Picking the Vice-President
McCain should NOT pick Romney
Today John McCain campaigned in Utah and Mitt Romney was at his side showing his support for the Arizona Senator. Campaigning in Utah is natural fro Mitt and his good attitude in helping McCain must be commended. Mitt Romney can help John McCain raise money for a very expensive fall campaign, something very important if the Republicans are to win the White House in November.
But Mitt Romney, while he may be considered for a cabinet level post, should not be presented or suggested as a candidate for vice-president. As posted here in the past, Romney’s history, as a senate candidate in Massachusetts and later as governor, did not play well for most pro-lifers. While Governor he did not advocate for the unborn as a pro-life governor. Massachusetts health care “reform” was not pro-life. Certainly while there were some who accepted his recent “change of heart,” others have remained skeptical and critical. He would not draw pro-life advocates to the campaign except in isolated situations. In order for him to show credibility in his new found pro-life position, Romney needs to put his money where his mouth is on the pro-life issue. Given his extreme wealth, he should spend some of that wealth on funding pregnancy centers in places like New York City or Los Angeles where pro-life groups do valiant work every day on shoestring budgets. He should fund national radio and television advertisements showing America the unborn child in 4d ultrasound and offering to help women through their unplanned pregnancies. Then having given to help the modern equivalent of the “widow and the orphan,’ he can provide good faith proof of his intentions. After all if we want to reduce the number of abortions, we must offer real help and real hope to those who need our assistance.
Romney will not provide McCain with a region or a constituency that would help in the electoral vote. This is a key factor in looking for a running mate.
Finally, if Mitt Romney is to contribute to the national stage now or in the future, he is best suited to do something that does not see him as still running for president. People need to see him doing something for the country for its own sake and not as a stepping stone to the White House. He can help McCain by going to his base of support and encouraging them to support the nominee of the party. He should also publicly rebuke fellows like Doug Kmiec for Kmiec’s less than helpful though obviously self serving remarks.
So who does McCain consider? Well, those thoughts will be the subject of another post.
Pro-life Democrats can give McCain the edge
Last year when almost everyone in the Washington, D.C. beltway was telling me that pro-lifers had to “get real” and “sign on” to the inevitable candidacy of Rudy Giuliani, I wrote a
March 7, 2007 piece explaining that he would never be the nominee because he was not pro-life and that the Republicans would not be foolish enough to nominate him, because he would lose to the Democrat. In a
previous article I touched upon the pro-life issue and the 2008 election. In both articles I used a very common sense and well known reality when speaking to the demographics. Serious Pro-life Democrats vote for the Pro-life candidate. If the candidate is Republican, he gets their vote. So when I read that 20 per cent of the
Obama supporters or the
Clinton supporters will vote for McCain in the general, I am not surprised.
Now this does not mean that Senator McCain has an automatic lock on these voters. Some of these Pro-Life Democrats are very conservative and do not like some of his positions regarding campaign finance reform or ESCR. Many of these Democrats are Catholic and their politics are more center/left than the Arizona Republican and he will have to persuade then that he cares about their concerns. See Robert Reilly’s excellent article on addressing the Catholic vote. Some of these Catholic Democrats are Hispanic or Latino and they have been told by their leadership that their allegiance lies with the Democrats, even though they are more socially and economically conservative than the public positions of the Democratic Party. Some of these Pro=life Democrats are very suspicious of Republicans in general and do not believe that voting for one will make any difference in the issue. They look at the last 35 years with a great deal of frustration.
Now understand that I have been strictly addressing pro-life Democrats. This group of voters has been disenfranchised by their party since 1976. Because of the extreme nature of the party on the abortion issue and the exclusion of pro-life democrats in party politics until recently, pro-life democrats had nowhere to go. But in 2006, some party leaders selectively allowed or promoted pro-life democrats in various races. The truth is that the McCain campaign can benefit from the extremism of both Obama and Clinton on the issue and draw a significant number of democrat and independent voters.
Pro-life leadership throughout the country has long known that on the subject of abortion, the pro-life position has an edge of anywhere from 4 to 9 points in most jurisdictions and that given a reputable candidate and all things being equal, the pro-life nominee can benefit from the pro-life position. I suspect that the many in the Republican Party know that although it generally requires a lot of education and detoxification from the expensive Washington political operatives who are afraid of that simple truth.
There will be a serious focus in the media on this percentage of either Obama or Clinton voters who will vote fro McCain in the general. You will not see many articles address the linchpin voters of this demographic. But with the continued infighting and politics of destruction being waged by the two democratic senators, this next month will prove to be very interesting.
Doug Kmiec's slide to irrelevance
I was puzzled by Doug Kmiec's
first article on Barack Obama and
felt compelled to write a response challenging his proposition. Others also responded prompting a reply that seemed to intentionally misstate the common criticisms of his article. All well and good and we moved on.
Until the other day.
Not content to claim that Obama is a "natural" for Catholics (an extreme pro-abortion politician ???),
Kmiec endorsed Obama on Sunday in Slate. I read the article and the only thing i can take from it is that because Obama opposes the war in Iraq, Kmiec can support him. Of course Kmiec points out that he is a conservative Catholic who advised to Republican presidents as if to say that simply because you have these credentials, you are credible. Sorry, it does not wash.
I do not see any "careful thought" in the decision.
Obama and Clinton are two very pro-abortion politicians. In fact they take a great deal of delight in trying to show that one is MORE pro-abortion than the other. Obama tells us that he regrets voting to allow for efforts to help Terri Schiavo. Yup, just the kind of fellow i want in the Oval Office.
I do not understand Kmiec's actions or his motives. I can only say that I am truly disappointed in his action.
Act Now
Arizona Legislature passes Ban on Partial Birth Abortion.
Call the Governor now to sign HB 2769.
The Arizona Legislature has passed House Bill 2769 (HB 2769) banning the barbaric practice of partial birth abortion. As you may know the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the federal ban last year. Many states including Arizona are passing laws to prohibit this horrible procedure. This action is needed to prevent the abortion industry from its continued exploitation of women and children through its lies and deceit regarding this gruesome procedure.
It is imperative that Governor Janet Napolitano hear that the people of Arizona want her to sign this legislation.
ACTION NEEDED:
- Call Governor Napolitano TODAY at (602) 542-4331 or at (800) 253-0883, or contact the governor by email. Politely ask her to sign the partial-birth abortion ban.
- Forward this email to others and ask them to contact the Governor TODAY.
For more information on the practice of partial birth abortion and why a state ban is necessary to complement the federal law upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, click here.
Arizona Right to life applauds the Arizona Legislature in passing this ban as well as the tremendous efforts of the Arizona Catholic Conference and Center for Arizona Policy in supporting this legislation.
A Blessed Easter to all
Just a short note to extend wishes for a Blessed Easter to all.
Please keep all those involved in pro-life work throughout the world in your prayers along with all those in uniform defending freedom both at home and abroad.
Please pray for the women and children at risk from abortion. Pray that the mothers choose life for their unborn children.
Ask God to help you continue your commitment to life in all you do.
And finally pray for those who are blind to the beauty of life, to the joy of life, to the messiness of life, that they would choose life, walk away from the deadliness of abortion and other deadly acts that paralyze the mind and destroy the soul.
May God bless you all and give you His peace.
Santorum Provides Sound Advice for McCain
A article posted today at the Ethics and Public Policy Center by Rick Santorum provides some excellent advice to the McCain Campaign and to the Senator himself. Santorum points out that there are some areas in the McCain approach to issues that could benefit from some updating, given the current situation as relating to those issues. Obviously he brings up the issue of stem cell research which has seen scientific advances and studies that have reconfigured the focus in just one year. He also addresses other matters of importance to conservative voters.
The important message to Senator McCain is that now is the time to instill the confidence you want in those who will be doing the heavy lifting this fall. Now is the time to assure the "base" that you appreciate and understand their views. Given the need for all of us to work diligently to protect this nation from those who would surrender to our enemies both temporal and spiritual, now is the time to strengthen that relationship.
the rise and fall of Eliot Spitzer
Eliot Spitzer was an aggressive pro-abortion politician who while attorney general attempted to
shut down the pro-life emergency pregnancy centers back in 2002 with his ruthless tactics and strong arm pressure, similar to those used against the Wall Street firms.
According to Chris Slattery, a long time pro-life activist and director of the EMC Frontline Pregnancy Centers, "Governor Spitzer has most recently proposed a new legislative bill in Albany called the "Reproductive Health and Privacy Protection Act" that declares that women have a "fundamental right" to abortion in New York State, including in the third trimester without restriction, which would allow non-physician abortions, and force religious hospitals including Catholic ones to actually perform abortions." "No health safeguards for women were included in the legislation," Slattery claimed."Although we cannot gloat for the personal failures of this man, and we pray for his sad family, anytime a major abortion leader in this country falls to his or her own vices it offers that person and our country a time of deep reflection on the true meaning and purpose of life," Slattery added.
Slattery's work has been responsible for saving the lives of thousands of women and children. As a result of the good work being done, the abortion industry went to their friend Spitzer and encouraged him to use the power of the law to destroy these centers. Fortunately Chris fought back and successfully stopped these efforts.
one must realize that the abortion industry wants to destroy the pro-life movement. They fund politicians such as Obama and Clinton for that very purpose. This is just another reason why we must be engaged in the political effort to elect friends to the por-life movement.
Choosing Life - Choosing McCain
With the Republican nominee for president settled at this point in the primary season and either Democratic nominee being totally anti-life and pro-abortion to a degree not even seen in the 1992 election, pro-life advocates and people of common sense need to seriously consider the stakes of the 2008 Presidential Race as it applies to the unborn, the elderly, and the medically dependent and disabled.
Granted there are those who consider Senator John McCain's recent votes on the funding of embryonic stem cell research to be a serious problem and will demand that he reverse himself before they agree to support him for president. This issue has been a concern and I have discussed the subject personally with the Senator on more than one occasion. I have asked him to realize that these are unborn human beings, to examine the recent breakthroughs in the field and to understand the scientific and moral significance of these latest trends. While he has not come completely around, it is my hope that his staff has and will continue to provide him with the latest information so that he can fully appreciate our position. I suspect that as he and his team study the issue they will realize that the pro-life position is correct and will embrace that position fully.
There has been some progress as seen in his statement on the campaign website. It recognizes the serious moral questions involved and the need to respect human life. The important news is that leaders in the pro-life community have an open door to discuss the subject and that the Senator knows we are about what is in the best interests of the nation and the nation's children.
We all know the Senator's pro-life voting record. Here are some highlights.
- He supports reversal of Roe v. Wade.
- He opposes funding for pro-abortion groups such as Planned Parenthood.
- He has supported the Hyde Amendment to prevent taxpayers' funds from being used to pay for abortions.
- He has supported the Mexico City Policy as applied to preventing pro-abortion groups from using federal funds overseas to promote abortion.
- He supported and recently co-sponsored an amendment to a Senate health bill to permanently prevent federal funds from being used to perform abortions in Indian hospitals. This amendment recently passed the Senate 52-42.
- He supported the Unborn Victims of Violence Act.
- He voted for and co-sponsored the Federal Abortion Ban.
- He voted in support of parental consent and notification laws.
- He voted in favor of Supreme Court and appellate court judges who would view the Constitution as respecting the right to life.
- He has repeatedly voted to prohibit the District of Columbia from using federal funds or any taxpayer funds to provide abortion services.
These are just some of the major points in his 24 year record. McCain is also on record as voting to save the life of Terri Schiavo, a vote Barack Obama has publicly regretted. I will speak to that comment on another message.
Now one must also acknowledge that as pro-lifers we have disagreed with him on such issues as campaign finance reform, especially as applied to grass roots organizations. Still, even in disagreement, our conversations ( by this I mean Arizona pro-life leaders and McCain) have been frank and respectful. We have stated our concerns and our areas of disapproval. I would expect that relationship to continue.
When Bill Clinton ran for president in 1992, he told the American people that he thought abortion should be "{safe, legal and rare." Just check out
Jill Stanek's recent column on what that really meant.You will reminded of the terrible acts that Clinton committed against the unborn.
The bottom line is that a democrat in the White House, whether it is Obama or Hillary would be a disaster to the unborn children, to the medically dependent and disabled and to those who are vulnerable, whether they are the elderly or the infirm or the next Terri Schiavo. IF WE CARE about those potential situations, we must insure the election of John McCain.
The U.S. Supreme Court will have at least one and probably three vacancies during the next president's term of office. IF WE CARE about who will sit on the Supreme Court AND the courts of appeals throughout the country, we must work for the election of John McCain.
The pressure by the left to have a universal health care funded by the taxpayer will not let up. Hillary tried it in 1993. In her 1993 plan was an abortion mandate to have taxpayer funded abortions. It would also mean managed care and that could mean passive or even active euthanasia.A Clinton or Obama presidency would see the end of the Hyde Amendment to the annual appropriations bill. The passage of the Hyde Amendment has been responsible for saving the lives of over a million unborn children. IF YOU CARE about protecting these millions of unborn children, as well as your right to private health care, your right to select your own doctors and insurance plans, and your right not to have your tax dollars paying for a million abortions, then we must work for the election of John McCain.
In the end, we have two choices. One of them may not result in everything we want in a president (although he may surprise you), the other will insure the death of children and the end of much of what we have accomplished over these last 35 years. For unlike our efforts which are about restoring protection for all innocent human life, the pro-abortion industry is not content with just keeping abortion legal. The abortion industry wants to force government and therefore the taxpayer to pay for abortions. The abortion industry wants Catholic hospitals to provide abortions. And the abortion industry wants to punish all those who will not be silent about this holocaust. Remember how the abortion industry relentlessly for 20 years went after our friend Joe Scheidler. do you seriously think if they get into power, they will not use the power of government to destroy the pro-life pregnancy centers and the network of pro-life medical clinics throughout the country. does anyone remember the now New York governor and former attorney general Elliot Spitzer and
how he tried to shut down the pregnancy centers in New York? Pro-lifers successfully fought that government attack. Interesting that the attacks came right after the election of Bill Clinton to the White House.
Years later when there were women injured by the abortion industry, Spizter was nowhere it be found.So my friends and fellow pro-life activists, the choice is clear.
Choose life. Choose John McCain.
