Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Walberg: "Citizens of Maine should rise up against it"



Here's the quote:
Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich) agreed, adding: "I think the freedom-minded, common sense-minded citizens of Maine should rise up against it."
(Emphasis added.)

That's all I saw of the article when I did a Google News search on Congressman Walberg, and, needless to say, I was confused. Why does our representative want to start a revolt in Maine?

Sadly, it's not as exciting as it sounds, but it's still worth mentioning.

Remember the sudden controversy about the middle school in Portland, Maine that decided to add the birth control pill to the items which could be dispensed at the school health center? It sparked a debate over when it's appropriate to give birth control to minors, whether parents should be notified, and whether students engaging in consensual, under-age sex should be prosecuted.

The controversy seems to have died down a bit, though it's interesting to see that 67 percent of Americans polled support the concept of schools providing birth control, with differences among that 67 percent over parental notification. Still, this isn't a national issue, it was one school board in Maine, and, for the most part, it seems to have faded from the headlines.

That hasn't stopped the conservative CNSNews.com from trying to keep the issue alive, however, with their latest article about the controversy being published today. That's where I saw the Walberg quote, though the quote actually came from a previous article, published on October 19.

So, why, exactly, did Congressman Walberg say that Maine ought to "rise up against" birth control?

CNSNews.com asked several federal lawmakers (seven members of the Senate and one member of the House, Walberg) what they thought of the issue. Those that answered said, basically, "I don't know, why are you asking me? It's a local issue!" and some didn't bother to respond. Here are the other responses that they got:
Sen. Tom Coburn: (R-Okla.): "I think all of that should be decided in the states." (Listen to audio)

Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.): "I'll need to take a look at that one. I'm not aware of that circumstance. I think I'll worry about Maryland right now." (Listen to audio)

Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.): "I haven't studied this very much ... generally probably no." (Listen to audio)

Sen. John Sununu (R-N.H.): "We certainly shouldn't support that kind of program at the federal level." (Listen to audio)
Needless to say, Congressman Walberg had more to say. Here's the full quote that the "rise up against it" bit came from:
Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich): "I hate to comment on other states, but the issue, I think it's inappropriate. I think that it steps in the way of parental responsibility and I think it also gives up - gives up in the sense that we've lost the battle for kids, following a plan that won't affect their lives in a negative way. And when you say you're going to be this way, so we're going to give you birth control and condoms and we're not going to talk about abstinence, it just doesn't work, we've given up. I think the freedom-minded, common sense-minded citizens of Maine, should rise up against it." (Listen to audio)
So, he hates to comment on local issues which are really out of his control, but... he'll do it anyway.

I had a little trouble at first figuring out exactly what he was trying to say, but I think I've got it now. To Congressman Walberg, giving sexually-active teenagers birth control and condoms is "giving up" on them. We should be telling them that abstinence is the only way, rather than giving them the things that could make the lifestyle they've already chosen safer.

Really, from what I can get out of Walberg's comments, it's a moral issue, not a public health issue. It's a battle between morally superior men like Walberg and heathens like myself, who recognize that abstinence-only education doesn't work (here, here, and here, to give you a few of the many articles available).

When forming public health policy, who should we be listening to-- Tim Walberg, or doctors and people who actually know what they're talking about?

Of course, on another level, all of this is beside the point. Should Tim Walberg really be telling the people of Maine anything, let alone to "rise up against" smarter health policies? He's always reminding us about how terrible things are in Michigan, thanks to that "Democrat Governor" and the state legislature. You'd think he'd be spending less time worrying about Maine, and more time working for us.

But that's just me.

(UPDATE: Oops. I made a misquoted Walberg in the title at first, but have now fixed it.)

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Comments:
"freedom minded, common sense minded" citizens would realize that hiding the truth about sexuality from our young adults is wrong. Only through education which includes abstinence and birth control methods can the youth of our country make informed decisions. Common sense would dictate that you can't stop natural human sexuality with legislation.
 
When Congressman Tim was at Manchester and asked a question about National Collective Bargaining, he made it a point to talk about how he was a constitutionalist and that if it's not in the constitution, it must be left to the states...I'll bet that on issues of morality, Tim would be the first yes vote to make us a more "Christian-like" nation!
 
I despise Walberg as much as anybody here, and I'm the leader of the "he's not really a constitutionalist, he's a big-government centralist" choir, HOWEVER, to be fair to the Mullah, he is not actually advocating the federal government step in and stop Maine from doing this -- he's just expressing an opinion on what Maine should do. There's nothing wrong with that from a constitutional perspective.

I do like that the blog attempted to call him on a centralist/decentralist issue, though.

I'd like to get Walberg's take on the unconstitutional, states-rights-usurping War on Drugs; or even medical marijuana in particular.

Of course, the power to recall congressmen is not prohibited to the states in the Constitution, and therefore, resides with the people or the states... And yet Walberg said it was unconstitutional just because it wasn't explicitly authorized in the Constitution. He is a liar and an idiot just like every other pol.
 
Check out who is going to support Tim Walberg because they can't decide who to support for the presidential race:


The announcement was made yesterday that The Christian Coalition of America will be skipping the presidential primaries and instead be focusing on Congressional races. From the AP -

"We're going to be focusing on congressional races," president Roberta Combs told The Associated Press by telephone. "I think it's more important that we focus on the congressional races and getting more conservatives in office because that's who makes the laws that govern our land."
-snip-

Combs said she was meeting with others to help determine which 2008 congressional races to rally around. "I plan to look at targeted states where we need more conservative lawmakers," she said.

Meanwhile, the coalition hasn't decided whether to develop voter guides for the presidential primary. The group has released the information in the past, but Combs said the candidates' positions are fairly well known already.

The coalition became an important ally to George W. Bush when he ran for president in 2000. Christian conservative support only grew after Arizona Sen. John McCain called Robertson and Jerry Falwell "agents of intolerance." (emphasis added)

So where does logic tell us they'll head here in Michigan? The most obvious campaigns in Michigan to benefit from the group's "faith, love and charity" are Republican Rubberstampers Representatives Tim Walberg of Tipton in the 7th Congressional District and Joe Knollenberg of the 9th CD.


you can read more here: http://www.michiganliberal.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=10633
 
Heads up, someone is dialing for dollars on behalf of Walberg.

I asked if any other republican had declared to run and they said they fully expect someone else to.

This is a campaign staffer for Walberg, so they must be taking this race seriously now. It looks like someone else will have a shot at Walberg before Schauer the Annointed gets his shot.
 
I wish someone would take a shot at Walberg in the primary. Hopefully, whomever this mystery GOP candidate is will tear Walturd to shreds.
 
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