proclaimed himself the "most pro-life governor of modern times." Over the past 14 years,
women's health services have gone downhill in Florida, to the point that 23 of Florida's 67 counties do not have ob-gyns. At all. Way to be pro-life, Jeb!
When asked to name a "historically important female American" the candidates each would put on United States currency, almost half of the debaters named a personal relative who is of no historical importance to our country. Jeb Bush and John Kasich even named non-Americans. Carly Fiorina, the only woman on the stage, said she wouldn't put a woman on any of our currency.
US Sen. Rand Paul — Susan B. Anthony
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee — "my wife"
US Sen. Marco Rubio — Rosa Parks
US Sen. Ted Cruz — Rosa Parks (but he would put her on the $20 bill and keep Alexander Hamilton on the $10 bill)
Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson — "my mother"
Real-estate magnate Donald Trump — Either his daughter Ivanka Trump or Rosa Parks
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush — Margaret Thatcher (former prime minister of the United Kingdom)
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker — Clara Barton (founder of the American Red Cross)
Former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina — Would not change the currency
Ohio Gov. John Kasich — Mother Theresa (an Albanian most known for her work in India)
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie — Abigail Adams
All in all, the debate went as infuriatingly as expected. Chris Christie made a brief mention of the dying middle class, but otherwise there was hardly any mention of income inequality. Marco Rubio made a joke about the California drought (HA HA isn't it funny that the entire state is out of water and fighting a giant fire?), but no one dared bring up the environment in a serious way. Foreign policy was all a discussion of intervention and military, with diplomacy being put down as "patsy" behavior (someone literally said "patsy," I kid you not). Women's health took a huge beating, and the party is clearly still clinging to the notion that same-sex marriage is no-good-very-bad.
Who's good at mixing cocktails? I need a drink.
