Posted on 01/24/2025 12:55:17 PM PST by E. Pluribus Unum
Former Vice President Mike Pence, a longtime leader of the anti-abortion movement, has taken up a lonely crusade to defeat the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for health secretary. His organization, Advancing American Freedom, is running ads against Mr. Kennedy. Mr. Pence has accused Mr. Kennedy of promoting “abortion on demand.”
His fellow abortion opponents are not listening.
Thousands of anti-abortion activists descended on Washington on Friday to mark the 52nd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court case that established a constitutional right to abortion. President Trump addressed the crowd at the March for Life by video. Vice President JD Vance spoke in person. Mr. Kennedy, whose flip-flips on abortion have made many conservatives deeply uneasy, was not on the agenda — and drew no mention.
But in a sign of how the right wing of the Republican Party is kowtowing to Mr. Trump — and, perhaps, of the deepening break between Mr. Pence and the president — leaders of the anti-abortion movement are lining up behind Mr. Kennedy, or at least not openly opposing him.
Tim Chapman, who as president of Advancing American Freedom is leading Mr. Pence’s campaign, said others in the conservative movement had told him privately that they agreed with the former vice president, but did not want to say so publicly. He said conservative leaders who failed to oppose Mr. Kennedy were abdicating their traditional role of pressuring party leaders on the issues the movement cared about.
“His confirmation lays bare the real question right now about what the movement exists to do,” Mr. Chapman said, adding, “We have the freedom to plant the flag, and we know there are a lot of people who agree with us on this issue, and we hope that they’ll join us.”
A spokeswoman for Mr...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
IMHO, Kennedy has far to many other things to address than abortion one way or the other.
I would guess RFK Jr was an abortion proponent most of his life.
Now is a different time.
Is he pro-life now?
Mr. Pence must get a lot of Pharma industry money for his work.
Exactly. Guy’s a snake posing as a saint. Sickening excuse for a human being.
Republicans are learning that having a majority is useless if everything is held up by every faction, which results, every time, with having to make even bigger compromises with the Dims to get anything done.
Yeah.
30 piece pence strikes again.
The abortion issue has pretty much been settled by the Supremes. RFK jr is all about the vaxx.
washingtonexaminer.com
snip
Can pro-lifers trust Kennedy to follow the Trump-Pence HHS blueprint?
As a presidential candidate and for much of his public life, Kennedy held a radical stance, supporting abortion on demand up until birth. This position is profoundly at odds with the pro-life movement, the coalition of voters that elected Trump, and the first Trump administration’s unmatched track record in defense of life. While Kennedy has recently made overtures to pro-life leaders, many pro-lifers remain concerned over where he truly stands on life.
While some say Dobbs returned all abortion policy to the states, this is not true. The secretary of HHS holds immense power in shaping policies on abortion: matters of life and death for the unborn.
Decisions about federal funding for Planned Parenthood, regulations governing the abortion pill, and insurance coverage for abortion are all made within the purview of HHS. Can pro-lifers trust Kennedy to make the right choice?
HHS’s choices are not theoretical. They affect real lives.
Without a staunchly pro-life leader, the pro-abortion deep state at HHS could easily thwart the Trump administration’s attempt to return a reverence for life to the center of American life.
Whatever the merits of Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” initiative, they cannot outweigh the necessity of appointing an HHS secretary who unequivocally defends the rights of the unborn. The role demands a leader with a proven commitment to life, someone who will champion policies that protect the vulnerable and resist the pervasive cultural and political pressures to compromise.
Pro-lifers should make their voices heard and their demands felt. If Kennedy fails to embrace commonsense pro-life positions, Trump should look elsewhere to fill the position. Again, senators must push Kennedy to flesh out his beliefs on life.
Trump has always had a deep bench of pro-life leaders to draw from, individuals with the courage, conviction, and expertise to lead HHS in a manner consistent with pro-life principles. It is imperative that he select a nominee who will uphold his legacy on life, not jeopardize it.
Unless Kennedy can assuage senators and the millions of pro-lifers they represent of his stance on life, the Senate should hold his nomination. The stakes are too high, and the lives of countless unborn children too precious to entrust to anything other than bold, unwavering leadership on life.
Tim Chapman is president of Advancing American Freedom.
In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if Pence is getting money from Soros for this.
They had their moment. The SCOTUS got rid of Roe vs Wade.
Now it's up to the states.
USA is a pro-choice country. Eventually, most states will end up legalizing abortion. That's the Democratic process.
Pence is trying to sabotage Trump here.
Kennedy will do on abortion what Trump tells him to do. The media is just trying to cause division among conservatives.
If Pence had executed his office as President of the Senate and sent the 2020 list of electors back to AZ, GA, PA, MI, and WI, RFK, Jr. would never have been nominated by Trump for anything. STHU Judas Pence. Your name is Pence. Samuel Mudd has now been forgotten.
I would guess RFK Jr was an abortion proponent most of his life.
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been a catholic most of his life, too
Beware of politicians wearing their religion on their sleeve.
Of course this is the correct take. Don't suspect it will matter to either side though.
(1) Trump has been the best president for the pro-life cause, bar none. And it’s not even close. It would be the height of folly for pro-lifers to turn on a friend.
(2) Trump is a man of his word. He cut a deal with RFK Jr last summer. RFK’s support in exchange for a cabinet-level position. “The Art of the Deal,” baby. Now, an argument can be made that Trump didn’t need RFK’s support nor him dropping out of the race, but that’s impossible to prove. I happen to believe that RFK’s support helped the cause. It’s hard to make the argument that Trump is a dangerous fascist when RFK Jr, heretofore a liberal Democrat, is backing him.
(3) Pence is trying to sow dissension and division where none exists. He’s trying to position himself as pro-life purist, possibly for 2028 or whatever. He can shove it, as far as I’m concerned.
HOPE THAT “TIM CHAPMAN” ISN’T the guy on DOG—THE BOUNTY HUNTER
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