WASHINGTON—Just after Senator Rob Portman of Ohio said having a gay son had caused him to reverse his opposition to gay marriage, Portman’s Republican colleagues began changing their positions on a variety of issues when they discovered that they, too, have families.
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and Speaker John Boehner said they realized they had wives and daughters, leading them to rethink their views on the Violence Against Women Act. “Having women in my life,” said Boehner, who has been married for thirty-seven years, “puts this thing in a whole new light.”
Cantor said that he was beginning to believe he’d been entirely too rigid on the subject of abortion, adding, “I’m starting to think it might be better to just leave this whole thing to women. Let them decide for themselves. It’s their body, you know?”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, meanwhile, said Portman’s action got him to thinking about his own family, and he remembered a distant cousin who’s had cancer. “I thought of Cousin Billy and realized that people really do need medical care,” the Kentucky Republican said thoughtfully. “Maybe we were barking up the wrong tree with all this business about Obamacare. Maybe it’s actually a good thing after all.”
Asked if his cousin’s cancer might cause him to reconsider his view of federal spending, at least for medical research, McConnell looked surprised. “You know, I never thought of that,” he said. “But now that you mention it, yeah. Cancer is pretty serious. Maybe we ought to make some effort to find a cure, or at least understand more about what causes it. Heck, that might end up saving money in the long run.”
Senator James Inhofe, for his part, announced a change of heart on the subject of climate change, after an aide reminded him delicately that he has family members living on planet Earth. “I’m not concerned about myself,” the Oklahoma Republican told reporters outside the Capitol. “But I was surprised that every single member of my family lives here on Earth, and that’s led me to a sobering reappraisal of my position. I now say we can no longer ignore global warming.”
In a sign that such concerns are spreading throughout G.O.P. ranks, Representative Michele Bachmann has reportedly scheduled chest X-rays for her entire family to ascertain whether they, like so many Americans, have lungs. The Minnesota Republican became concerned, in the words of an aide, “that air pollution might be harming her own loved ones.”
If the tests show telltale signs of lung activity, or if Bachmann is persuaded that her family members ingest food, drink water, and otherwise interact with the environment, she may well reassess her opposition to environmental regulations, the aide said. She added, “Representative Bachmann has always been a person who faces the facts and adjusts accordingly. She’s not just some ideologue.”
Read more: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/shouts/2013/03/rob-portman-gay-son-gop-humor.html?printable=true¤tPage=all#ixzz2NinPnXAc
No comments:
Post a Comment