Tuesday, February 20, 2007

McCain and Roe

The Hotline has a McCain clip from 1999



"But we all know, and it's obvious, that if we repeal Roe v. Wade tomorrow, thousands of young American women would be performing illegal and dangerous operations."

This quote is different than what McCain said in South Carolina over the weekend. Nonetheless he expresses support for the elimination of abortions because it is an "unpleasant and terrible procedure."

It is noticeable that Governor Romney's vehement support for defending a woman's right to choose stands in clear contrast with McCain's statement here.

UPDATE (9:17 P.M): Per the Hotline. Right before this clip begins McCain says the following. “I am proud of a 17-year voting record of pro-life positions. And I adhere to that position. I believe this issue of the repeal of Roe v. Wade is important. I favor the ultimate repeal of Roe v. Wade. But we all know, and it's obvious, that if we repeal Roe v. Wade tomorrow..."

Romney's You-tube (below) shows him aggressively supporting a woman's right to choose and balking at an endorsement by a right to life group; on the otherhand the McCain you-tube is a cut-down version of a quote where he gives an essentially pro-life position with a rhetorical caveat. One would think the "wag" (Hotline's term not ours) that opposes McCain could have unearthed a better counter video than this...

UPDATE 2: Redstate criticizes Romney folks for "cherrypick editing"

11 Comments:

Blogger Jeff Fuller said...

So "Romney's campaign" unearthed the McCain Video . . . but the ROmney 2002 video is "courtesy of the good folks at Hotline." HA!

Come on Caucus Cooler. If you're still trying to hide your allegiance, you've got to do better than that.

11:57 PM  
Blogger Caucus Cooler said...

Murph- Good Point
Jeff- The hotline writes "some wag wanted to make sure when we build John McCain up we also tear him down." We assumed that was a Romney wag, but you are right to say it might not neccessarily have been. So we'll make the change.

5:55 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

It's interesting to see the top 3 candidates walking the abortion/choice tightrope. It shows their acute awareness of how this issue is waning in relevance except to a small group of people who are getting smaller everyday.

7:19 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Pro-aborts like Romney, Rudy, and McCain who pretend to be the other way are losers.

9:08 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

CHRISTIAN BROADCASTING NETWORK

By David Brody

February 21, 2007

http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/107719.aspx



Good news for Mitt Romney but for John McCain's staff and supporters, grab a chair. You're going to need to be sitting down for this. Yesterday here on The Brody File I asked readers to email me their response to this question:



"As a pro-life voter, who would you vote for? John McCain or Mitt Romney? Who do you view as the candidate that will best represent the pro-life movement.?



After being deluged by emails, the answer is Mitt Romney in a runaway. It wasn't even close. More than 90% of people who emailed me said Romney was the guy, hands down. Now, this isn't scientific of course and I realize that Romney supporters may have gotten word about my post and reacted accordingly. Nobody knows for sure. What is apparent is that those who are for Romney on the life issue, love this guy with a passion.



Here's a couple samplings from the emails.



"Studies conclude that 70% of your political opinions are formed by nurture from your parents. Romney's mother was for Roe v. Wade at first, but look, the point is that I believe Romney was pro-life all along. However, there were some factors in his life that caused him to only think he was pro-abortion. I think underneath all the accusations of flip-flopping, there's a candidate who is now passionately anxious to do whatever he can to overturn Roe v. Wade. I admire how he looks as it not only as a moral issue, but as a legal issue. He thinks it was not the job of the courts to decide if abortion should be legal. I agree."



"Romney’s personal life and religion, a religion I do not share, demonstrate to me a profound love and respect for family and children. I believe he is sincerely and deeply committed to protecting the rights of the unborn."



"McCain has risked little politically with his "life" record (being from a Red State but still never being on the forefront or frontlines of the pro-life fight.) Sure he's got a "neat and tidy" voting record to refer to, but, even though he's "the king" of sponsoring new legilsation, I'm not aware of him taking a leadership role for "pro-life" causes. Plus, he's constantly shown that he's willing to "show-up" the conservative base if it suits him at the time."



"Not only has McCain expressed no qualms about embryonic stem-cell research, but his pro-life stance seems almost by default.

I have found Romney's conversion story sincere and touching."



"My understanding is that when Romney ran for Governor of MA he paid lip service to the pro-choice crowd because he was running as a fiscal conservative, rather than a social conservative, in a socially liberal state. To get to the leadership positions that Romney achieved in the LDS church, he would have followed the LDS church's strict guidlines regarding the church's stand on abortion."



"The only change over the years in Mr. Romney's position on abortion has been from a reluctance to impose his personal anti-abortion convictions on others to a deeper realization of the affect of pro-choice laws on the attitudes of our society toward the sanctity of life. The circumstances giving rise to Mr. Romney's earlier decision not to oppose pro-choice legislation and to his more recent decision to oppose it demonstrate that his conversion is both genuine and unwavering."



I post these emails for a couple of reasons. It gives you some insight into what voters are thinking. This should help the McCain and Romney camps as they read this feedback. A couple of interesting themes emerge here. Clearly, there is a distrust with McCain on the life issue. I'm sure his handlers are beside themselves wondering why a solid 20 year pro-life record may not resonate as much as it should. Not to mention how these voters could even trust Romney after his pro-choice past.



Part of the distrust with McCain clearly centers on how McCain hasn't made the lfie issue paramount in his career. He's more a campaign finance, anti-pork spending type guy. Yes, he's a reliable Senate vote on life issues (except on embryonic stem cell research) but he typically stays away from the issue. For that matter, Romney tried to do that as well in liberal Massachusetts. That makes sense. But now he's running for President. Will he move that issue up on his agenda?

As always, your emails are welcome and appreciated. Click here.

10:12 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

1012- Links are your friend.

10:24 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'd like to know what McCain's position on abortion was in 1894?

11:40 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I would like to know Romney's positions on anything in the next hour.

11:45 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"I would like to know Romney's positions on anything in the next hour."

Ha. And 10:12, you should be careful about ascribing a man's belief to the teachings of his parents/ancestors. Elsewise Romney would have a mess of underaged wives (which he clearly doesn't).

7:21 PM  
Blogger Libertas01 said...

Interesting blogsite with good info on all possible candidates. Romney's team spreading what amounts to misinformation is not a good start to his campaign - they may feel desperate measures are needed owing to Romney's invisibility with many American voters. Some might find my new blogsite of some interest particularly regarding McCain's flip-flops.

http://libertas01.wordpress.com/2007/02/20/mccains-wise-moves/

12:18 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Romney by heritage has a natural liberal slant. And for him to change right before a contest for president really indicates (like nill Clinton) he will do anything to get elected.
Including lying to the voters.

8:51 AM  

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