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For Republicans, abortion issue is radioactive
NorthJersey.com ^ | 03.27.06 | DICK POLMAN

Posted on 04/05/2006 9:33:51 PM PDT by Coleus

PHILADELPHIA -- Republicans in Washington are always willing to weigh in on the issues that are important to their conservative base -- Iraq, immigration, taxes, federal spending, the Medicare drug plan, the Dubai ports deal, you name it.

But, lately, hardly anybody in the GOP camp seems eager to address the historic event that transpired this month out on the high plains and now threatens to roll eastward, to the U.S. Supreme Court. It is, of course, abortion. For the party of the elephant, the new South Dakota law -- which prohibits the procedure for every woman in the state, unless she is dying -- is truly the elephant in the room.

It puts Republican politicians, especially those seeking the 2008 presidential nomination, squarely on the spot. If they side with conservatives -- who tend to vote heavily in the primaries, and who generally hope that the South Dakota law will be a weapon to overturn Roe v. Wade -- they risk alienating the independent voters who often swing November elections and generally desire that the right to legal abortion be preserved.

That explains why not a single Republican with White House aspirations has declared that the South Dakota law should be the model for an ultimate ban on abortions nationwide. It's a crossroads moment in the 33-year-old debate. Grass-roots conservatives are clearly forcing the issue, hoping this law might ultimately find a receptive audience in Washington on a high court now staffed with two Bush appointees.

South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds calls the law "a direct frontal assault" on the landmark 1973 ruling. Yet, even ardent foes of abortion acknowledge that the issue is dicey especially for Republicans, who appear to have the most to lose. Jack Pitney, a former national Republican official and Capitol Hill staffer who closely tracks GOP politics, called the abortion law "a delicate situation for the Republicans."

He said, "It makes a lot of them nervous. It's one thing to just talk about banning abortion -- and they do that all the time, because it's a great way to fire up the base and raise money. But it's another thing to actually ban abortion nationwide. "Because that would raise all kinds of uncomfortable questions that could hurt the party politically -- such as, if this is truly a crime, whom do you jail? Very few Republican candidates want to answer that question."


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 109th; abortion; abortionlist; gop; issues; republicans; wimps
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To: SuziQ
Haley is right. Though I would vote for a measure that only gave the life of the mother as an exception, the VAST majority of people in this country would not. So I would accept the other exceptions, if that is all we could get, and in MOST states that is all. I would require that it be cases of REPORTED rape or incest, though, or it becomes as meaningless as the 'health of the mother' exception has been.

I agree 100% the rape must be reported with a police report and everything. possibly also make the victim take a lie detector test, if she doesn't know who the rapist was.

81 posted on 04/06/2006 10:32:33 AM PDT by Echo Talon
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To: hocndoc

she will remember the rape forever, but to be reminded of it all the time is another story. I remember my father spanking me with a belt(I deserved it) but im not reminded of it everyday.


82 posted on 04/06/2006 10:34:58 AM PDT by Echo Talon
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To: Echo Talon

Actually, I'm involved in some of the fight against abuse agains women.

The lie detector is used as a tool against the criminal, not as a tool to harm the innocent.

At one of the workshops, we learned that in a nearby Texas college town, they are requesting that victims take a lie detector test, because the defense caves when they are informed of a reliable, supportive test.


83 posted on 04/06/2006 10:43:40 AM PDT by hocndoc (http://www.lifeethics.org/www.lifeethics.org/index.html)
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To: napscoordinator
Can't possibly be pro-life than. You are pro-choice with a little bit of pro-life thrown in for you to feel good. If a person is raped they can put it up for adoption that has been the way things were done for 150 years before 1973. I think the stigma of pregancy of your girls should be lifted. Obviously we should preach abstinence as the main source of sex, but if someone screws up than I think she should be supported and have the baby put up for adoption. If my rules would pass, then America would be a much better place where after a generation we would have a population growth so Social Security would not even be an issue.

Why should a rape victim be punished for 6-7 months if she doesn't want to carry the child?

84 posted on 04/06/2006 10:47:11 AM PDT by Echo Talon
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To: hocndoc

I was advocating the lie detector test in cases where no bad guy is identified, like if a girl was raped by a stranger. This way a girl couldn't just lie and say she was raped by someone just to get an abortion.


85 posted on 04/06/2006 10:49:40 AM PDT by Echo Talon
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To: Echo Talon

A red herring (blame the victim) that is completely eliminated if the only exception is to save the life of the mother.

I'm sure you remember the false story that was supposedly the justification behind Roe v. Wade. What right has anyone to deny a woman her choice, if the child is a child, but we'll allow abortion for some women who are not in danger?


86 posted on 04/06/2006 10:54:54 AM PDT by hocndoc (http://www.lifeethics.org/www.lifeethics.org/index.html)
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To: Echo Talon
it's also murder to kill the baby to save the life of the mother.

Then what is it to kill the mother to save the life of the baby?

87 posted on 04/06/2006 10:59:11 AM PDT by Mr. Jeeves ("When the government is invasive, the people are wanting." -- Tao Te Ching)
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To: Echo Talon

Why should a rape victim be punished for 6-7 months if she doesn't want to carry the child?


Because we don't always have lives that are perfect and in the overall plan that God has for us adds in some struggle which makes all of us stronger in the end. She will be thanked in heaven. Do I think it is fair? No really, but we don't have a choice in making a decision that kills another human being (at least we shouldn't).


88 posted on 04/06/2006 11:11:02 AM PDT by napscoordinator
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To: hocndoc
not blame the victim but the burden of proof is on the victim, if she wants an abortion.
89 posted on 04/06/2006 11:27:08 AM PDT by Echo Talon
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To: Mr. Jeeves
Then what is it to kill the mother to save the life of the baby?

depends if the mother is consenting to the taking of her life, in that case it would be her sacrificing her life for the babies life.

90 posted on 04/06/2006 11:28:51 AM PDT by Echo Talon
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To: Coleus; 4lifeandliberty; AbsoluteGrace; afraidfortherepublic; Alamo-Girl; anniegetyourgun; ...

Pro-Life/Pro-Baby ping!

Please FReepmail me if you would like to be added to, or removed from, the Pro-Life/Pro-Baby ping list...

91 posted on 04/06/2006 12:00:15 PM PDT by cgk (I don't see myself as a conservative. I see myself as a religious, right-wing, wacko extremist.)
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To: Coleus
But, lately, hardly anybody in the GOP camp seems eager to address the historic event that transpired this month out on the high plains and now threatens to roll eastward, to the U.S. Supreme Court. It is, of course, abortion

Cowards to the truth.

92 posted on 04/06/2006 12:01:29 PM PDT by mware ("army of amateurs", doing the job of the media)
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To: mware
November is 'gonna kick these bastids... haaaaaarrrd.
93 posted on 04/06/2006 12:05:08 PM PDT by johnny7 (“Nah, I ain’t Jewish, I just don’t dig on swine, that’s all.”)
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To: topher

As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.

CBR is doing a great work all across the nation. I wish many thousands more folks would support their efforts. It would change the country.

Their multi-state work helped President Bush and Republicans win in 2004.

When faced with the horrors of abortion via actual photographs, most (normal) people finally admit it is the actual killing of a baby.

Here is the link again if anyone else is interested:

http://www.abortionno.org/


94 posted on 04/06/2006 6:35:36 PM PDT by Cedar
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To: cgk

Thanks for the ping!


95 posted on 04/06/2006 9:37:50 PM PDT by Alamo-Girl
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To: Coleus
It is astonishing we've been discussing this for 33 years and most still don't even know what an abortion is - hence the cavalier attitude about the rape exception.

SHOW an abortion, with no narration or censorship, on national television. THEN we will be ready, as a nation, to discuss this.

96 posted on 04/07/2006 2:34:20 PM PDT by Lexinom
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To: Cedar
CBR is doing excellent work across the nation, educating the masses. It is ironic how they are reviled merely for showing what Americans tolerate as though they were the very perpetrators of the violence!!!

You absolutely cannot miss this site - a spinoff done by a CBR person:

www.abort73.com

97 posted on 04/07/2006 2:38:02 PM PDT by Lexinom
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To: Lexinom

Thanks for that link. Looks good.

Yes, CBR is doing some of the most important work in our country to date.

It is hard to believe most Americans have never seen photos of abortions/aborted babies.

I think some people are hiding from the truth of it -- they just won't look, knowing one look would change their long-held position of "choice".........(or especially those who want to allow abortions for certain situations).


98 posted on 04/08/2006 6:51:01 PM PDT by Cedar
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To: Echo Talon
Start executing the rapists, discontinue executing the innocent alive unborn child. There is no democrat or Republican stomach for dealing with the heinous crime of rape so the 'excuse me' option is to execute the unborn before society has to face the consequences of the rapist's crime ... and to heck with the raped female since 'she'll get over it quicker without a little voice to remind her'.

There is ONLY ONE sustainable basis in our common law for terminating a pregnancy, self defense ... and it applies even in 'incest' and rape. But even that termination ought not carry an automatic death sentence on an alive but unborn child if it is possible to continue the pregnancy to a preemie birth without substantially raising the mortality risk to the female victim of the rapist's crime.

99 posted on 04/10/2006 8:00:53 PM PDT by MHGinTN (If you can read this, you've had life support from someone. Promote life support for others.)
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To: Coleus

No I think this is wishful thinking.

Abortion is consistently a base winner.

I think the democrats are sowing these delusional sees because they are in terror abortion will be returned to the states.

The fear a death or resignation.

This is a base winner issue.


100 posted on 04/10/2006 8:11:32 PM PDT by longtermmemmory (VOTE! http://www.senate.gov and http://www.house.gov)
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