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CNN's Erick Erickson Suggests "Mass Bloodshed" May Be Necessary If Roe Isn't Overturned

January 24, 2011 10:15 am ET by Jamison Foser

CNN's Erick Erickson is also Editor-in-Chief and "Dear Leader" of the conservative blog Red State, so this charming passage posted by "The Directors" is presumably his doing:

Here at RedState, we too have drawn a line. We will not endorse any candidate who will not reject the judicial usurpation of Roe v. Wade and affirm that the unborn are no less entitled to a right to live simply because of their size or their physical location. Those who wish to write on the front page of RedState must make the same pledge. The reason for this is simple: once before, our nation was forced to repudiate the Supreme Court with mass bloodshed. We remain steadfast in our belief that this will not be necessary again, but only if those committed to justice do not waiver or compromise, and send a clear and unmistakable signal to their elected officials of what must be necessary to earn our support.

That "only if" construct means that -- according to Erick Erickson's Red State -- "mass bloodshed" will be "necessary" if elected officials don't overturn Roe v. Wade. Again: Red State doesn't say "mass bloodshed" may occur if elected officials don't do what is "necessary to earn our support" -- it says such bloodshed will be "necessary." Erickson and his Red State colleagues didn't indicate how much time elected officials have to earn their support before mass bloodshed becomes necessary.

This certainly is not the first time CNN's Erick Erickson has used violent rhetoric in discussing elected officials. This kind of talk must have some fans at CNN, though: Erickson has been chosen to provide "insight and analysis" for CNN's State of the Union coverage.

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    • Author by soze169880 (January 24, 2011 10:19 am ET)
      18  
      I got off the boat just because I was confused as hell as to what prior "mass bloodshed" he was referring to. For the record, he's talking about the Civil War, not Massive Resistance.
      Report Abuse
      • Author by indigo1968 (January 24, 2011 10:37 am ET)
        16  
        So to Erickson the Civil War was a strike by the Confederacy against the Supreme Court?

        Report Abuse
        • Author by soze169880 (January 24, 2011 10:55 am ET)
          12  
          Yep. The idea that leaving things to "states' rights" leading to institutionalized bigotry is apparently as foreign a concept to Urk as a sandwich without whipped cream on it.
          Report Abuse
          • Author by indigo1968 (January 24, 2011 11:17 am ET)
            11  
            Does Erickson perhaps realize that the greatest "states right" the CSA was fighting for was the right to maintain slavery?
            Report Abuse
            • Author by Alan in SF (January 24, 2011 1:00 pm ET)
                 
              Feature, not bug.
              Report Abuse
            • Author by skinny dog (January 25, 2011 2:51 am ET)
                 
              From what I've read, the CSA was also complaining that the northern free states were invoking states' rights as well, by enacting laws against the enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act, which inconveniently had an actual basis in the Constitution.
              Report Abuse
            • Author by docb (January 25, 2011 8:32 am ET)
              1  
              At times he has stuck to the script..someone forgot to brief him..He makes no sense what so ever..Another wingnut has said Roe v. Wade has lead to a Holocoust..These guys can not quit the lies and fear mongering! Stupid punks!
              Report Abuse
      • Author by wookie (January 24, 2011 10:57 am ET)
        6  
        I'm going to take a geuss and say he is refering to the Dred Scott decision which conservatives have previously disingenously linked to abortion. A court ruling according to traditional conservative ideas of property rights and citizenship is judicial activism in their tortured logic. And the civil war didn't come directly from that decision. It came from the south seceeding and attacking Fort Sumpter.
        Report Abuse
      • Author by megafly (January 24, 2011 2:25 pm ET)
           
        The civil war was fought over states rights. The north wanted the right to automatically free slaves who step foot on their soil. The South opposed this right. He could arguably be describing the Dred Scott decision
        Report Abuse
      • Author by The Lonewacko Blog (January 24, 2011 6:04 pm ET)
        1  
        Or, he could have been referring to an earlier post of his where Erick Erickson wondered why politicians aren't being beaten to a "bloody pulp". That was over something important: detergent regulations.

        At comment time, there are the twitter names of some people you can contact about him in a block on that page.
        Report Abuse
    • Author by epichuntarz (January 24, 2011 10:19 am ET)
      26  
      CNN made a huge mistake hiring this guy. He's said more than enough irresponsible thing to warrant them letting him go. Hopefully, it won't be long before they finally do the right thing and fire him.
      Report Abuse
      • Author by indigo1968 (January 24, 2011 10:38 am ET)
        12  
        I'm sure Erickson get a new job at Fox within seven days.
        Report Abuse
        • Author by indigo1968 (January 24, 2011 10:38 am ET)
          3  
          Sorry, "would get"...
          Report Abuse
        • Author by David2012 (January 24, 2011 11:08 am ET)
          8  
          He belongs on Fox. Maybe he can be Glenn Beck's Ed McMahon. They deserve each other.

          Who exactly is are these people threatening with "mass bloodshed"?
          Report Abuse
          • Author by Pinhead (January 24, 2011 1:35 pm ET)
            3  
            he can be Glenn Beck's Ed McMahon.


            Speaking of another failed CNN hire.
            Report Abuse
        • Author by MangyDog (January 24, 2011 11:37 am ET)
          5  
          Which is probably what keeps CNN from pulling the... er, firing him.
          Report Abuse
        • Author by DrMatt2003 (January 24, 2011 7:07 pm ET)
             
          More proof that CNN is anything but librul.
          Report Abuse
      • Author by rtejon (January 24, 2011 9:00 pm ET)
        2  
        His CNN parking permit expires 11 March, so we'll find out around that time.
        Report Abuse
    • Author by IRONY 101 (January 24, 2011 10:27 am ET)
      12  
      He misspelled "refudiate".
      Report Abuse
    • Author by progressivevoicedaily (January 24, 2011 10:31 am ET)
      9  
      CNN (CORPORATE NEWS NETWORK) is a complete joke. Hows the milk toast middle of the road reporting going for ya?? The "both sides do it" network. CNN is lame, and getting beat badly by FoxPAC and MSNBC.
      Report Abuse
    • Author by o rly (January 24, 2011 10:34 am ET)
      27  
      Wow, the statement is actually the pinnacle of irony. In his pursuit of "pro life" principles, Erikson is threatening mass violence. Don't any of the knuckle draggers listen to the words they say??????
      Report Abuse
      • Author by CrashGordon (January 24, 2011 10:39 am ET)
        18  
        Protect the unborn so that we can send them to die in wars of convenience and execute them if they turn out to be criminals.
        Report Abuse
      • Author by Imbecile (January 24, 2011 10:44 am ET)
        16  
        Republicans have no sense of irony at all. This is why they can say with straight faces that trees cause pollution, we cut down trees to save forests, we wage war to ensure peace, we kill people to save lives, we defund education to make us a world leader in education, the list goes on and on and on.
        Report Abuse
      • Author by wookie (January 24, 2011 11:02 am ET)
        8  
        And he does the Beckesque "nudge, nudge, wink, wink" method of projecting violence onto his opponents

        We remain steadfast in our belief that this will not be necessary again, but only if those committed to justice do not waiver or compromise
        Report Abuse
        • Author by Andy Kreiss (January 24, 2011 11:46 am ET)
          5  
          Don't make me hit you again, Darlin'!
          Report Abuse
          • Author by winstonsmith6079 (January 24, 2011 12:28 pm ET)
            4  
            I do it because I love you.
            Report Abuse
            • Author by Andy Kreiss (January 24, 2011 12:56 pm ET)
              6  
              One of the wingnuts has been following me around this site lately, after a little "hurt feelings" incident he's having trouble getting over, and he made a bizarre comment the other day implying that I might hit women or children.

              Bizarre in a few ways. First, this same poster has been known to openly advocate killing people he's been told to hate .Second, because this sort of unhinged violent reaction, and general insecurity among right wing males regarding their masculinity, makes it obvious projection.

              The more I see of Erickson, Glenn Beck, and some of the wingnuts who post here, the more I think the perfect embodiment of today's teabagger patriot is Doyle, Dwight Yoakam's character in Sling Blade.

              Blame the victim, then justify your own violent thoughts by playing the victim.
              Report Abuse
              • Author by Imbecile (January 24, 2011 2:09 pm ET)
                4  
                The more I see of Erickson, Glenn Beck, and some of the wingnuts who post here, the more I think the perfect embodiment of today's teabagger patriot is Doyle, Dwight Yoakam's character in Sling Blade.


                Bingo!
                Report Abuse
      • Author by afriend (January 24, 2011 3:22 pm ET)
        5  
        oh yes, its the old right wing case of believing that life begins at conception and ends at birth.
        Report Abuse
    • Author by takemycountryback (January 24, 2011 10:58 am ET)
      13  
      Hypocrites! I am so sickened by republicans and conservatives or tea ballers who love to say to the govt. "STAY OUT OF MY LIFE!" except when it comes to demanding that the govt. invade the lives of those whom you disagree with. It is a double standard that you all must just be too dense to comprehend. You cannot have it both ways. For example, if you want the govt OUT of your healthcare decisions, end of life decisions, etc. then how can you rightfully invite them to intervene when it comes to abortion or their determining what a life constitutes? Is it because Jesus demands it? If you want to be taken seriously you cannot have it both ways.
      Report Abuse
      • Author by Andy Kreiss (January 24, 2011 11:53 am ET)
        2  
        Maybe Erickson is just sending a message to the meddling government employee, Sheriff Dupnik.

        " Nobody tells me to tone down the violent rhetoric!"

        I guess he didn't sign Glenn Beck's little pledge.
        Report Abuse
    • Author by MidnightWriter (January 24, 2011 10:58 am ET)
      4  
      This kind of garbage offers a fine example of intentionally written words that can cause unintentional consequences.

      If it were just the "bloodshed" lines alone, I'd might be willing to leave it be. But prior to that we are offered the idea that Roe v. Wade was an act of "judicial usurpation."

      That is the kind of language that I believes offers inspiration, motivation, and justification to the nutcases. Oh, sure, of course, we have the very Beckian, "gee, we sure hope violence won't be necessary again," qualification, but that doesn't change their calling a Supreme Court decision an act of illegal seizer--an uprising against the rightful sovereign.

      Those are the arguments that inspire the lunatics who embrace a paranoid fantasy of a world where there is only good and evil. If Erickson wishes to stand by those words CNN should fire him immediately.
      Report Abuse
      • Author by curiousindependent (January 25, 2011 11:49 am ET)
        1  
        I dunno, I would think that the Citizens United decision would be a far better example of "judicial usurpation", but that's just me.

        Apparently the right is fine with fully corporate-owned politicians, but letting a woman choose what happens inside her body is off the wall.

        I have an idea! How about we line up all of the women who are anti-choice, and when a woman wants an abortion, we instead just transplant the embryo? Any female who is anti-choice can be put into a pool, and they can just draw names, winner gets a new pregnancy, whether she wants it or not!

        Win-win!
        Report Abuse
    • Author by DAWUSS (January 24, 2011 11:04 am ET)
      3  
      But he's not inciting violence or making contributions to incendiary rhetoric...
      Report Abuse
    • Author by peace4all (January 24, 2011 11:09 am ET)
      6  
      for a group that spends so much energy talking about the "sanctity of life" the right sure spend alot of time wanting to kill people.
      Report Abuse
    • Author by epkklk851 (January 24, 2011 11:12 am ET)
      6 1
      Why does Erick Erickson get control the decisions of individual women and their doctors over a medical procedure? Abortion has been illegal for millenia, and in the same time, pregnant women and abortion providers have documented methods of abortion in every one of those societies. I am not pro-abortion, I think it is a dreadful decision to make, however, I have known nearly a dozen women who admitted to having abortions, and not one of them seems to have regretted her decision. I knew one who knew the projected birthday of the fetus, and she admitted to wondering what the child would have been like, but she also firmly believed that she made the right decision. I knew another woman who still regretted the foolish and drunken encounter that caused her pregnacy, but she still believed it had been for the best. She still smarted over the judgement of co-workers who openly opposed abortion and tried to make her feel guilty for the decision. Both of these women were good women, they both had or went on to have children, and they valued being mothers. I can't condemn their choice, I can't say they made a wrong decision, but I am sure they would have found ways to get the abortion, even if it were illegal. Why should we make criminals of these desperate women and the doctors who perform the procedure. Abortion will not go away if Roe v Wade is repealed, but the abortions that take place after will not be as safe as they are in a professional, legal environment.
      Report Abuse
      • Author by indigo1968 (January 24, 2011 11:40 am ET)
        5  
        >>>Why does Erick Erickson get control the decisions of individual women and their doctors over a medical procedure?

        Because in Republican-Land, white males know best.
        Report Abuse
        • Author by CrashGordon (January 24, 2011 11:54 am ET)
          4  
          One white male in particular--their idea of Jesus. That's the one who offers them everlasting life and blesses their business dealings, but not the one who turns the other cheek, feeds the poor or heals the sick (for free!).
          Report Abuse
          • Author by mescal (January 24, 2011 6:46 pm ET)
            3  
            Just remember what Jesus Christ said about abortion:


            NOT A DAMNED THING!
            Report Abuse
      • Author by shaggles (January 24, 2011 11:44 am ET)
        5  
        I think Hillary Clinton was on the right track a few years ago when she was talking about not making abortion illegal but uneccessary.
        Report Abuse
        • Author by indigo1968 (January 24, 2011 11:52 am ET)
          6  
          Two words: Birth. Control.

          But unfortunately, many people still seem baffled by the concept - not to mention incapable of controlling their sexual urges for two minutes until someone puts on a condom.

          Report Abuse
          • Author by CrashGordon (January 24, 2011 11:58 am ET)
            6  
            Actually, two better words are: Sex Education (specifically real sex education that doesn't stop at abstinence). Many people are raising teenagers today and trusting that they'll know what to do when the time comes--or worse, that they'll used good judgment about something they've never been educated about. You have to wonder why the people who are so against abortion are also so against any form of sex education that goes beyond abstinence. It falls into one of their favorite defensive strategies: bury your head in the sand and problems can't see you.
            Report Abuse
            • Author by indigo1968 (January 24, 2011 12:39 pm ET)
              2  
              I agree. Abstinence programs (esp among teens, be they Christian or not) have proven to be ineffective time and again.

              They simply don't work.
              Report Abuse
          • Author by dommanno3075 (January 25, 2011 12:21 am ET)
            4  
            Two words: Birth. Control.
            Birth control is not the solution; it's the next target. These people aren't opposed to abortion alone, they're opposed to all officially disapproved sex acts. They enforce the disapproval by forcing women to give birth against their will. If they die as a result, so much the better - it really reinforces the lesson.

            Birth control is not the answer. The anti-choice side will have to be told to sit down and shut up and leave the adults alone.
            Report Abuse
            • Author by mescal (January 25, 2011 1:50 am ET)
              2  
              You nailed it, dommanno. The anti-choice movement's ultimate goal is control of our everyday lives by controlling our personal sex lives and, thereby, the nearly endless number of personal behaviors that accompany it. They want us as tightly controlled and under their thumb as a midieval serf. As ever, it goes beyond religious belief, and speaks to their most fundamental of beliefs that humans are, at core, brutal, stupid, and completely selfish, and must be controlled by those elites who have taken their 'rightful' positions as socio/economic/political elites.

              It's the way things were done in the ancient world, and it's the way that they would have it done today.
              Report Abuse
          • Author by curiousindependent (January 25, 2011 11:57 am ET)
            2  
            many people still seem baffled by the concept - not to mention incapable of controlling their sexual urges for two minutes until someone puts on a condom.
            I have a beautiful 5 year old daughter who was conceived when I was wearing a condom (it broke). I would never consider abortion, and neither would my wife. But it is good that it is there.
            An aquaintance almost got his face smashed in when he suggested that I shouldn't have been having sex with my wife unless we were trying to get pregnant.
            As far as Republicans seem to be concerned, even though we used protection, we shouldn't have had a choice after that. Fortunately we have the resources to raise and care for that child. What about people who don't? The thinking seems to be: so?
            The same folks who would force a woman to carry out a pregnancy will not provide any financial aid at all. From conception to adulthood, the parents would be responsible, even if they couldn't afford the child and did everything to avoid the pregnancy, short of total abstinence.


            Report Abuse
      • Author by thebewilderness (January 24, 2011 12:52 pm ET)
        5  
        Abortion has been illegal for millenia,

        No, it hasn't. That is part of what is so weird about this whole madness of removing the civil rights of half the population.
        It was not until 1965 that abortion was finally made illegal in all 50 states.
        The Comstock Law was used to suppress information about birth control and abortion until 1938. The Griswold decision permitted married couples to use contraception. Srsly!

        The several states used to control their citizens in whatever way they wished. The Feds stepped in and said they had to stop breeding people for sale to the highest bidder.
        That is why the Civil War reckons mightily in the discussions of abortion.
        Controlling the means of production of human resources is about forced pregnancy and forced birth. Never for a moment think it is not.

        The question remains the same as it has for many years. Are women human?
        Report Abuse
        • Author by epkklk851 (January 24, 2011 1:28 pm ET)
          3  
          In my high school health class, in the aftermath of Roe v Wade in the 1970s, I was taught that ancient Egyptians and ancient Romans had laws against abortion, but they also had medical documents showing how to induce them. I wasn't aware of the information you presented, but it is interesting, thanks. My point is that outlawing abortions only makes outlaws of the women who have them, it doesn't make them go away. Only reproductive knowledge and access to contraceptives can keep the number down.
          Report Abuse
          • Author by The_Cat (January 25, 2011 11:08 am ET)
            2  
            There's a more subtle point here as well, epkklk851. That is that if abortion were criminal, then poor women couldn't get them, but rich women could still fly to Europe whenever they wanted or needed to have one. Just more widening of the gap between rich and poor, and one more step towards instituting a new plutocratic aristocracy in the United States. The idea that a poor or middle class woman might have the same choice about any aspect of her health that a wealthy woman has is simply unacceptable to them.
            Report Abuse
        • Author by David2012 (January 24, 2011 1:32 pm ET)
          1  
          Through most of American history until the latter part of the twentieth century, abortion was legal through "quickening", i.e. approximately the fourth month of pregnancy. Here's one summary history, but they're not hard to find:

          http://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/issues/97may/abortion.htm
          Report Abuse
    • Author by JoeBu (January 24, 2011 11:14 am ET)
         
      "...physical location..."- such a nice euphemism for the womb. Like a second bedroom, or bus depot.
      Report Abuse
    • Author by shaggles (January 24, 2011 11:29 am ET)
      2  
      "simply because of their size or their physical location."

      I like this bit. I would say 'their physical location' is pretty f-ing important.
      Report Abuse
      • Author by Andy Kreiss (January 24, 2011 11:52 am ET)
        3  
        Of course, even getting your point about "location", it's irrelevant in another way. It's about what society at large believes defines a human life, not about how big a fetus is, or where it is.

        We're divided on it as a country, so we've gone the pro-choice route, which allows the most personal freedom, and the least government intrusion.

        That is, if you're anti-choice,or just anti-abortion, nobody is going to make you have an abortion.

        If you're pro-choice, nobody can stop you from having an abortion.

        Why do right wingers hate freedom so much ?
        Report Abuse
        • Author by Dharmasatya (January 24, 2011 12:45 pm ET)
          7  
          I think it ought to be pointed out that if you're pro-choice you are also free to choose to have as many babies as you want.

          It's about acknowledging that women are autonomous beings with a right to privacy and the right to control what happens to their own bodies.

          ...and that is the very idea these misogynistic troglodytes can't stand. At it's core, anti-abortion advocates HATE women. They hate women and they fear women. It's sick and sad and so ingrained in our culture that it will take generations to erase this backwards thinking from our society.
          Report Abuse
          • Author by Another_Cat (January 24, 2011 4:59 pm ET)
            4  
            Not as relevent, but relatively equal to point out that if you are pro-life you are free to choose to adopt as many of those pro-life mother's unwanted babies as you can prove you are able to support (which for the average earnings of the most vocal republicans would be quite a few). But they're already doing that...wait, really, they're not? Hmmm....
            Report Abuse
            • Author by mattcable250650 (January 24, 2011 6:48 pm ET)
              3  
              The essential problem with most anti-abortionist philosophies and their hypothetical situations is that, as one feminist put it, they see the woman involved as nothing more than a "see-through Tupperware container." They fail to acknowledge that there are two living beings involved, not just one. That's why there simply is no relevant analogy between a pregnancy/abortion situation and anything else you might name.
              Report Abuse
              • Author by Dharmasatya (January 24, 2011 9:41 pm ET)
                3  
                Yup. There is a distinct lack of acknowledgment that women are people when they're pregnant. As soon as a female human finds herself knocked up, the fetus-fetishists will only see her as a vehicle for reproduction. She ceases to be human and becomes a thing, a tool without feeling or desire that has no rights and no voice.

                Wait a sec, that's not quite true. It doesn't matter whether a woman is pregnant or not, that's how they're seen by these idiots all the darn time.
                Report Abuse
          • Author by jediknight65 (January 24, 2011 7:16 pm ET)
            1  
            agree 100 percent.
            Report Abuse
        • Author by shaggles (January 25, 2011 1:19 pm ET)
          1  
          If the location is in another persons body I would say that's pretty much all it's about.
          Report Abuse
    • Author by SMTDL (January 24, 2011 11:30 am ET)
      5  
      Let me see if I have this right..
      We have to kill a lot of living people( ie bloodshed) in order to reject the Supreme Court allowing a choice to terminate early pregnancies to save newly developed fetuses without regard to the rights(constitutional?) or wishes of the human beings carrying the fetuses.Why is advocacy for preserving fetal life justified by bloodshed?
      Report Abuse
      • Author by marionetta (January 24, 2011 11:56 am ET)
        2  
        And again, the MSM will report on the violent rhetoric from the left and ignore the Erick Ericksons that work in their midst.
        Report Abuse
    • Author by Christian Atheist (January 24, 2011 1:35 pm ET)
      1  
      I'm just wondering why it was important enough to include that line about mass bloodshed.
      (facepalm with head shaking)
      Report Abuse
    • Author by paul8616 (January 24, 2011 1:45 pm ET)
      2  
      IOW:

      "End the murder or we will murder you."

      This position is what they call 'pro-life.'

      Pat Tillman died because of it.

      Erick Erickson is a terrorist.
      Report Abuse
    • Author by NiceguyEddie (January 24, 2011 2:29 pm ET)
      5  
      Nice "pro-life" principles there, you hypocritical FRAUD.

      Translation: Unless this "smaller governement" we keep harping about is willing to FORCE every woman to carry every pregnancy to term, whether she wants to or not, whether she even consented to the sex or not, we've got to start KILLING PEOPLE. And we have to start killing people, becuase HUMAN LIFE IS SACRED, and if you don't agree with that, then someone who BELIEVES IT should KILL YOU.

      Oh and uh... Contraception? No.

      Social Welfare? No.

      Pre-natal care? Post-natal day care? Are you kidding?

      You know what? I think mass anal rapings may be necessary if conservtaives in the media don't start TELLING THE TRUTH and SPEAKING PLAINY and stop being HYPOCRITICAL, SELF CONTRADITORY PHONIES!

      ---------------------------------------
      God, I hate these bastards.
      Report Abuse
      • Author by Avicenna (January 24, 2011 5:41 pm ET)
        3  
        Hate is a corrosive poison, Niceguy. The guy is a fraud. I say this as a person opposed to abortion but who has no problem with the law allowing it. It's a personal decision. Pro-lifers should stop attempting to legislate behavior.
        Report Abuse
        • Author by curiousindependent (January 25, 2011 12:07 pm ET)
          1  
          One thing that needs to happen is truth, which has been lacking. The right calls pro-choice people pro-abortion. I doubt seriously that you could find anyone sane who is actually pro-abortion. Then they call themselves pro-life, which, given their stance on the death penalty and wars of choice, couldn't be further from the truth. What they are is anti-choice, and anti-woman. They see a pregnant woman as nothing more than an axlotl tank, there for the sole purpose of incubating another future soldier or death row inmate.
          Report Abuse
    • Author by j238 (January 24, 2011 2:43 pm ET)
      3  
      Is there a faction in the right-to-life camp the opposes guns and tobacco and supports life-saving health initiatives?

      Either that exists, or the entire movement is a gang of hypocrites that want to reinstate fear of pregnancy as a deterrent to sex.
      Report Abuse
      • Author by ForTheLoveOfEllipsis... (January 24, 2011 6:50 pm ET)
        2  
        the entire movement is a gang of hypocrites that want to reinstate fear of pregnancy as a deterrent to sex.

        Ding ding ding ding ding! We have a winner!...

        Yes, it's exactly that--it explains the apparently contradictory positions on abortion, contraception, and sex education. People educated in safe sexual practices, and who use contraception correctly, have very little risk of pregnancy or disease, and this fact drives the right wing absolutely wild with fury. They want any sex act outside of martial sex for the purpose of procreation to be so fraught with terror of unwanted pregnancy and/or disease that they'll do anything to bring that about. If that means keeping people stupid and disinformed, then they'll go with it...
        Report Abuse
        • Author by The_Cat (January 25, 2011 11:11 am ET)
          1  
          If that means keeping people stupid and disinformed, then they'll go with it...


          ... and all without apparently realizing they are causing more problems than they are solving.
          Report Abuse
        • Author by curiousindependent (January 25, 2011 12:13 pm ET)
          1  
          People educated in safe sexual practices, and who use contraception correctly, have very little risk of pregnancy
          "Very little" is extremely loaded. I can testify that, even using contraception correctly is not a guarantee of avoiding pregnancy. There is a condom brand out there that bills itself as feeling like you aren't wearing one. They are, unfortunately, pretty darn near correct.

          When it breaks, it still feels like you aren't wearing one.
          Report Abuse
        • Author by j238 (January 25, 2011 2:30 pm ET)
          1  
          There is a small political movement against birth control in this country. Some doctors and pharmacists have asserted a right to refuse services they don't approve of.
          Report Abuse
    • Author by truth4me (January 24, 2011 3:45 pm ET)
      4  
      Why do the wombless people think they have a say in this???
      Report Abuse
      • Author by curiousindependent (January 25, 2011 12:10 pm ET)
        1  
        Thank you. As I have said before, if you don't have a womb, you don't have a say. Even if you contributed to the pregnancy, you can only serve as an advisor, and if your view is not the same as the person with the affected womb, then you need to stfu and accept her choice.

        And I mean that if you, as a male, think that abortion is the answer and she does not, stfu. Conversely, if you, as a male, think that abortion is not the answer and she does, also stfu.
        Report Abuse
    • Author by sluggo (January 24, 2011 3:47 pm ET)
      3  
      CNN really needs to get rid of this person. Either he has some kind of "no-cut" contract or the powers at CNN are happy with the kind of nonsense being linked to Erickson. The corporate controllers at CNN must view ANY kind of publicity as good, given the continuing low ratings at this network.

      If the "all publicity is good" policy is really being pursued at CNN then why don't they just have some of their news readers have "wardrobe malfunctions" on air (both male and female) rather than have one of their commentators linked to talk about mass murder...
      Report Abuse
      • Author by rtejon (January 24, 2011 9:09 pm ET)
        2  
        Because only a competent executive would think of that, or even know of the precedent set by Russia's NTV in the 1990's. CNN is not run by competent people, and I've noticed that practically none of their on-air personalities have been renewing their contracts lately, because I keep seeing more of them show up at other networks, particularly CBS. It's made an already surprisingly easy decision to stop watching CNN feel even more effortless.
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    • Author by cb72 (January 24, 2011 5:30 pm ET)
         
      Well one thing's for sure, when the revolution does come, it will be led by bunch of morons.
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    • Author by Avicenna (January 24, 2011 5:38 pm ET)
      2  
      An unbelievable and irresponsible statement.

      As a person of religious faith, I oppose abortion, except in the case of a mother's life a risk, pregnancy and a few other exceptions.

      However, I would never, ever attempt to force any other person to live my religious faith, to believe as I do. The mother and father should make that decision, within the law, as they are allowed.

      I don't listen to blowhards like this, but CNN should stop featuring this bombastic meathead. It gives us conservatives a really bad name.
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      • Author by Avicenna (January 24, 2011 5:39 pm ET)
        2  
        I made a typo there with an extra "pregnancy." Please disregard that.
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        • Author by ForTheLoveOfEllipsis... (January 24, 2011 6:56 pm ET)
          2  
          The typos are understandable; I hardly go a sentence without one! You convey a very nuanced view of the topic, which is anathema to those people who think policy statements should have to fit on a bumper sticker. It's absolutely possible to be pro-life in terms of whether one would personally choose to have an abortion in a given situation, and pro-choice in keeping government out of what is a very wrenching personal decision. As you suggest, the two positions are not at all incompatible, and show a wise balance between personal beliefs and societal freedom...
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      • Author by rtejon (January 24, 2011 9:13 pm ET)
        2  
        We can subsidize birth control for lower-income Americans and make sex education teach very frank lessons cause-and-effect, both of which would greatly help (and likely be opposed by conservatives on "principle"), but making people better at choosing their partners is beyond any mortal's ability, and I don't see how Erickson's scenario would do anything other than compound the problem.
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    • Author by jediknight65 (January 24, 2011 7:17 pm ET)
      2  
      funny......thought the right wing didn't use violent language.........
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      • Author by Dharmasatya (January 24, 2011 9:43 pm ET)
        2  
        They don't use it against "people". The right doesn't consider anyone who values the autonomy and privacy of women to be human, so that makes it all a-ok!
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    • Author by dhampton100 (January 24, 2011 8:16 pm ET)
         
      And...Just what does he call the murder of the Doctors over the past few years?
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    • Author by jeremyfisher (January 25, 2011 12:08 am ET)
         
      Freedom of speech assumes a responsible, educated, and humanist brain. Those who would take rights away from individuals have no place in a society where all are created equal. Inciting violence has several criminal implications. We must learn that free speech does NOT insure intelligent content.
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    • Author by nomadic1 (January 25, 2011 9:29 am ET)
         
      "You know what bugs me about [pro-lifers]? If you're so pro-life, do me a favor - don't lock arms and block medical clinics. If you're so pro-life, lock arms and block cemeteries. I want to see pro-lifers at funerals opening caskets - 'Get out!' Then I'd really be impressed by their mission." - Bill Hicks
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