No Bull Mom

The Shriver Report Rebuttal -- Part 3

"Our policy landscape remains stuck in an idealized past, where the typical family was composed of a married-for-life couple with full-time breadwinner and a full-time homemaker. Government policies and laws continue to rely on an outdated model of the American family, " writes Podesta in the opening to TSR.

Gee, I don't know. Seems to me that even if the model of the American family is dwindling, that's no reason to chuck what we know works and adopt a new model that encourages single motherhood and the dual-income family. That's like saying that since Americans are so obese today, we should just accept it and adopt policies that support this lifestyle.

Make no mistake: Changing public policy is precisely what this report is about. That last sentence -- "government policies and laws continue to rely..." is mentioned over and over again throughout the 450-page report. The goal is to change America. And they're not hiding this fact. Recall Podesta's opening: "This report contemplates what a new America should look like after we finally embrace this important new dynamic in our lives and the changes it has caused in our homes and businesses."

Indeed, it's no accident this report was completed this year. President Obama and the First Lady are wholly committed to the goals of TSR. As soon as Obama took office, Maria Shriver and the Center for American Progress went to work. They know Obama and Michelle will take this report seriously. Consider these statements the President and his wife have made that show their allegiance to the liberal and/or feminist movement:

"I won't deny my preference for the story the Democrats tell, nor my belief that the arguments of liberals are more often grounded in reason and fact." (Obama)

"The truth is, in order to get things like universal health care and [a] revamped education system, someone is going to have to give up a piece of their pie so someone else can have more." (Michelle)

"I am extremely concerned that [the partial-birth abortion ban] will [cause] conservative Supreme Court justices to erode Roe vs. Wade, which is a matter of equal rights for women." (Obama)

The partial-birth abortion law is a "ban on a legitimate medical procedure" that "is clearly unconstitutional and must be overturned..." (Michelle)

"The right wing has done a good job of building these organizations of accountability, but it's always easier to organize around intolerance, narrow-mindedness, and false nostalgia." (Obama)

No wonder conservatives weren't consulted for The Shriver Report. Our arguments would disprove their analysis and ruin their plans to change America for the worse.