McCain leaves door open to pro-choice runningmate
Written by Jack Burden on August 14th, 2008Its here in this Stephen Hayes piece:
IN A WIDE-RANGING INTERVIEW aboard his campaign plane this morning, John McCain said that he is open to choosing a pro-choice running mate and named former Pennsylvania governor Tom Ridge as someone who merits serious consideration despite his support for abortion rights.
The McCain camp is dipping its maaaverick toe into the water, testing to see how the conservative base will react to the possibility (probability?) of a pro-abortion vice presidential pick. Pro-open borders. Pro-global warming hysteria. Might as well go for the trifecta.
Since the McCain campaign apparently reads this blog, I’ll be blunt. Don’t do it. From a purely political perspective its a bad, bad move which would bring an unnecessary distraction to the campaign. From an ideological perspective, it would disappoint me and a lot of other conservatives who have really warmed up to McCain in the last several months.
More: Ed Morrissey.
UPDATE: I would also note that being pro-choice is not the only issue with Tom Ridge as a vice presidential pick. John J. Miller of National Review did a profile piece on him when he was under consideration in 2000, and the picture ain’t pretty:
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You should be disappointed already. If McCain is pro-life (and he isn’t, but I’m sure you think otherwise), what on earth could justify his even considering a pro-choice running mate?
Let’s look at what McCain said about abortion the last time he ran for president. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3827/is_199909/ai_n8855062
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I tried to post a link to statements by McCain saying that abortion is “necessary” and that Roe v. Wade should never be overturned. My comment, however, was marked as spam. Why? It wasn’t spam.
Anyway, you should be disappointed in McCain already if he’s even considering a pro-choice running mate. If you still believe that McCain really is pro-life, you have to think he doesn’t really care about abortion that much if he’s considering a pro-choice VP. Yet how can you think that abortion is so wrong it should be prohibited… and yet at the same time not really care about the issue? Hm.
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Posting links in comments sometimes trips our spam filter.
I don’t think abortion is McCain’s top issue, but the man has a pretty solid pro-life voting record over more than twenty years in congress.
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I wouldn’t call his pro-life voting record “solid.” He’s in favor of federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research. What sense does it make to oppose the killing of embryos in the womb but favor the killing of embryos in a petri dish? That’s just ridiculous. Especially with there being no proven scientific benefit from embryonic stem-cell research. And can you name one pro-lifer who ever called abortion “necessary,” as McCain did? Can you name one pro-lifer who ever said Roe v. Wade should never be overturned, as McCain did?
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McCain is definitely pro-life, but I do not think abortion is anywhere near the top of the list of issues he cares about a ton. This is why he can justify his statement. He just does not care about the issue that much like most Americans. Foreign policy, fighting wasteful spending, and balancing budgets get McCain fired up far more than the social issues and we all knew that years ago.
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Ryan, name one person who’s pro-life who ever called abortion “necessary” or said that Roe v. Wade should never be overturned.
You can’t do it, can you? You know there’s no such person. You know that a person who says those things can’t possibly be pro-life.
So why do you say McCain is “definitely” pro-life? Isn’t it far more likely that McCain’s pro-life votes are just a feint to give him some credibility for his inevitable presidential run, and that he let the mask slip in that interview I linked to?
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Alan, the fact you cling to the quotes from one interview instead of a record over a quarter of a century in Congress makes me think you are paranoid. Most people would be pleased with a 26 year voting record over one quote from an interview by the mainstream media. You are just clinging to your opposition to McCain in any way shape or form you can.
If you are going to attack McCain on something, attack him where his record is clearly nuts. Do not attack him though on such shaky ground.
Regardless of who wins this election, abortion is going to remain safe, legal, and available practically everywhere in this nation simply because if Roe were overturned today, very few states would outlaw the practice in the first trimester where almost every single abortion occurs.
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McCain’s record is mixed–pro-death (and indeed pro-taxpayer-funded death) when the embryo is in a petri dish. You ignore this, and pretend that McCain’s quarter-century record is one of pure pro-life principle. That’s extremely dishonest.
Someone who’s against killing embryos when they’re in someone’s body, but all for killing embryos when there’s no liberty interest at stake whatsoever, is “clearly nuts.” You ignore this.
You ignore the fact that NOT ONE PRO-LIFER *EVER* has called abortion “necessary” or opposed overturning Roe. You dismiss out of hand the possibility that McCain’s unbelievably tepid and self-contradictory pro-life record is for purposes of political convenience, and simply assume that McCain’s stated views mean nothing. This makes no sense.
McCain also preserved the Democrats’ right to filibuster Republican judicial nominees, thereby making it easier to stop Republican presidents from appointing judges who will voerturn Roe. That’s part of his record, too. You ignore it.
You ignore the fact that he voted to confirm Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer. I guess you’ll excuse his service to the abortion industry by pointing out that so many other Republicans also voted yes on Ginsburg and Breyer… but of course that’s no answer to the fact that McCain’s votes hurt the pro-life cause.
You deride the importance of one interview, and you completely ignore that McCain REPEATEDLY (after that interview) said that Roe v. Wade should not be overturned any time soon because that would result in women getting illegal abortions. But the problem is that McCain’s logic must lead him also to oppose overturning Roe at any date. You ignore this.
McCain’s only legislative accomplishment in his 25-year-long career in Congress is campaign finance reform. There’s not even a ghost of a chance that he’ll nominate a supreme court justice who’ll overturn campaign finance. Anyone he nominates will be committed in advance to upholding campaign finance. The odds that such a person would ever overturn Roe are zero. So even if McCain were pro-life, which he isn’t, he would never appoint an anti-Roe justice to the high court.
If you’re really pro-life, which you’re obviously not, you’d be pleased when even “very few states” ban abortion in the first trimester. Murder is murder, and preventing murder is the right thing to do, no matter how few murders you prevent. McCain, however, will not do this. Pro-lifers who vote for McCain (and obviously this group doesn’t include you, because you’re not pro-life) will deserve all the rage they feel when McCain stabs them in the back yet again.
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Regulars to this blog are probably tired of my saying this but in the event the McCain campaign is reading:
Senator McCain should consider Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate.
In addition to changing the story and bringing him lots of positive vibes, she’s a strong pro-lifer.
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Alan whether I agree with the practice or not (I do not) does not matter. You are ignoring the simple public policy reality that most Americans want some restrictions on abortion not a total ban. No matter if we have Roe overturned tomorrow, which would be a good thing in my book because its bad law, abortion is going to continue in this nation well into the future because the “pro-life” movement has not convinced the American people of their cause. This is because they have taken an exclusively moral approach to the issue instead of attacking the public policy faults with unlimited abortion. Instead people like you go around calling it murder and scare people away. When will the pro-life movement learn such moral absolutism does not work in our society? It will never quit being delusional and realize the way you stop abortion is not through the government, but winning the hearts and minds of individual citizens.
Abortion is quite possibly the least important issue for me except when zealots make it an end all issue on either side. I am not for abortion, but I realize its not going away any time soon and honestly think it would uproot our society if it was universally outlawed at the moment.
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Beyond the immediate significance of this issue, the very fact that McCain was willing to say something like this shows that he just hates conservatives and loves making them squirm. To any conservatives out there who’re thinking of voting for McCain: why would you vote for someone who so clearly hates you?