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Watch Out for Republican Fronts
Posted 5-10-2006
Election time is near, and
LIFEPAC is starting their habit of leafleting cars outside my church again.
I don't know about you, but I find the process annoying when someone (I
don't care what the issue) sticks something on my windshield or in my car
door. Normally, I write off their endorsements as typical of single-issue
groups, even though in the instance of LIFEPAC, I wonder what their
definition of "pro-life" is? Do the candidates oppose the death penalty? Do
they oppose the immoral invasion of Iraq that has cost thousands of lives?
What are the candidates' positions on issues that support families after
children are born? My suspicion is that they support candidates who say they
oppose legalized abortions whether they actually ever try to undo the
legality of them or not.
But what caught my eye on the
front of their flyer was that they only listed Rick Santorum as the
candidate to support for the US Senate. Now everyone in Pennsylvania knows
Bob Casey's position on abortion. They know Bob's dad's position caused
friction among Democrats at the 1992 Democratic Convention, and Bob's
position has caused anxiety for certain pro-choice Democrats in this Senate
race. So how he could not be listed on their flyer as a candidate to
support? Within the flyer, there are multiple candidates listed for other
offices, so why not Casey and Santorum?
When I told a friend about
the flyer, she called LIFEPAC and was told that was because Bob Casey
supports funding for abortions he was not endorsed. I would like to see
evidence of Bob taking that position. To this point in his public life, he's
been a State Row Officer where he would not cast a vote on such matters.
Then my friend was told Casey is not being endorsed by LIFEPAC because he
supports Ed Rendell. My friend pointed out that Santorum supported Arlen
Specter over Pat Toomey and was met with deafening silence on the other end
of the phone.
My point in telling this
story is that groups like LIFEPAC are nothing more than fronts for
Republicans. Sure they may list Democrats on their flyers when there are no
serious Republican challengers. But when push comes to shove and the race is
contested, groups like LIFEPAC show their true colors.
And sadly their boys like
Slick Rick really haven't delivered what they all claim to want anyway; the
outlawing of abortion in the USA. After years in the House and Senate, has
Santorum ever introduced legislation that made abortion illegal? If not, why
not? His party that claims to be "pro-life", has solid majorities in the
House and Senate, Bush in the White House, and a Republican Supreme Court.
Could it be that Slick Rick and politicians like him want to garner votes
from people like LIFEPAC by paying them lip service on their issue, but they
really don't want to alienate the majority of citizens that support some
form of legalized abortion? I am just wondering how patient anti-choice
groups can be. It was one thing when the apparatus wasn't in place in
Congress, the White House, and the Supreme Court, but now it is. I know that
South Dakota essentially outlawed abortion at the state level, and that
legislation will face court challenges, but why isn't Ricky stepping up to
the plate?
Or could it simply be that
groups like LIFEPAC are nothing more than tentacles of the Republican Party,
and they put a few obligatory Democrats on their literature, but when the
chips are down, they are endorsing Republicans? The rationale given to my
friend that, "Casey supports Rendell" ignoring the fact that Santorum
supported pro-choice Arlen Specter over right-winger Pat Toomey makes it
seem like Santorum is their guy no matter how little he actually delivers on
their single issue. It doesn't matter if Santorum supports an immoral war
that has costs thousands of lives, or that he has supported programs that
cut nutritional programs that help children once they are born, or that he's
supported cutting funding for Head Start, one of the most helpful programs
for children in need. All that seems to matter is Santorum has an "R" after
his name and he says he opposes the freedom of choice.
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