Sex and Republicans

One of my recent And columns pointed out the Republican fondness for condemning women who (shudder) have sex, let alone sex Without Consequences.
As if to re-emphasize my point, we have Mike Huckabee, preacher, former Arkansas governor, former would-be presidential candidate proclaiming that the Obamacare birth-control mandate is an insult to the women of America. Insulting because it makes women “believe that they are helpless without Uncle Sugar coming in and providing for them a prescription each month for birth control because they cannot control their libido or their reproductive system without the help of government then so be it! Let us take that discussion all across America because women are far more than the Democrats have played them to be.”
Huckabee is, surprise, wrong on his facts. “Uncle Sugar” doesn’t pay for birth control, it simply requires employer-funded insurance to pay for birth control if the woman wants that coverage (more here). But as Echidne notes at the link, this is right in line with the bullshit my column covered—that there’s something inherently objectionable, irresponsible and slutty in a woman using birth control.
As LGM points out, Huckabee should logically object to insurance covering childbirth, as that’s also the result of women giving in and having sex. The only difference, of course, is that childbirth is the “consequences” sex is supposed to have.
At her link, Echidne also catches Ann Coulter condemning Texas Dem Wendy Davis for having a “Sugar Daddy” husband who put her through law school. As Echidne points out, lots of wives work to put their husbands through school but nobody calls them moochers. John McCain’s wife, like John Kerry’s, was wealthy; George W. Bush and Jeb Bush both come from families with money. But we never hear about “Sugar Mommies” or “Sugar Parents.”
Huckabee, of course, insists he’s empowering women by fighting against defining them by their libido. It’s the same logic by which right-to-lifers claim they’re supporting women’s rights by fighting for their right to have a baby (no, it doesn’t make sense. What do you expect).
LGM catches several more Republicans empowering women. A pol who thinks women should all submit to their husbands (as does Huckabee). A Kentucky Repub who thinks domestic violence bills should ban abortion as the Ultimate Domestic Violence. And a Virginia politician who opposes making spousal rape a crime.