McCain Abortion Flip Flop?

ABC News ^ | May 9, 2008 | Teddy Davis

[cdchik123]

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., faces enormous pressure from social conservatives to ignore his repeated commitment to change the GOP's platform on abortion.

"If he were to change the party platform," to account for exceptions such as rape, incest or risk to the mother's life, "I think that would be political suicide," said Tony Perkins, the president of the conservative Family Research Council, to ABC News. "I think he would be aborting his own campaign because that is such a critical issue to so many Republican voters and the Republican brand is already in trouble."

A senior Republican close to McCain told ABC News that building a more inclusive GOP is a top priority for the Arizona senator.

[babygene]

I for one, would rank Obama the worst, McCain just a shade above Obama, and Hillary the best candidate.

I won’t be voting for any of them...

[babygene]

“I won’t be voting for any of them...”

Sorry. Unless Obama is the dem canidate, in which case I’ll probably vote AGINST him.

[Ron H.]

Well, for someone who has made it very clear that he doesn't need the conservative vote and postively would not pander (definition: to meet with) to conservatives in order to win and has gone out of his way to alienate as many social conservatives as he can his minions have been certainly with great pains jumping through hoops around here and tying themselves up in histrionic knots and fits defending the man who keeps sticking his finger in the collective eye of the conservative voter at every opportunity. They have a tough and unappreciated job to carry out. It almost makes one want to feel so sorry for them. NOT!

However each and every day they receive their marching orders from the basement of the Soros backed campaign and show up here and attack and malign any and every conservative that they percieve who is not in lockstep with them and their socialist candidate. They're easy to spot. The only thing they can really hold up as a reason to support their liberal puppet of a candidate is that he is still (for the moment anyway and that could change at any given moment) a Republican. Like that is the only necessary qualifying factor he needs for conservatives to support him. Ahem, they actually think we're that easy.

[PSYCHO-FREEP]

Have you even considered for a moment what you have lowered yourself into becoming?

Being a “defensive” voter is the entire reason the Republican party has become such a middle to left collection of spineless, pandering, corrupt career yes-men.

And you just keep on feeding the beast so it will thrive and keep on mutating into what it has become.

[angkor]

If abortion is murder, then isn't abortion always wrong, even in the case of rape? ..... But the question is, which is the bigger injustice?

If you or a policeman caught the rapist in the very act of attacking this child, and shot the rapist dead, are you now a murderer? Is the policeman?

IMO abortion in the case of incest or rape is an act of defending the victim from further abuse and violence. Prolonging the victim's suffering (through forced pregnancy) is sadistic no matter what one's moral inclination might be.

[babygene]

“Being a “defensive” voter is the entire reason the Republican party has become such a middle to left collection of spineless, pandering, corrupt career yes-men.”

Don’t look now but there are no “republicans” running this time... Just three liberals. Among the three of them, McCain isn’t even the most moderate IMO.

[tlj18]

Well, I would consider shooting the rapist dead an uncalled for escalation of force. I would not use lethal force unless it was necessary. Killing the rapist would probably be considered manslaughter, as long as it is obvious that only a rape is going on. However, if the rapist is or is likely about to seriously injure/kill the child, then I would definitely authorize the use of deadly force. It's a judgment thing. Pedophiles also aren't really popular, either.

Both sides have a valid argument. It's basically either kill an unborn child or risk ruining a young woman's entire life.

[StAnDeliver]

*head on desk*

Exactly. While the spittle flies among the RINOs who would cut the baby down a 99:1 split, the real discussion in the article you posted is not abortion, but ROE.

ROE has been a political liability for the DUmmies. They've shouted that very fact from the rooftops -- "I think we need to talk about this issue differently," Dean said. "The Republicans have painted us as a pro-abortion party...we would like the word 'abortion'’ struck from the political discourse." -- and why? Because the DUmmies own ROE.

The question at hand, therefore, is why McCain is seeking limp-lettuce RINOs at the expanse of the expansive conservative base?

Why give away an issue that is a political liability for the PBA-supporting Obama?

Why signal you're not going to appoint conservative Supreme Court judges that will send ROE back to the states?

Why give the finger to several logical conservative vice-presidential choices?

[babygene]

“IMO abortion in the case of incest or rape is an act of defending the victim from further abuse and violence. Prolonging the victim’s suffering (through forced pregnancy) is sadistic no matter what one’s moral inclination might be.”

I tend to agree with you on this, the pregnancy is a continuation of the attack and the woman should have the right to self defense, even if it means taking a life. ASSUMING you are talking about rape and not statutory rape.

[PSYCHO-FREEP]

Sorry, I may have misunderestimated your post.

It’s time to clean out the refrigerator, Lots of mouldy left-overs to get rid of, if you catch my drift.

[angkor]

Well, I would consider shooting the rapist dead an uncalled for escalation of force. I would not use lethal force unless it was necessary. Killing the rapist would probably be considered manslaughter

This is completely disingenuous.

And to establish a moral equivalence between the rapist, the child victim, and the fetus is absolutely reprehensible.

Your reasoning above is precisely the reason so many people (including me, the lifelong conservative Republican) find the Single-Issue Monomaniacal Anti-Abortion Party to be completely invested in staggering and jaw-dropping lunacy.

[angkor]

>>>>>ASSUMING you are talking about rape and not statutory rape.

I’m talking about rape and incest only.

How would statutory rape make it different in your opinion?

Two high school kids? (e.g., 16 and 17)?

[Mom MD]

Christ would indeed forgive all including the rapist if he repented.
What I take issue with is your one week recovery for an abortion. Terminating a pregnancy will haunt a woman for the rest of her life. What happens when she gives birth to her first live baby and has that joyous event overshadowed by what the child that was killed might have been?

There is no good answer in the case of a raped child, but I do not think abortion is the easy way out. I think it is at least as emotionally and physically disturbing to a teen as carrying a child to term. If that makes me cold and cruel so be it.

[jwalsh07]

There is no good answer in the case of a raped child, but I do not think abortion is the easy way out. I think it is at least as emotionally and physically disturbing to a teen as carrying a child to term. If that makes me cold and cruel so be it.

It doesn't make you cruel and cold, it makes you principled. You choose not to visit the sins of the father on the child. You recognise that unborn children are guilty of nothing. Having said that rape victims who carry their babies to term are very special mothers.

[Mom MD]

They certainly are and I am sure will be richly blessed by Christ for their devotion to life. I think we can all agree on that

[Bull Market]

I figure there’s nothing wrong with being pro-slaughter since anyone who would get an abortion would be a liberal anyway, and would otherwise raise that child as a liberal(or worse).

In other words, liberals are aborting themselves into extinction.

[longtermmemmory]

More proof that McCain is just a tool to make the distinction between R and D irrelevant.

It is 1917 all over again.

[Ron H.]

I personally know of childless parents who would just love the opportunity to adopt and raise that unwanted child as their own and heap loads of love upon the child of an unwanted pregnacy resulting from a case of rape, incest or a morning after the fact mistake. IMO, that should be the first thing to consider if said "victim" chooses not to raise the unborn child themselves.

[tlj18]

To be clear, abortion is not my singular issue, or even my major issue (it is a minor issue for me). My major issue is foreign policy. And in fairness, since I will stationed OCONUS for the indefinite future, I only consider myself a half-American at the present time. Being in the military + OCONUS insulates me a lot from the bad changes in the U.S. If the American economy tanks, it will hardly affect me (it will, but not that much).

"Real" Americans stand a lot more to lose in this election than myself.

[angkor]

What I take issue with is your one week recovery for an abortion. Terminating a pregnancy will haunt a woman for the rest of her life.

I meant the physical recovery, as I'm certain you know.

Forcing a teenage child to carry a rapist's fetus from conception to birth is IMO unspeakably cruel.

From over here it looks breathtakingly and unabashadly selfish on your part, merely a ploy to maintain your own argument rather than with any thought or concern about the victim.

I hope you also are opposed to capital punishment and to police officers carrying firearms.