Madonna. Cher. Prince. Pro-Life. Er? As some of you may already have heard (I've been waiting for my Broadsheet shift to post this!), an Idaho farmer seeking to follow the tough act of Larry Craig has (finally!) legally changed his name to Pro-Life. That's it. Just Pro-Life. Period.
Well! Does this mean his opponents (Gun-Control and Out-of-Iraq) will call him a flip-flopper, claiming that he "wasn't always Pro-Life"? Will John McCain now change his name to Maverick, or Moderate, just to keep fucking with us? I could go on. Pro-Life's campaign slogan: The Jokes Write Themselves.
What I do "admire" about this fellow (born Marvin Richardson), with "admire" in air quotes the size of the Frank Church Wilderness, is that he is more consistent and fearless in his views than many of his less chutzpadik peers: That is, he apparently advocates murder charges both for doctors who perform abortions and for women who have them.
Which also gives me a bit of pause: Should we stop shooting fish in a barrel here and worry that this guy could actually get elected? These days, one never knows. (Idaho, it should be noted, has received NARAL Pro-Choice America's coveted reproductive-rights grade of "F.") What interim impact could he have, other than an unfortunate proliferation of Idaho wisecracks? Well, so far, he can at very least claim (accurately) to have inspired an "emergency" state law that would protect the unborn help people in some way require candidates who change their name to a stance have a note added to the ballot that also specifies their given name.
But, you know, from a purely rhetorical standpoint, "pro-life" has always beaten "pro-choice" like rock beats scissors. I wonder if maybe this silliness could contribute in some way, just a teensy bit, to a dilution and hollowing of the term. I mean, even more than its most vociferous advocates have done themselves. Hmm, just a thought. Now back to the jokes. What would your new feminist-platform name be?
Shares