Posted on 09/30/2005 4:47:39 AM PDT by InvisibleChurch
Friday, Sept. 30, 2005 12:07 a.m. EDT Bill Bennett Responds to Critics over Black Abortion
Former Reagan administration education secretary Bill Bennett blasted his critics Thursday night, including Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy, of whom Bennett said: ""I'll not take instruction from Teddy Kennedy. A young woman likely drowned because of his negligence."
Bennett is on the hot seat for remarks uttered Wednesday during his radio show, "Morning in America," where he was arguing against some of the more extreme justifications for abortion, calling them "ridiculous and morally reprehensible."
Offering an example, Bennett said:
"I do know that its true that if you wanted to reduce crime, you could, if that were your sole purpose, you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down.
By Thursday afternoon, prominent Democrats had seized upon the comment.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who said last year that the Supreme Court's lone black member was "an embarrassment to the court," is demanding that Bennett "issue an immediate apology not only to African Americans but to the nation.
Left wing Democrat Ted Kennedy, whose brother, Attorney General Robert Kennedy, ordered the illegal wiretapping of Martin Luther King, called Bennett a "racist."
And Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean, who suggested last year that most blacks hold menial jobs, called Bennett's comments "hateful" and "inflammatory" - and called on him to apologize.
Responding to his critics, Bennett told the Fox News Channel's "Hannity & Colmes":
"I'll not take instruction from Teddy Kennedy. A young woman likely drowned because of his negligence . . . . He should make no judgments at all about other people. He shouldn't be in the Senate."
Neither Kennedy nor Dean nor Reid has ever condemned Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd, who rose to the rank of Grand Cyclops in the Ku Klux Klan based on his ability to recruit new members.
In an autobiography released earlier this year, Byrd said the Klan was a "fraternal group" made up of "upstanding' people" - a characterization which drew no protest from Reid, Kennedy and Dean.
"I was pointing out that abortion should not be opposed for economic reasons, any more than racism or for that matter slavery or segregation should be supported or opposed for economic reasons," he said. "Immoral policies are wrong because they are wrong, not because of an economic calculation. One could just as easily have said you could abort all children and prevent all crime, to show the absurdity of the proposition."
No Ann Coulter this morning.
Awwwww
ANN's not gonna be on.
Another article on this:
The Empty Cradle Will Rock (How abortion is costing the Democrats voters--literally.)
Wall Street Journal, June 28th, 2004.
I have been saying that for at least 20 years. My policy would be that any woman on welfare - and we know that happens for many reasons - is allowed two strikes. If she wishes to continue taking welfare payments, she must undergo sterilization. Welfare was not implemented for long-term use. It was started as a means for people who are unable to care for themselves temporarily. It has been bastardized by the democrat party into a plantation whereby they keep the underclass poor under voting control.
I have long thought that one is enough.
Oh it's silly. It almost sounds like he believes there is a correlation between abortion of black children and the birth of black children. There is no way they can be connected.
/pro-choice
Yeah but at this point I don't think Anne's brand of punditry would be appropiate.
Very true. I would like to hear her take on the non-issue.
Is what Bennett said a 'fact'?
It is the only humane manner to decrease the never-ending cradle to grave welfare class and the crime rate.
There is no excuse for continuous welfare in this country.
If you make the correct decisions in parenting, choose your friendships wisely, get an education...the possibilities for success are limitless.
Stuff that down the NAACP's...Jesse Jackson's...Al Sharpton's, Louis Farrakhan's throat...and let them all choke on it.
"Bennett's toast. Next."
Are you referring to it being Bennett's turn to toast?
Bennett will be toasting the town as his listening audience will now increase exponentially.
Of course, Bennett's remarks were not racist or mean-spirited at all, but I can't help but wonder...
WHAT was he THINKING??? Why would such a smart man say something which could so easily be taken out of context, and when taken out of context, would sound so horrible?
Yeah, I think Bill made the right choice by asking her to come on another time but I would have loved to hear her comment on Bill's comment about Ted Kennedy last night.
Well, duh. This statement is transparently true. First of all, eliminating ANY segment of the population would reduce crime somewhat, since you'd have both fewer potential perps and fewer potential victims. Plus:
1.) Crime is created out of the desperation of poverty -- Liberal Talking Point
2.) Blacks are disproportionately in poverty due to oppression by The Man -- Liberal Talking Point
Therefore, the crime rate among blacks is higher than in the general population. Q.E.D.
Exactly what the dems have been trying to make it since the clinton administration came into office. They are just hitting it harder as they lose voters, trying to lure them back.
The "outrage" from the left speaks volumes to the credibility of what Bill Bennett said. All the left wing hypocrites getting this upset over something a talk show host said? How many "outrageous" things has Rush Limbaugh said that the hacks in Washington don't bother to respond to? Although I think Bill Bennet could have made his point in a more affable way, he illustrated a truth and he hit a nerve when it comes to addressing the inherent racism of "pro-choice".
I really am wondering why the Republican senators and representatives havn't spoken up in Bennett's defense of this crap from the far left?
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Good point.
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