Hey, Ashley: I Breed and I Vote

Not only that, I breed Republicans, and Number 2 Son will be old enough to vote next year.

Of all the crack-pot comments of Ashley Judd, the most offensive was her assertion that it is "unconscionable to breed."  Her rationale is that Planet Earth is too crowded and there already starving kids, so it is "selfish" to make more.

It's a particularly odd remark when viewed through the prism of Kentucky voters. Many of us chose to live here because it is such a great place to raise children -- much more family friendly then Washington, D.C., for example, from where my family relocated. There are great parks, safe neighborhoods, not much traffic, a variety of good schooling options, a low cost of living. Businesses here tend to recognize the importance of family and the resulting need for flexibility and humane schedules.

In fact, many of us chose to relocate here specifically for the advantages it offers to professionals who still want to spend not just quality time with their children, but quantity time, too.

Given the centrality of family to Kentuckians, Judd's choice of verb  -- "breed" -- is just creepy.  Like she's talking about livestock, not babies.  What is it with liberals and their incessant attempts to come up with new words to describe babies?  First they tried "choice" or "fetus."  (When was the last time you went to a Fetus Shower?)

Judd's contribution to the nomenclature is to shift it from that of constitutional penumbras, or clinical science, to the barnyard. It's beyond politically tone-deaf; it's just crude.

I commend Judd for working with the poor.  But she makes a false dichotomy:  one can care about starving children and still long to feel a baby's first kick.  For some, the choice to have children fulfills the Biblical purpose of a marriage.  Most Kentucky  parents would say that our greatest blessing is to create another life with the love of our life.

I don't condemn Judd's decision not to have children. Her lack of respect for the decision of so many Kentuckians to have babies shows that she does not share our values. Having a baby is a lifestyle choice, after all.  Democrats say they are all about lifestyle choice.