At times, politics can be thought of as the art of division, rather than constructive efforts at compromise. In Andrew Rosenthal's opinion piece Has Political Discourse Hit Rock Bottom, he lays out a rather convincing argument that American politics has been reduced to a closed-minded, shock-jock dominated battle for ratings, or votes depending on the individuals involved. A key detail supporting the argument of Mr. Rosenthal was a particularly hateful and sexist remark made by Rush Limbaugh about Sandra Fluke, a college student upset about the refusal of her insurance company to pay for contraceptives. After referring to her as a “slut”, Mr. Limbaugh made a very disturbing remark that she wants the public to pay for her to have sex. These statements in and of themselves are offensive, but of little concern to the average American as Rush is not a public servant, but what is scary is the way that members of the Republican Party tend to kowtow to Rush. In 2009 when then RNC Chairman Michael Steele referred to Rush as an “entertainer” who’s show was “incendiary”, Mr. Steele soon gave a public apology to Rush stating,”There was no attempt on my part to diminish his voice or his leadership.”

          Although this example of Rush Limbaugh being insensitive is disruptive to political discourse, Rush is simply radio personality, or as Michael Steele put it, an entertainer. In order to discover how volatile the current political climate can be to individuals, one need only to investigate another current controversy mentioned in this article. Mr. Rosenthal points out a recent bill proposed in Virginia which would require a woman to endure a trans-vaginal ultrasound before an abortion. This involves sticking a probe into a woman’s vagina and showing her a picture of the fetus before an abortion is allowed. A similar law is on the books in the state of Texas, but that law requires an external ultrasound, which is just as effective and non-invasive. For this reason it is clear that those in support of this law do not simply intend on saving the life of a baby, but also to rob a woman of her dignity.

        Mr. Rosenthal hypothesizes that we have fallen so far in our political discourse that we must be close to the bottom, at which point the only direction is up. Although I agree that we have come rather close to rock bottom in our civility, I have come to a different conclusion. As long as the general public is receptive to mudslinging and slanderous accusations than there is money to be made and votes to be attained, and that profit and those votes will simply perpetuate more of the same behavior.