Life of the Party

Palin Supporters vs. McCain Staffers

Palin supporters are rallying against the ugly smear campaign promulgated by anyomous McCain staffers.  This is heartening to see. 

Michelle Malkin has set up a petition site so you can send your own message of support to Sarah.

Eric Erickson at Redstate has launched Operation Leper, a special project to track down the anonymous slanderers.  He plans to make 'em famous. 

We intend to constantly remind the base about these people, monitor who they are working for, and, when 2012 rolls around, see which candidates hire them. Naturally then, you'll see us go to war against those candidates.

It is our expressed intention to make these few people political lepers.

Love it!

Surprise, Surprise! McCain Aids Blame Loss on Palin

This was totally predictable. 

Hat tip: Michelle Malkin, who has a few choice words for "the McCain campaign's classless cowards".

Life of the Party on the Radio

Last Friday, I was on the radio live with Bob Enyart of Colorado and of American Right to Life Action again.  It was Part II of our discussion.  In Part II, we focused on our one area of disagreement: Ron Paul and his Sanctity of Human Life bill and its implications.  Here is Part I if you haven't heard it yet, and here is Part II. 

Some highlights were:

 Our Agreements

Personhood must be defined as beginning at conception/fertilization in order to restore rights to preborn children

National Right to Life has mislead the pro-life movement, via compromising on foundational pro-life principles and rubber stamping approval of pro-abortion-choice Republican candidates

Abortion is not justifiable for any reason and any proposed bill that does, should be rejected by pro-lifers

 John McCain is not pro-life (He favors embryonic stem-cell research, abortion in the cases of rape and incest, and has never proposed or supported a bill to make abortion illegal)

Our Disagreements

Ron Paul 

Ron Paul's Sanctity of Human Life Act as a means to define human life as beginning at conception and restore the right to life to preborn children

Would removing the jurisdiction from the U.S. Supreme Court (as Paul's bill would do) thereby remove due process as provided in the 14th Amendment of the Constitution?  Even though a State Supreme Court could still hear cases covering this issue?

Do states and nations have authority to use force on other states and nations to abide by "thou shall not murder" or any other bibilical mandate?

____________________

After the show, we spoke some more, and I raised the question of why we're still debating about Ron Paul since he is no longer a presidential candidate, and suggested that he get Chuck Baldwin on, since he is running for president and supports Ron Paul's Sanctity of Human Life Act.  He said he would try to do that. 

Just a little background: back when there were only two men left in the race for the Republican nomination--John McCain and Ron Paul--American Right to Life had thus far, not raised any criticism of McCain's position on the right to life, but had dished out plenty of criticism of Mitt Romney (which I lauded here) and of Ron Paul (which I refuted here).  I had raised the question back then, "why no criticism of John McCain and why knock down the only pro-life candidate left?"  They eventually did criticise McCain after he became the nominee, and then Bob wanted to have me on to discuss our disagreement over Ron Paul.   

McCain Campaign Pulls Palin from Pro-Life Event

Phyllis Schlafly is not happy.  By the way, remember those floating rumors of a pro-choice running mate for McCain, supported by the Giuliani staffer hired for the running mate's communications director?  The Giuliani staffer part was true.  She's now Palin's press secretary. 

Of Abstinence and Third Party Voting

I thought this combox discussion was worth a post here.  It's like many others around the Catholic blogosphere these days. 

Mark Shea has the debate going among his pro-life Catholic readers about his decision to not support McCain.  (He's not supporting Obama either).  Because:

Empty rhetoric ain't enough. Prolifers who piss away their commitment to human life while shilling for the GOP guy who makes empty promises he does not keep will wind up screwed.

So in his Shea style sarcasm, he advises:

Vote for the Doomed Quixotic Third Party guy of your choice, but vote!

One hopeless McCain defender wonders,

Why vote for a "doomed quixotic third party guy"?  The result will be EXACTLY the same as if you don't vote at all.

Several others echoed this attitude. 

One astute commenter had this to say:

The only way to force the GOP back to conservatism is present them with a constituency that might vote for them if they're conservative. A 3rd party candidate vote can help that. Not voting won't.

Here is my response:

Many believe this is a battle for the presidency for the next 4-8 years, and that Obama will be a disaster, so we must vote for McCain.

But there's an even bigger battle with much more at stake. It's the battle for the heart and soul of the Republican Party. Why is the battle for one party bigger than the battle for the presidency? Because in order to elect leaders with solid Judeo-Christian and Constitutional principles, we must be able to form a coalition; a grassroots organization that will nominate and support such candidates. An organization that will form such individuals to be future leaders. It's called a political party. We must have at least one of them.

The Republican Party is in disarray right now. The coalition has fallen apart. The party faithful have forgotten, or compromised what they once stood for in order to make sure the Democrats don't win. For the last 6-8 years, they've given up their principles for power (winning). And they're just about left with neither. Witness the '06 elections. Party leaders have systematically moved us away from our principles.

Being a party activist, I can tell you that John McCain was--among the grassroots Republicans--virtually NOBODY'S first choice. So how did we get him as our nominee? There's a very complicated answer to that, but let's just say that the system was so manipulated to favor his candidacy by his friends within the leadership and that principled conservatives need to flood the party organization if we are ever to have it stand on principle again. We need to get in there and change how things are done.

Feeding this beast will only make it bigger.

I'm not telling anyone what to do in this election. I'm just saying that those of you who believe we must vote for McCain need to take into account the bigger picture and accept that all of us who truly want to protect life (whether we vote for McCain or not), are following our consciences as it has been formed. Do not blame abstainers or third party voters for an Obama win. Blame the GOP leadership. But also, know that nothing happens outside of God's Providence. If Obama wins, and he is the disaster that everyone fears, we need to accept the years that we will endure of his presidency as discipline from God. In fact, either way, this is true. In fact, let's pray for each of their conversions. One is just as likely as the other.

Who Does He Think He's Foolin'?

Scroll down for updates.

From Rich Lowry at The Corner:

NR has learned that the McCain campaign has been calling key state GOP officials around the country the last couple of days and sounding them out about the consequences of a pro-choice VP pick. The campaign is asking about the reaction of conservative grass-roots activists to such a pick and whether a pro-choicer can be sold to them. This is an indication that the McCain campaign is serious about the possibility of a pro-choice VP nominee and that McCain leaving the door open to Tom Ridge last week may not have been merely a friendly nod to a longtime supporter. In this scenario, McCain's emphatic pro-life statements Saturday night and his pledge that he'll run a "pro-life administration" would have been partly an attempt to reassure conservatives in the event of a pro-choice pick. Here is NR's take today on why going with a pro-choicer would be a mistake for McCain.

H/T: Save the GOP

Let's see.  Here's a sampling since he first floated the idea:

A Catholic guy from swing state Ohio and his blogging friends.

Michelle Malkin

Phyllis Schlafly

Free Republic

Creative Minority Report

Regular Guy, Paul

Feddie at Southern Appeal, and founder of Catholics Against Rudy,  where that "Mission Accomplished" Sign really bugs me.

And finally, someone who gets the whole picture and doesn't have such a short memory.  It's worth quoting:

Maybe if McCain had not been pushed on us in the first place, and maybe if pro-lifers had not been urged to support McCain in the primaries, we would not be in this situation.

Compare -- "John McCain's character, courage, record, and life experience make him the best candidate of either party to meet today's challenges . . . Senator John McCain has a long-standing pro-life record. What’s more, he has the ability to secure the Republican nomination and to prevail against any Democrat nominee, each of which is strongly pro-abortion . . . Here is the way we thought about our decision. It was made at the intersection of three issues: defense of the unborn, defense of our nation from the Islamic terrorists, and electability. When these issues are taken into consideration together, we believe there is no candidate who is better than John McCain. We urge all pro-lifers to consider John McCain in precisely this way."
--Two Catholic Pro-Life Advocates Endorse John McCain's GOP Presidential Bid

With -- "Right now McCain is skating on the thinnest of ice. At best, the election is tied. In many polls, he is 4-5 points down. He has yet to crack 45 percent in any national poll and is behind in key states. At worst, he is facing a blowout. Now is not the time to pussyfoot around with a guy like Tom Ridge. . . . McCain is already suspect among social conservatives. And picking a pro-choicer will have the further effect of cooling whatever ardor he has been able to gin up among them mostly because of the fear of Obama. Social conservatives are largely not for McCain, they are against Obama. A lack of enthusiasm among McCain supporters could spell disaster for him come Election Day. . . . At the moment, McCain can expect at least tepid support among faithful Catholics, those who go to Mass at least once a week and who support the teachings of the Church on core issues like abortion. He needs this group to win the election. He is putting them in an untenable position if he decides to pick Ridge . . ."
--Defeat and Disaster if McCain Picks a Pro-Choice Catholic

We are in the situation that the second writer describes largely because of what the first writer and others like him were enthusiastically saying about McCain in the primaries, even though most other pro-lifers were very suspicious of McCain.

But guess what, the second writer and first writer are the exact same person.

This annoys me to no end. If John "most electable" McCain had not been kept afloat by such endorsements when his campaign was floundering, we might have a different nominee. A better nominee. A truly authentic and enthusiastically pro-life nominee, and not merely some guy who has happened to cast a few Senate votes on the pro-life side.

UPDATE: Could it be McCain-Giuliani?!?!?!  I wouldn't put it past him, would you?  Some believe, this might be the campaign floating his name out there to make the real veep choice seem more palatable to pro-lifers.  That's possible.  On the other hand, the campaign has already hired Rudy's staffer as the unnamed veep's communication director. 

Conservatives Ready To Battle McCain on Convention Platform

Conservative activists are preparing to do battle with allies of Sen. John McCain in advance of September's Republican National Convention, hoping to prevent his views on global warming, immigration, stem cell research and campaign finance from becoming enshrined in the party's official declaration of principles.  Full story.

If the Washington State Convention is a precursor, conservatives will have their work cut out of them.  The list of issues will most likely include abortion as well.

Pro-Life Surrender Politics

At least someone else is challenging the status quo.  Thank you RNC for Life:   

QUESTION: How can John McCain defeat Barack Obama?

ANSWER: John McCain can win in November if he energizes the pro-life, pro-family conservative base of the Republican Party so they will work hard and beat the bushes to get him elected.

LifeNews.com (6/13/08) reported that John McCain and assorted Catholic pro-life leaders met at Philadelphia’s Union League Club on Friday, June 13 to talk about establishing "outreach" to Catholic voters. Catholic columnist Deal Hudson, former Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating, former Vatican Ambassador and RNC Chairman Jim Nicholson, and Kansas Senator Sam Brownback were there, along with Priests for Life director Rev. Frank Pavone.

McCain cited the "stark contrast" between himself and Barack Obama on pro-life issues, according to Life News. He talked about his differences with Obama on taxpayer-funded abortions and the ban on partial-birth abortion.

Nowhere in the LifeNews report does it say that the Catholic pro-life leaders present at the meeting asked John McCain to make a public commitment that he would, as President, veto the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) if it makes its way to his desk. Nowhere does it say that the Catholic pro-life leaders present asked John McCain to reverse his long-held support for the killing of human embryos for scientific research, and for the taxpayer funding of such research. Nowhere does it say that the Catholic pro-life leaders present asked John McCain to reverse his position in support of legal abortion for babies conceived through rape or incest.

Catholic pro-life voters specifically, and pro-life voters in general, are waiting for real pro-life commitments from John McCain. Catholic pro-life leaders have an obligation to make him aware that firing up grassroots pro-lifers to do more than simply vote against Barack Obama on Election Day requires his promise to work for protection of all the babies, embryos included, and his promise to veto FOCA. Were these matters discussed at the Philadelphia meeting? If not, why not?

Thank God a new generation of pro-life leadership is emerging! 

Full Report of Washington GOP Convention

Coming Soon!

Highlights include:

Allocated National Delegate Ballots with only one candidate (pre-screened by John McCain staffer), and no option for write-ins or nomiations from the floor.

Ron Paul takes 4 unallocated national delegates from the state of Washington. 

McCain & Party Leadership led a March Out in Exodus, in order to pull quorum, to avoid debate on the issues. 

When the March Out backfired due to the hefty quorum remaining, the McCain & Party Leadership Marched back in to fillibuster and obstruct the body from completing any other business.

Still, the body managed to pass three pro-life resolutions including: support for a Human Life Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, opposition to the WA state Assisted Suicide Initiative I-1000, and support for the freedom of conscience for pharmacists to not despense abortion drugs.  In addition, the body passed a resolution opposing any military action on a nation without the U.S. Congress declaring war, which is in keeping with our Constitution.

The spontaneous Ron Paul March and Rally immediately following the convention, signalling this movement has just begun. 

Please stay tuned for the full report.  I need to get reacquainted with my family and then find an opportunity to write a blow by blow.  Meanwhile, TVW has full coverage of the convention business.  Note: there are three segments and they are long.  Most interesting are segments B and C.  More details can be found here, here and here. 

My apologies to Geri Modrell (Snohomish Co. Republican Chair), who appears to have stayed during the "march out".  It was reported to me otherwise, and I am sorry for repeating that misinformation.

"Pro-Choice Republicans Starting Trouble for John McCain"

Or is it John McCain starting trouble for himself?

From RNC for Life:

"If he doesn't change the platform, then he's being the same kind of hypocrite that he accused Bush of being in 2000," said Jennifer Blei Stockman, the co Chairwoman of Republican Majority for Choice in an interview with ABC News. Her reference was to a 2000 debate in South Carolina, moderated by Larry King, during which McCain attacked George Bush for his refusal to support a change in the pro-life platform plank that would make an exception for killing babies conceived through rape or incest. As late as 2007, John McCain reaffirmed his desire to weaken the plank. We fully expect that there will be a move on the part of pro-abortion Platform Committee members to weaken the pro-life plank. They have been trying to do that since 1990 and we have been able to defeat them. This time, although he has said he has no intention of changing the plank, we have no public assurance from him that he would oppose their efforts and instruct the committee to leave the pro-life plank as it is:

"Promoting a Culture of Life (2004 Republican National Platform)
As a country, we must keep our pledge to the first guarantee of the Declaration of Independence.
That is why we say the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to
life which cannot be infringed. We support a human life amendment to the Constitution
and we endorse legislation to make it clear that the Fourteenth Amendment's protections
apply to unborn children. Our purpose is to have legislative and judicial protection of that
right against those who perform abortions. We oppose using public revenues for abortion
and will not fund organizations which advocate it. We support the appointment of judges
who respect traditional family values and the sanctity of innocent human life."