Originally published in this week’s TriCityNews. If you live in Monmouth or Ocean County, NJ - pick up a copy! 

As the two year anniversary of health care reform approaches, women shouldn’t ask themselves what made Republicans hate us so much (the answer to that is stayed away in droves.) But we should ask what life would be like if our health was left in their hands. 

The Affordable Care Act, signed into law by President Obama two years ago next week, has prioritized women’s health despite efforts from Republicans who seem to be working out their mommy issues on every woman in America. Their counterproposals not only suggest that they don’t care about women’s health, but that they believe women should be punished for the fact that their healthcare is inherently sexual.

Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, insurance companies can no longer discriminate by charging women premiums 150% higher than men of the same age and health status. This reads as either “good news” or a “threat to our freedom” depending on whether you believe in equality or align yourself with the increasingly radical GOP. 

The law places a cap on what insurance companies can force women to spend in co-pays and deductibles. Beginning in 2014, women who can’t afford comprehensive insurance will be provided with tax credits. That’s a great relief for over one-half of women in America who delay seeking life-saving care because of costs and the other one-third who must give up basic necessities to receive urgent care. For a first-world country, that’s a third-world reality. 

The Affordable Care Act also eliminates lifetime limits on insurance coverage. And it forbids them from dropping women from coverage when they get sick. 

Preventing insurance companies from preying on the weakest among us? President Obama might as well have burned the flag on the White House lawn while eating escargot and blasting the Dixie Chicks. 

Republicans have spent the better part of the two years since the Affordable Care Act became law fighting for regressive change. Instead of focusing on the job creation they allegedly care so much about, they have favored policing uteruses - introducing over 45 bills on abortion alone.

Recently in Virginia, the State Senate passed a law which forces women to have medically unnecessary ultrasounds before an abortion. Though proving chivalry isn’t completely dead, the provision to require an intrusive - and again, medically unnecessary - vaginal probe was left out.  

I suppose it’s not surprising that a policy which benefits women so greatly doesn’t have the support of Governor Christie, who has declared that he is “not a fan” of the Affordable Care Act. Doing his part to be the best Regressive he can be, Christie himself eliminated $7.4M for women’s reproductive health services in 2010. 

Beyond legislative assaults on women’s health and reproductive rights, there have been gross verbal attacks.

Rick Santorum, that theocrat in the sweater vest who is somehow taken seriously as a presidential prospect, would like to outlaw birth control entirely. Rick Santorum is also against abortion in all cases including rape and incest. You read that correctly: someone who is vehemently anti-abortion is also vehemently against the one thing which is sure to prevent abortion. 

Foster Friess, Rick Santorum’s top donor - yes, Santorum has donors - recently stated “you know, back in my days, they used Bayer Aspirin for contraceptives. The gals put it between their knees and it wasn’t that costly.” 

In an attempt to one-up Friess, this past week Rush Limbaugh took a break from popping Oxycontin and looking for his 5th wife in order to attack Sandra Fluke - a Georgetown University law student and witness at the Nancy Pelosi-convened Democratic Steering and Policy Committee’s unofficial hearing on birth control. The hearing served as a response to the all-male panel hearing held by the Oversight and Government Reform Committee. 

Limbaugh stated that Fluke was a “prostitute” and a “slut” before going further to suggest that the “sluts” who expect their contraceptives to be covered under their health insurance should be forced to tape themselves having sex and post the tapes online so that “we can all watch.” 

After devoting multiple days of his radio program to personally attacking Sandra Fluke, Limbaugh issued an apology for his “word choices”, adding that the episodes were an “attempt to be humorous.” Limbaugh is probably more likely sorry that nobody told him misogyny doesn’t sell well: he’s lost 5 sponsors and counting.

Considering that nothing makes me want to hold an aspirin between my knees more than seeing or hearing Rush Limbaugh, It’s not impossible that he has decided to selflessly employ himself as a means of contraception. What a guy.

Sure, the Affordable Care Act isn’t perfect. A lot of liberals like myself were disappointed not to see the inclusion of a public option. Still, it’s difficult to feel dissatisfied when cogitating the sort of health care reforms Right-Wingers deem acceptable.

It seems when they say want to “take our country back!” they mean to the 1800s specifically. 

By Olivia Nuzzi

Originally published in this week’s TriCityNews! If you live in Monmouth or Ocean County, NJ…pick up a copy!

Originally published in this week’s triCityNews - if you live in Monmouth County, NJ pick up a copy!

Driving north on the Garden State Parkway, my attention was drawn to a white flag that danced above the traffic from a distant overpass. “What for?” I thought. ”Surrender?” The words painted across it flashed fully for only a second before caving wildly into nature’s rhythm. To the dismay of my neighbors on the road, I slowed down to observe. Though discolored by our New Jersey air, the white background provided a stark contrast to the red-painted lettering which spelled out “RON PAUL 2012”

There is no shortage of support for OB/GYN, Libertarian, Texas Congressman and presidential candidate Ron Paul. Though his advocates span across the political spectrum, they share a pronounced commonality: being malcontent. The majority of Ron Paul supporters whom I have come in contact with became such recently - as recently as within the last year. Many of them are young people whose desire to become politically engaged morphed into Ron Paul fever once they got a glimpse of our two party system as it currently operates - or more accurately, malfunctions.

Matt Williams, a college student and Paul proponent, ecstatically told me “I first became familiar with Ron Paul’s politics at the beginning of the current presidential race. During the 2008 race, I wan unaware of Paul’s political leanings. Earlier this year, I came across a video on the internet that described Ron Paul as anti-fed [Federal Reserve]. So, I began to research his politics and after several hours scouring his voting record, I became an enthusiastic supporter.” As they tend to, the old adage rings true - there is no greater zealot than a convert.

Enter American politics in 2011: It’s a bird, It’s a plane, It’s a constitution-wrapped-bus voyage, It’s a book tour, It’s a…presidential campaign? Our political climate is such that it is not only difficult to define the difference between the New York Times and the Onion, but it is difficult to determine which publication presents a safer reality.

We have been thoroughly intellectually corrupted by our careless media, the Republican Party has been hijacked by ill-informed, mentally ill extremists and the Democratic Party has been hijacked by…Democrats. Times are doubtlessly strange.

The right wing has seen itself split in two, with the evangelical conservatives on one side and the libertarian conservatives on the other. Caught in the middle are American citizens longing for elected officials who know the meaning of sanity, empathy and responsibility.

Libertarian conservatism, conversely, runs on spirit - accessible and intoxicating. If you talk fast enough and smile big enough, it’s an easy sell. Freedom and liberty – ya’ know, that stuff we allegedly have already - are the kind of words that momentarily lift the weight of mortgages and student loan debt off of the shoulders of voters.

The notion that Ron Paul is “a politician yet not a politician” has garnered him support among Occupy Wall Street protesters. The Occupy movement, unlike the Tea Party, has not yet aligned itself with elected officials or candidates. Playing the democracy game, as the Tea Party obediently did, is irrefutably what enabled them to become powerful, changing the face of the Republican Party and paralyzing Congress through the power of one midterm election. The “99%ers”, who remain sour on the subject of elected officials, view Ron Paul as a beacon of hope in a crowd of greedy hacks. These protesters, of course, ignore the fact that championing Ron Paul - who is a champion of austerity - is antithetical to the Occupy Wall Street movement.

For liberals who stand with Congressman Paul, supporting him is supporting the reinstatement of a comparatively sane Republican party. Since 2008, Congress has served us little more than toxic Tea Party tea. Feeling we have found the cure in a folksy Texas Congressman, some contend the result of Paul securing the nomination will be a healthier America. Though to believe that, you must ignore the glaringly obvious:

Ron Paul is an extremist disguised as a reasonable guy. Inhabiting a strange space in the Republican Party, he emits a hazy common sense aura that draws people - heads nodding and cheeks turning - to him. His charisma and perceived reasonability act to distract some folks from the fact that his policies are illogical.

What brings forth that common sense aura is Paul’s stance on foreign policy - namely his embrace of isolationism. After ten years spent fighting un-winnable wars - one entirely unjustified - Americans are suffering from war fatigue. The cost of the last decade has been the lives of over 6,000 US soldiers and an estimated $4 trillion. Paul’s position speaks to citizens who view the Bush administration’s foreign policy as careless and senseless.

College student Matt Williams explained his view of Paul’s foreign policy, claiming - laughably - that his stance is “not ‘revolutionary’ or ‘isolationist’ as many pundits claim”, continuing, “If you were to think back to 1998, it would have been unthinkable for America to invade another country” Right, because we didn’t invade Grenada or Russia or Cuba (twice) or the Philippines.

The GOP debates have provided us with an opportunity to witness Ron Paul vs. the Media. The media, it seems, does not take Paul seriously. He receives, as supporter Sam Navarra told me, “way less time” than other candidates. Continuing, ”during the CBS debate he got one question while everyone else got five or more.” This fact coupled with the reality that Paul has supporters in droves who are dedicated like no other candidate’s fans does lead to suspicion that perhaps there is a conspiracy at play to deny him the nomination.

These televised outings have proved tricky for the Congressman. Attempts to fit his views into sixty-second answers have led to public disaster. During the CNN Tea Party Debate, he famously declared that a man in a coma with no health insurance should “assume responsibility” and be left to die, prompting an approving roar of ”yeah!” from members of the audience.

Beyond the “Let Him Die” fiasco, troubling still are the rest of the Congressman’s views and the fact that even with them, he maintains support from disaffected conservatives and liberals alike.

The thorough vilification of regulation positions Ron Paul as the most radical GOP contender. Like his peers, he has called for the dismantling of the EPA - which, lest we forget, was created by Richard Nixon, that kooky liberal. Unlike his peers, he has gone as far as to call for the abolishment of the Department of Education, making Governor Christie’s condemnation of Teacher’s Unions look like child’s play.

The Congressman’s unique ideology hardly ends there. He introduced legislation to repeal the assault weapons ban and has stated that he will oppose any attempts to reinstate it.

Chillingly troubling is Paul’s open love for the Mother of Objectivism, Ayn Rand. Rand - the focus of Republican worship despite the fact that she campaigned against Christianity like her last name was Hitchens. Rand - the great hypocrite who spent a lengthy career denouncing government only to die on Social Security and Medicare. Rand - the woman who declared that those who placed the well-being of others first were “emotional parasites”. Rand - the first-class sadist who wrote a book so long and boring that you wonder why Rumsfeld didn’t send 1000 copies to Gitmo. Astonishingly conscienceless and childishly selfish, she shares her name with Congressman Paul’s son, Senator Rand Paul.

Drawing criticisms from all sides of the aisle and nearly every economist with a pulse, Paul has proposed returning to the gold standard. As triCityNews publisher Dan Jacobson correctly notes, one of the many ironies here is that the “anti-Wall Street” Ron Paul supporters who applaud his desire to return to the gold standard would have been standing with the Wall Street plutocrats of the late-1800s.

Additionally, Paul has outwardly questioned the need for driver safety laws. Undeniably, it takes a real leader to bravely go after seat belts which have been impeding on our freedom to fly out of windshields since 1961.

It is necessary to note that Paul is not a total Libertarian. For him, liberty ends at the uterus. Libertarians advocate privacy and personal freedom above all else, thus they are on the side of Roe v. Wade. Dr. Paul - an OB/GYN - has stated that Roe. v. Wade was a “big mistake.” Indeed pro-life Libertarians make about as much sense as pro-drilling dolphins, but don’t bother mentioning it to the Congressman’s supporters.

As the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street have proven, dissatisfaction with our government extends across party lines. Calls for upheaval and the upholding of the Constitution (there’s a novel idea) are awakening citizens Left and Right. Ron Paul, representing something “new” and ”reasonable” has stumbled his way onto a pedestal that he is undeserving of.

American freedom is not about roaming alone on the side of the road in the middle of the night waiting to get mowed down by a freight truck. American Freedom is about existing with the comfort of knowing that the truck will see your reflectors and move to the side.

That is what regulation is: a reflector in the dark.

In President Paul’s Unregulated States of America, citizens will be given more rope…just enough to hang themselves.

By Olivia Nuzzi

Originally published on September 29th, 2011 at More Monmouth Musings.

Beyond the question of “will he or won’t he?” a number of possibilities also hang in our polarized American air. One of those is the possibility that Governor Christie may be able to swiftly pick up the pieces of Rick Perry’s shattered opportunity to secure the youth vote. That elusive demographic is arguably what pushed President Obama over the river and through the woods and into the White House. Christie is now positioned to lure the kids to his side.

Before Rick Perry collapsed onto himself, he stumbled into the most brilliant vie for the affection ofGeneration: Everybody Gets a Trophy that the Republican party had ever seen. While it’s common wisdom that young people will always vote their conscience (more specifically, who they deem to be on the right side [the Left side] of the social issues track), it is rarely noted that conscience is precisely what a large percentage of 18-25ers lack. Being of the crop of ‘93, I would know. 

Weeks prior to deserting his straight-talking, straight-shooting persona, Perry was on the path to kid-fueled victory with quips like “anybody that’s for the status quo with Social Security today is involved with a monstrous lie to our kids, and it’s not right.” Message: “they’re screwing you, and I’m here to make it stop. I understand you.”

While hope and change is good and fine, “I’m going to make sure you get what’s rightfully yours” is even better. Money talks, and Mr. Christie is anything but soft spoken. 

With it’s distrust of authority and ever-decreasing supply of patience for our current United State of Affairs, I sense parallels between the Tea Party and the youth that have rested largely ignored. The spirit that fuels a young person’s stomp in the face of perceived unfairness is the spirit that drives revolt against an institution. 

Spooked by the National stage, Perry lost his identity and promise in a few stuttered moments. This is unlikely to happen to Governor Christie, who is undeniably - regardless of what I think of him - a skilled, political force of nature. He possesses the power to harness the energy bubbling beneath the streets to blow Obama’s White House down. 

By Olivia Nuzzi

Originally Published September 28th, 2011 at More Monmouth Musings

It is impossible to disagree with the Tea Party’s fierce insistence that budget reform is necessary. It is no secret that New Jersey is in dire financial straights. While our impressive near-$33 billion debt has the stains of many administrations, it cannot be ignored that Senator Jennifer “Romney” Beck and Assemblywomen Caroline Casagrande, Mary Pat Angelini and their cronies have made decisions which have halted progress and placed enormous, unwarranted burdens on tax payers. 

This is not fiscal conservatism, this is political theater. The Twisted Sisters have saved the state money for their own sake by taking it directly out of the pockets of those they claim to protect. 

With February marking our second credit downgrade since 2008 at the hands of Standard and Poor’s, the only way to ignore the fact that poor is rapidly becoming our new standard would be to bury your head in Asbury Park’s tourist-friendly sand. 

While balancing the budget is important, effectively stepping on the necks of residents by forcing local governments, schools districts, and individual taxpayers to shoulder additional costs defeats the purpose of spending cuts. The “tough choice” Ms. Beck made in order to keep that budget of ours balanced was the choice to advance her own political career, even if it meant harming the very voters that allowed her to have one at all. I’m sure she lost a lot of sleep over that. 

Budget cuts are indeed necessary. Even destructive budget cuts may be justified if they effectively do what they are intended to do: lower taxes. But the cuts that Ms. Beck, Ms. Casagrande and Ms. Angelini advocated for have increased property taxes significantly. If you were worried that New Jersey’s status of having the highest property taxes in the country was going someplace, breathe a sigh of relief. So long as the Three Blind Legislators are in office, you can be confident that we will retain the title.

Here’s the rundown:

- Freezing Senior Freeze: Program that freezes property taxes for seniors so they don’t continue to increase over time. Beck, Casagrande and Angelini voted for the budget that gutted it and against the budget that restored it. 

- Cutting School Aid: Cutting billions in aid to schools - including $50 million in aid to District 11 schools alone - has resulted in serious budget holes that have been closed by raising taxes, cutting programs altogether, forcing students to pay for previously funded extracurriculars, and in some cases going as far as to force student teaches to pay a fee to work.

- But! A few districts will receive more aid this year than under Corzine’s last budget. One of those that did is Colts Neck, Caroline Casagrande’s hometown, which is patently absurd, considering the average family income in Colt’s Neck is $109,190, while the average family income for the state is $55,156. Why, instead of providing that aid to a district that needs it - a middle class district for instance - is that aid being given to one of the wealthiest communities in New Jersey?

- Slashing Property Tax Rebates: The average citizen now receives 75% less in property tax rebates than they did under the previous administration. 

- Cutting Municipal Aid: This has resulted in serious budget holes which have been closed by catastrophic cuts and paralyzing tax hikes.

A political parade of careless cuts results is nothing more than the violent trampling of taxpayers. Ms. Beck, Ms. Casagrande and Ms. Angelini have not only run over their constituents, they have proceeded to back up over their bodies before running over them again. Ms. Beck, of course, is driving. 

Twitter is sort of like cutting into distinct streams of consciousness and floating within their translucent walls. There, various types of humans are presented without pretense.  For individuals with clearly red or blue leanings, this is an opportunity to observe the (respective) beast as it plays undisturbed.

What’s jarringly obvious on a medium such as this is that stupidity is nonpartisan. Perhaps the most stupid action - and most popular - is the direct verbal assault towards or between those in disagreement. 

Some divides cannot be bridged. No amount of intellectual understanding can so much as echo the emotional connection sparked when two people believe the same thing, nor can it justify what one perceives - at their very core - to be unjust. 

You think you’re going to be able to complete the intellectual and emotional transformation of a human being through vitriolic 140 Character lectures for Christssakes? Get real.

Energy spent attempting to win over or conquer an ideological enemy is energy wasted. 

Know your beast and let it be. 

By Olivia Nuzzi