John McCain has had some mental lapses in recent weeks. There was his confusion over whether his cap-and-trade plan had a mandatory cap, his conflation of Sunni al Qaeda and Shiite Iran, and his repeated references to Czechoslovakia (divided now for over a decade) just to name a few. But as Katha Pollitt writes in her most recent Nation column (which the Tribune reprinted today),
his muddled rebuttal to a reporter's question regarding whether some
health insurance plans cover Viagra but not contraception could be more
dangerous than any of the other gaffes:
McCain's non-response when queried about this by a reporter was astonishing. As you can still see on YouTube, he squirms and grins and smirks (Viagra! embarrassing!) and fumfers about evasively.
"I don't know enough about it to give you an informed answer," he manages to splutter, "because I don't recall the vote. I've cast thousands of votes. ... It's something I've not thought much about."
So, John McCain is so opposed to contraception he voted against requiring insurance plans to cover it like other drugs, and either so indifferent to women's health and rights or just so out of it he doesn't even remember how he voted. That's the way to show American women you really care.
The Arizona Republican's radical disregard for reproductive rights and women's health doesn't stop at contraception. Dana Goldstein digs a little deeper:
I guess [McCain surrogate Carly] Fiorina hasn’t heard that McCain’s anti-choice agenda goes far beyond overturning Roe v . Wade — he also voted against requiring insurance companies to cover birth control. And for the record, McCain is opposed to comprehensive sex-ed and has said he’s not sure if condoms prevent the spread of HIV. “Choice” is not exactly the guy’s calling card.
For more on these crucial issues, check out this Wonk Room post we linked to in June.
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