PPact Planned Parenthood
Deeply saddened to hear that Betty Ford, a longtime Planned Parenthood supporter, has died at 93. Our thoughts are with her loved ones.
The comments made by me were taken out of context and then, like the pack attack mentality that surfaces on FR, I was attacked viciously. Including getting my comments yanked with deragotory remarks about me on the forum, left behind and no way to defend myself. Our fellow FReeper, P-Marlowe, also had his comments yanked. Why? Was it because we were disgusted and didn't fall in lockstep with the praises being heaped on Ford (on both threads)? The context of my comment was: IF Betty Ford were for all those liberal issues, then in my book she is ____. The key word being IF. I didn't call her POS directly; only predicated on the fact that “IF” she supported the issues as what was being stated. Apparently, it is true. P-Marlowe provided some of the evidence with his posting of documentation of:
http://articles.sfgate.com/1997-03-21/news/28567034_1
That comment was made because I had absolutely no idea that she was so left wing and because after discovering that, I saw FReepers, (FREEPERS!!) holding this woman up with praise and accolades. Those comments were extremely disconcerting; especially because of the Freepers making those comments; i.e. veteran, pro-life, moral absolute freepers that would (and often do) jerk out the jugular vein in someone’s neck if they are for anything but what is traditional and MORALLY RIGHT.
So, please excuse me when I don't share your sorrow or your respect for someone that was in favor of ‘ripping children, out of the womb’, limb by limb.
I'm sorry that my remarks offended some and I'm sorry that they were taken out of context but if anyone thinks, that by attacking the comments, that it will make me back down from a pro-life position, you are mistaken. Because you see, I don't care who it is that has passed on, if they contributed to the demise of our nation (which Betty Ford certainly did), they deserve nothing but contempt.
The shocking part of all this for me has been the FReepers involved in this little 'flaming'. All of whom I've had the utmost and deepest respect for. To watch those FReepers 'gloss' over what this woman stood for, while never giving a pass to others, was astonishing. Phrases like: "no need to mention the deceased's bad politics" rattled my cage. Sorry. The argument has been made that Ford made up for this position by being pro-active and forming a center for Alcoholics and for her stance on cancer but, for me, personally, those gestures were not enough to overcome the butchering of babies. Further, her clinic was frequented mostly by celebrities & the well-off and not the working citizen who may fall into an addictive situation. AA has been in existence since 1935 and caters to “all” people; not just the rich. So that argument falls flat imo.
Finally, I will not sit in judgment of the SOUL, (as I indicated quite clearly on the thread), of Betty Ford. She, like EACH OF US will have to give an accounting. But one thing I do know, when I stand before the Lord Jesus Christ and the Father, I won't have to account for butchering babies in the womb.
Free Republic has been my sanity for the past 3 years and the "owner" (as the Mod so condescendingly reminded me of) has the final say-so over comments. It is my belief that my positions align almost perfectly with his; and that to me is all that matters and that is why I'm a member here. There is NO compromise on these issues.
Meant to ping you as well since you were somewhat involved on this thread and condemned P-Marlowe as well.
It cannot be emphasized enough that Betty Ford did not merely hold a pro-choice political viewpoint, she actively worked to promote the abortion industry as shown by the fact that she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from NARAL. You don't get that merely by toeing the liberal line, you get that by EARNING it!!!!
No amount of good she did for any other cause can turn her into any kind of person worthy of our praise. To praise her for her alcohol work after that would be like praising the Nazis because the trains to Auschwitz ran on time.
#217
Again, the 93yr old woman is dead.
I don’t see you as a victim just because folks don’t
take kindly to crude and hateful posts about the
recently departed, nor appreciated being yelled at
for showing appropriate discretion at the passing of
a former First Lady.
Good taste is still held as a worthwhile trait to
most civil people. Honestly, American Ranger’s post
was one the most repugnant I’ve ever seen here in
such a situation.
What would be enough castigating of her for you
at this point?
We have current battles to fight ..to illuminate and try to block the insane policies and wreckage wrought by the govt and elected officials of today to stop their radical tyranny and relentless attempts to totally alter this great nation.
Want to stomp on her grave .. yell at her kids? Erect a statue to her horrible beliefs?
Have a 1,000+ post thread of endless criticism and hate
where you post tons of vehemently furious, graphic
posts in opposition to a dead woman, whose policies
hold NO agreement with anyone here at FR so the world
can see just how angry you are that you just found out
what most of us knew or read about from almost 40 yrs
ago ...and that some folks dared to acknowledge respect that she did accomplish some positive things in her long life?
What would it change?
I personally loathe abortion, I weep for the murdered
innocents, have been found praying in front of Planned Parenthood, etc. etc., and I depise all the rest of the secular, lib policies.
I never praised her liberal policies. I recognized
that she, like us all, is flawed, and she made some
efforts that did, in fact, help millions.
Is realistic perspective that paper thin?
How could I deign to know the state of her soul
when she died?
The 93yr old woman is dead. God have mercy on her
soul and on us all.
When is a dead horse beat enough?
~~~~~~~~~~~
Leviticus 19:18
Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.
Romans 12:19
Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,” says the Lord.
Comments calling a former First Lady of the United States a “classless drunken cow” are what prompted my post.
It's important to note that the only person on this thread I have specifically attacked has been American_Ranger, the one who said that, and who, interestingly enough, has been silent since this uproar started.
As I said at 215 in this thread: “I'm not going to single out specific posters on Free Republic other than the initial item about Mrs. Ford being a ‘classless drunken cow.’ That statement is factually wrong and indefensible under any circumstances. However, speaking more broadly, there's a type of language being used in conservative circles that is just as incompatible with Scripture as abortion, sexual promiscuity, illegal drug use, or any of the other things on which Mrs. Ford's published views are being legitimately criticized.”
Outlaw, with regard to you at 215 on this thread: “I do not know who said what to whom, what got removed, and what got put back later. I finally found the Outlaw Woman post with the “POS” language, but it was on a different Betty Ford thread, and Outlaw Woman's comments were some of the less offensive things. A lot of other things that have been said, not just on this thread but others, have been far worse.”
Abortion is evil. Those who use their public position to advocate abortion bear responsibility for promoting evil. I'm not Betty Ford's pastor nor would she have wanted me in that role, and while my family was once close to the Fords that was many, many years ago. If I were in a position to speak to her on a personal level in the months prior to her death, which I most definitely was not, there would be things that needed to be said that she would not have liked.
On that point I don't think you and I have any disagreement.
I'm also not opposed to public attacks on public people at the time of their death under all circumstances. It's uncouth, it reeks of bad manners, and it's probably counterproductive in most cases, but under rare circumstances it may be appropriate. Pointing out that a dead rock star died as the result of his drunk driving and killed three uninvolved people in the other car may be a really good idea.
The problem here is that Mrs. Ford isn't some popular Hollywood starlet promoting abortion who died of a drug overdose at a young age and is getting lauded by the Hollywood community for her pro-choice advocacy. Mrs. Ford is a former First Lady of the United States. She is entitled to the respect of that position. There's also the issue of her being an older woman. Modern American culture doesn't have a lot of respect for the elderly, but Scripture is quite clear about the way we are to treat our elders.
I can think of very few good things to say about Jimmy Carter or Bill Clinton or their wives, but at the point they die, they will be biblically entitled to the respect warranted by their positions. At least three of those four people have done a great deal of damage to the United States, some more than others, but we as conservatives simply cannot talk about our civil magistrates the way that liberals do. The office is worthy of respect, no matter how much we object to the person who may be in it, or who previously held it.
Again, as I've said a number of times, we are conservatives. We are not revolutionaries. If we adopt the liberal tactics of disrespect for order and authority, those methods are not neutral, and they will take us places we most definitely do not want to go.