Posted on 06/25/2007 4:14:19 PM PDT by cpforlife.org
When former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani underscored his support for a woman's "right to choose" in recent GOP presidential debates, he did more than clarify a political position. He rang the bell for a historic debate not just for his party but for the nation.
Ever since Ronald Reagan embraced a prospective pro-life running mate in 1976 in the person of Sen. Richard Schweiker (R-Pa.), the party of Lincoln has positioned itself as a champion of human life in the womb. As the party rose to majority status for most of the following three decades, that embrace benefited Republicans, echoing as it did the GOP's birth in the 19th century as an entity with a moral core. It is worth remembering that the first Republican platform, in 1856, eloquently condemned what it called the "twin relics of barbarism" -- slavery and polygamy.
Like these issues, with all their social dimensions, opposition to abortion is at root a moral proposition. Lincoln said that God did not send any human being into the world to be "trodden upon," and the party of Reagan has similarly said that a human being before birth should be "welcomed in life and protected in law." Over the past 30 years, thanks in part to the firmness of the Republican stand but primarily to pro-life ministries, advances in ultrasound and prenatal care, public revulsion at unfettered abortion has grown. In the 2006 congressional elections, the GOP lost seats, but the pro-life view lost little ground. Family-values Democrats fled their national party's devotion to liberal abortion policies liberally funded by the federal government.
Now comes Mayor Giuliani, telling us that the moral core of his party is no big deal after all. On this, Rudy is wrong. He is sparking a fight whose moral seriousness appears, so far, to be lost on many of his allies. The Wall Street Journal, for example, has editorialized that advocates for life are raising questions about Rudy because we want to be on television. Excuse me, but if we really wanted headlines and flashbulbs, we would sacrifice our core convictions and hug Rudy at noon in Times Square.
We won't, and here's why. Commentators left and right justly hail Rudy for saving New York City from rampant crime and disorder. It is no doubt a tremendous accomplishment, one that the rest of us in flyover country respect. Large as it looms, however, New York is not the United States, nor is its revival a true model for fixing what ails America.
The United States today suffers from a progressive breakdown of the family and from a scorn for the values of traditional people and traditional faiths. The judicially imposed killing of 1.3 million unborn children each year is one symbol of that scorn. The toll taken by Roe v. Wade would furnish the populace of four Manhattans, depriving us of human beings whose art, journalism, sporting talent, medical skill and business acumen would have enriched our land.
Those lives are lost forever, but they are just a portion of the cost. In his recent majority opinion in the partial-birth abortion case, Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote about the affidavits filed by thousands of women who had abortions performed at times in their lives when they felt they had nowhere else to turn. "Respect for human life," Justice Kennedy noted, "finds an ultimate expression in the bond of love the mother has for her child. ... It seems unexceptionable to conclude some women come to regret their choice to abort the infant life they once created and sustained."
Justice Kennedy has begun to hear, and be moved by, such voices. How ironic would it be for this to be the precise time the GOP decides to nominate a man with a deaf ear to such pain? Make no mistake, however; the aim of social conservatives is not to strew the path of the Republican Party with roses. We are not waiting in the winner's circle with a garland of roses for whoever becomes the GOP nominee. Social conservatives have entered the political fray with abiding beliefs about mediating institutions like church and family that both coincide with and make smaller government conservatism possible. Their first allegiance is to those beliefs, however, and not to a party label.
Today, the Republican Party is in trouble with the body politic not because it has been too "pro-life," too committed to budget restraint or too devoted to ethics in government. The GOP is struggling today because voters have come to believe that it "grew in office." The GOP "grew" comfortable with close proximity to the spending power, piling up earmarks to suit members' personal interests. The GOP "grew" addicted to the perks of office, soliciting and dispensing favors to lobbyists bankrolled by gambling interests. The GOP "grew" comfortable with the homosexual subculture, proclaiming devotion to the family but protecting then-Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.) from public exposure of his misconduct.
Finally, seeking to untie the GOP's Gordian knot of devotion to human life, Mayor Giuliani is missing something deeper about the human spirit. The mayor made his reputation forever for his response to 9/11. Remember the response of the pregnant spouses of men who died in the World Trade Center and surrounding buildings on that terrible day? Offered free abortions by the same Planned Parenthood to which the mayor had several times contributed, every last woman chose to preserve the life that had begun within her before the terrorists struck.
If these women could choose life under such duress, if this was their way, to paraphrase Carl Sandburg's famous line about newborns, to accept a sign from God that "life should go on," we, as a nation, can choose no less. With clarifying logic and empathy for doubters, Reagan was fond of summing up the abortion issue by saying, "If you don't know whether a body is alive or dead, you would never bury it." Mayor Giuliani is telling us that he would bury it. If he does, he will bury his party's future hopes, as well.
Tony Perkins and Chuck Donovan are president and executive vice president, respectively, of the Family Research Council, a Washington public policy think tank. This article represents their personal positions and does not reflect the official position of the Family Research Council.
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With special thanks to Freeper ken5050 for the heads up to this article!
As a native of Louisiana, I proud to say Tony Perkins is from here and is an awesome leader in the fight for what is right.
choose whom you want. You’ll get Hillary.
Had to make the correction. We already have a bad rap for being dim.
We can do better than Rudy.
I think his run will begin to fade shortly.
I got my Firefighters magazine from the IAFF last week and it had a big attack againbst Rudy in it, but that is not a big deal its already cut and dried who the IAFF will be backing. They are just setting the stage to endorse Hillary.
NYC Firefighters will go along with Hillary?
It’s time we all exercise our faith and not bow down to doom and gloom.
It looks to me like Fred Thompson can win this.
The Klintoons soon will be on the trash heap of history along with all their beloved Marxists and freakish libs.
You’ll get Hillary. You’ll get Hillary. You’ll get Hillary.
You’ll get Hillary. You’ll get Hillary. You’ll get Hillary.
You’ll get Hillary. You’ll get Hillary. You’ll get Hillary.
You’ll get Hillary. You’ll get Hillary. You’ll get Hillary.
You’ll get Hillary. You’ll get Hillary. You’ll get Hillary.
You’ll get Hillary. You’ll get Hillary. You’ll get Hillary.
You’ll get Hillary. You’ll get Hillary. You’ll get Hillary.
You’ll get Hillary. You’ll get Hillary. You’ll get Hillary.
You’ll get Hillary. You’ll get Hillary. You’ll get Hillary.
You’ll get Hillary. You’ll get Hillary. You’ll get Hillary.
You’ll get Hillary. You’ll get Hillary. You’ll get Hillary.
You’ll get Hillary. You’ll get Hillary. You’ll get Hillary.
Still the same old mantra. It still won’t work, either!
PING
I will NOT vote for Rudy out of fear that ONLY he can beat the beast. He ran against her once before, and got out of that race. I have had Hillary as my Senator ever since.
Rudy is a Rino. I want a conservative. He falls far short of that ideal.
Your scare tactics do not work on me.
Can you explain, cause that’s seems tough to handle.
Sadly, I am afraid that you are correct. To all you male conservatives out there. Keep a close eye on your wives, girlfriends and mom’s. These ladies may “talk the conservative talk” but I guarantee you that a bunch of them are going to pull the handle for the Hildibeast (aka Anti-Christ). Reason being that many otherwise conservative women desperately want to see a woman in the White House, of any political persuasion. And, while the Hildibeast’s political operatives don’t advertise this dirty little secret, they know this quite well and are counting on these votes to put them over the top come election day. Hide and watch, you’ll see...
Listen pal, our beliefs are not for sale. If it's Rudy or Hillary, I'm staying home, and I don't care if Hillary wins.
You may get Hillary anyway. One thing is for certain. It will not be the likes of Rudy Guiliani to stop her.
If he by some far out chance could, it would not mean much of a difference.
Go back to the drawing board and see if you can come up with a newer more viable reason. Many are out there, this excuse is very tired and worn.
First of all, Rudy won't be the nominee, and 2nd of all, if he is, there'll definetly be a conservative independent candidate, and I'll be more than happy to support him.
Firefighters Association IAFF endorsed Al Gore. They bragged about being the first to endorse him.
Then in 2004 they endorsed John Kerry, in fact Schitberger the President of the IAFF was named Co-Chairman of the Kerry campaign.
Firefighters were up in arms, they raised hell because Schitberger endorsed Kerry without asking them if the rank & file wanted to endorse him.
This year already the magazine has come out against Rudy.
They have been putting out a smokescreen saying that they have not made any decision yet and they have interviewed some Republican candidates.
There is little doubt in my mind they will go with a Democrat candidate again this year and that all this action in talking to republicans is only a smokescreen.
I am certain they will endorse Obama or Hillary.
I say it will be Hillary unless she is convicted in California of a felony campaign conviction. Not likely.
Unhappy Firefighters opened a Firefighters for Bush campaign,but the Association was kissing Kerry’s butt and Schitberger was the one with the biggest lips.
According to the Firefighters magazine published by the IAFF it was the New York Firefighters that are against Rudy.
If the magazine is incorrect the New York Firefighters better get on the stick.
According to the article Rudy pissed them off when he oredered stopping the search for missing bodies too soon and had several Firefighters arrested when they wouldnt leave the scene.
Yep, principle over party. What party? GWB and his Kennedy-McCain immigration bill, Giuliani and his pro-abortion, Ken Mehlman and his homosexual Log Cabin Republicans ... All have done their absolute best to destroy our chances in 2008. It will be a hard pill for them to swallow when we reject their liberal RINO causes.
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