Yeah, Republicans Are Clearly Against Abortion Above All Else…
November 12, 2009
From Brad Dayspring, spokesman for Minority Whip Eric Cantor:
“If defeating Stupak wouldn’t [have changed] the outcome on Saturday, then it is clearly evident that having it in and sparking a civil war amongst the Democrats is the best way to stop the overall bill.”
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“Republicans” aren’t an intellectually uniform bunch, unlike the Democrats.
Republicans can disagree with other Republicans about public policy. One person does not speak for all, as you seem to claim. No Republican ever made that claim, and I’m not sure why you do. Unless, of course, you think there are benefits from taking cheap shots at straw men.
To be sure, there are some, like Deal Hudson, who are looking at this amendment as a way to change the future direction of politics (http://insidecatholic.com/Joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7215&Itemid=48). Certainly there are partisans on both sides which will use this to continue division, but there are some who see the possibility of change in the future — and I pray the second is indeed the case (and one which transcends party lines).
I have no idea who thinks all Republicans are against abortion above else, though Cao and Smith and many others clearly are.
But at the end of the day, Republicans stood with Stupak and his ultimatum. You didn’t.
“We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn”
“One person does not speak for all, as you seem to claim. ”
Yes, but this is not any republican. He’s the minority whip in the house. He obviously speaks for some republicans.
As for your claim that democrats ARE an intellectually uniform bunch. . . Stupak is a democrat. If thereis any objection to abortion in the healtcare bill, it’s because a democrat put it there.
In fact, any opposition to Obama’s polices have come from the democrats. There are blue dog democrats, and pro-life democrats and wild-eyed communist democrats.
Whereas when the GOP controlled congress there was, as I recall, just one kind of republican. . . the kind that voted for Bush. I honestly don’t remember Bush getting this kind of push back from his own party.
One could very easily look at the Democrats reaction to Stupak and say “yeah, the democrats are clearly for health care above all else”
An interesting story from Politico:
Getting Democrats to agree is like herding cats. Will Rogers said he didn’t belong to an organized political party he was a Democrat. Deny it if you dare, for eight years Republicans marched lockstep under George Bus. How blind can you be? Blindness to their faults and failures is the cause of the dissolution of the Republican party. It’s sad because we need a responsible opposition.
Who has ever claimed that Republicans are against abortion above all else? This is a party that almost nominated Planned Parenthood donor Rudy Giuliani.
Nobody is under the illusion that the pro-life cause is the most important issue for all Republicans. The behavior of the Bush Administration made clear that for many if not most Republicans, foreign policy, tax policy, and other issues are more important. Again, I have not seen anyone claim otherwise.
What has been argued is that the Republicans are better on this particular issue, because of things like their party platform not unequivocally supporting the Supreme Court decision that established abortion rights.
With the Stupak amendment, Democrats have an opportunity to demonstrate that is wrong, because it would be a greater pro-life victory than anything the Republicans done in their government.
But MM is content to keep throwing mud at Republicans. But then, when the spokesman for the House minority whip speaks, who can ignore him?
Hmm this was much better that the immigration bill and the Democrat Poision pills we saw in the last days of the Seante debate that killed it
But where was the outrage
What has been argued is that the Republicans are better on this particular issue, because of things like their party platform not unequivocally supporting the Supreme Court decision that established abortion rights.
That is true. In general, the Republicans are better on abortion policy matters.
With the Stupak amendment, Democrats have an opportunity to demonstrate that is wrong, because it would be a greater pro-life victory than anything the Republicans done in their government.
True again, it would be a greater anti-abortion victory than anything in the last 8 years. It still won’t prove the Democrats better on abortion policy but for seamless garment Catholics, it will be a great victory of health care for all without abortion coverage.
There are plenty of reasons to oppose this healthcare bill. Abortion seems to be the one turning the Democrats on each other.
This is a party that almost nominated Planned Parenthood donor Rudy Giuliani.”
Almost nominated??? Rudy conducted an experiment to see if it was possible to win the presidency by parroting “911″ twenty-seven times per sentence. Unfortunately (for him) the country had moved on. He won zero primaries and netted zero delegates. He was not “almost nominated”.
MM,
This is right on. I just wrote a piece on TAC on the Republicans sudden championing of Medicare to save the elderly. I’m baffled by the political amnesia because if I’m not mistaken, they were just this year in April trying to not even cut Medicare, but to basically change it permanently to a private insurance voucher system.
Even worse, the Medicare prescriptions bill from 2003 has very similar language to the “death panel” language of the Democrats’ health care bill, save the GOP permitted advanced care counseling for the terminally ill and the Democrats extend that coverage to everyone before they are terminally ill if they so choose to.
Yet the Republicans are railing against Medicare cuts that they once advocated and end-of-life language in their own legislation? Moreover, their own party has had health insurance covering abortion? I’m sure the National Right to Life staff was playing a game of cards while all this was happening. No death panels then. No rationing then. They’re Republican PACs. I work for one and it is very disgusting.