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From: lauren@vortex.UUCP (Lauren Weinstein)
Newsgroups: net.flame
Subject: The Republican Platform
Message-ID: <392@vortex.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 21-Aug-84 23:40:24 EDT
Article-I.D.: vortex.392
Posted: Tue Aug 21 23:40:24 1984
Date-Received: Sat, 25-Aug-84 05:35:44 EDT
Organization: Vortex Technology, Los Angeles
Lines: 64

Let's hear it for the new Republican Platform.  A Platform so conservative
it makes Goldwater, Sr. in his heyday look like a left-winger.

It contains such gems as suggesting that all appointments to federal
judgeships should have strong anti-abortion views, and once again
proposes the inane concept of a constitutional ammendment banning
abortion, apparently even in cases of incest and rape.  Of course, there's
no mention of ERA or any similar concepts, which is to be expected.

I don't normally make political statements, but I marvel at the
inconsistencies in many of the current conservative viewpoints:

   concept	    realistic expected results
----------------------------------------------   
1) Ban abortion.
		--> More babies, more unwed mothers, more child abuse.
		    This will occur largely with the poor, who couldn't
		    afford to go out and buy abortions regardless of
		    their legal status.  We won't even discuss the
		    disgusting and unfortunately real horror stories
		    of "coathanger" abortions and their results. 

2) Cut aid to sex
   education programs.
		--> Same results as above, plus combines with (1) 
		    to cause an even greater problem.	

Obvious concept of above two points:
		-> "Life is sacred at all costs,
		    regardless of the quality of life."
		    [This is clearly a RELIGIOUS concept.]

Also, apparently:
	-> There's nothing wrong with imposing conservative religious
   	   views on others--even on those in other countries (I refer
	   here to recent moves to cut off ALL family planning assistance
	   to countries that use abortion as even ONE part of their
	   birth control planning.

3) Support capital punishment.
		--> This turns out to be handy, since you need some way
		    to get rid of all the criminals wandering around
		    the streets, many of whom will be the result of
		    forced births resulting from (1) and (2).	

4) Denounce ERA (or try pretend it doesn't exist).
		--> The bottom line, no matter how you try to
		    slice it, is that the conservative viewpoint
		    basically feels that the woman's place, ultimately,
		    is in the home.  ERA codifies a view contrary
		    to this, and thus cannot be accepted by these
		    individuals, almost purely on "philosophical"
		    grounds alone.

-----

One can only hope that ultra-conservative views such as these, which have
now been codified in the Republican Platform, will help people to decide
what they're REALLY voting for.  Frankly, the prospect of 
more Supreme Court Justices being appointed by our current
President is itself, as far as I am concerned, reason enough
to vote for someone else.

--Lauren--