In a phone interview with the Huffington Post, NARAL’s political director Elizabeth Shipp acknowledged it “would help” the pro-choice movement if a Republican proved it was possible to win the presidency while still supporting abortion rights.
“The Republican Party used to be about the conservative principles of limited government intervention in private life,” Shipp said. “It seems to me if they went back to that and stood out from the rigid mainstream, anti-choice agenda, I think yeah, it would be good for the movement.”
Could Giuliani be the candidate to take the Republican Party down that road? And would NARAL support him?
“I don’t know yet,” said Shipp. “He has said some very concerning things since getting into this race. If you have to grade him compared to everyone else you have to give him an incomplete.”
The Republican Party is facing a "Mondale moment" where 1984 became the year that a pro-abortion candidate became acceptable for Democrats and it has been ardently pro-abortion ever since.
Pro-life supporters of Giuliani and NARAL are both hopeful about Giuliani in regards to abortion. One thinks he will appoint judges that will lead to the defeat of Roe v. Wade and the other that he will enable it to remain. They obviously both can’t be right, but for me an candidate that doesn’t put NARAL into the screaming memos is quite dangerous. NARAL is not exactly quaking in their boots at Giuliani appointing "strict constructionalists."
Giuliani supporters often note that he is the best candidate to defeat Sen. Hillary. Maybe that is because there is very little difference between them – at least on important social issues. I think it is quite laughable to think that the base’s desires will keep the mayor in line as president. Exactly what is the evidence that he can be swayed. Though as I have said it before it is quite odd that people want a candidate that will go against his own conscience.
I also find the "If you had to pick between Giuliani an Hillary" argument to be not a very good one. This is not the question now – the primaries have not even started. We can prevent such a choice from occurring in the first place by making sure he doesn’t get that far.
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There is a good debate on this Giuliani versus Hillary over at Catholic Dads right now.
As I’ve blogged extensively, Giuliani can’t win, because 1/4 to 1/3 of the pro-life wont’ support him.
I get a laugh out of the words “anti choice”, as thought that were a bad thing. I’m “anti choice” about a lot of things: running red lights, stealing, assault, homicide, just to name a few. I’d love to hear a “pro choice” defense of any of these things.
This morning I read the following interview with Dr. James Dobson about the Guiliani candidacy:
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/FrankPastore/2007/10/10/james_dobson_interview_its_about_principle,_not_pragmatism
That Giuliani might appoint conservative justices does not necessarily mean they will vote to overturn Roe — as he has said himself, stare decisis is a conservative principle, so a conservative justice in Rudy’s mind could very well uphold Roe (and for all those thinking that Alito is a sure anti-Roe vote, he too has intimated that stare decisis is an overriding consideration).
The thing is this, though — opposing and defeating a Rudy pro-Roe justice would probably be easier than opposing and defeating a Hillary pro-Roe justice.
The thing is this, though — opposing and defeating a Rudy pro-Roe justice would probably be easier than opposing and defeating a Hillary pro-Roe justice.
Why on earth would you think that? If anything a Rudy pro-Roe nominee would be harder to beat since (barring incompetence or some other such issue) that nominee would garner support from the Republicans based on party loyalty and the Democrats based on ideological affinity.
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