When it comes to literary unprofessionalism, it’s difficult to top Gail Collins. Back in February, Ms. Collins’ sloppiness led her to accuse Scott Walker’s education budget cuts led to teacher layoffs in 2010. It was proof that Ms. Collins’ research skills aren’t highly developed. Thankfully, I can rely on Ed Morrissey’s research skills, which were evidenced in this post:
There are newspaper corrections that sincerely intend to repair the record … and then there are New York Times “corrections” to columns that should never have run in the first place. On Friday, the Paper of Record published a Gail Collins essay blaming Scott Walker’s cuts to education funding in Wisconsin for teacher layoffs that took place in 2010. There were only two problems with the column: Scott Walker didn’t take office until 2011, and his public-employee union reforms actually prevented cuts that would have resulted in even more K-12 layoffs. Either of those could have been easily checked, but would have been obvious to anyone who paid the least bit of attention to the controversy in Wisconsin over the last four years.
Needless to say, I don’t take Gail Collins word on anything. That’s why I did a little reading when she issued this edict:
We’ve been wondering when a presidential candidate would say something incredibly insensitive about women and reproduction. The moment has arrived. The 2016 Todd (“Legitimate Rape”) Akin Award for Sexual Sensitivity goes to Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin.
Maybe it was inevitable. Of all the practicing politicians in the scramble, Walker is possibly the sloppiest public speaker. Compared with him, Chris Christie can be a pinnacle of verbal discipline.
Last week, Walker was on a radio talk show, praising a law he signed requiring women who want an abortion to undergo an ultrasound. Which they’re supposed to watch, while the physician points out the features of the fetus.
An ultrasound, he said, was “just a cool thing.”
That Gail Collins describes the baby in the ultrasound as a fetus shows that she isn’t coming at this from an unbiased perspective. How many women, when they see their first ultrasound, say “Look at my fetus”? Aren’t they most likely to say “Look at my baby”?
The whole reason why Wisconsin legislators passed that bill and Gov. Walker signed it into law is because a significant number of women that see their baby when they get an ultrasound decide not to get an abortion.
There are 2 points that are essential to this article. First, it isn’t coincidental that Gail Collins’ fury is directed at Scott Walker. When she wrote about Gov. Walker in February, she couldn’t be bothered with getting the facts straight. This wasn’t a difficult project. Anyone with a memory knew that Gov. Walker wasn’t elected until November, 2010. Anyone with an ounce of professional pride would’ve gotten that right. She didn’t.
Second, it’s clear that Ms. Collins isn’t in touch with people in the heartland. Apparently, in Ms. Collins’ world, the widely held belief is that anyone who does anything that makes it more difficult to have an abortion is a Neanderthal. Anyone that can compare the stupid thing that Todd Akin said with what Scott Walker said is frightening.
Then again, I am talking about Gail Collins.
Sorry, but Todd Akin was correct, scientifically, and only stupid politically in the way he said it.
First off, what the hell is “legitimate rape?” Anyone that thinks there’s such a thing needs their head examined. Todd Akin gave Claire McCaskill a gift that gave her a re-election victory in a race that she would’ve lost otherwise. If you want to keep handing Democrats gifts like that, perhaps it’s time to rethink your thinking.