National Right To Life or National Right To Lie
The National Right to Life Committee endorsed Fred Thompson yesterday. The question I have is...why? There are other Republican candidates with better pro-life records. In fact, Duncan Hunter has a 100% lifetime rating from the NRLC and 0% from NARAL. Here is the theories and rebuttals for the endorsement.
Why did the National Right To Life committee and NRLC PAC decide to endorse Fred Thompson? We won't know until tomorrow's press conference, but here are some theories
(1) His record in the Senate. It's strong and solidly pro-life. Rebuttal: But other candidates -- John McCain, Duncan Hunter, have better records. ... And Thompson was just as much of a force behind McCain-Feingold as McCain... and he lobbied on behalf of pro-choice causes in the early 1990s...
(2) Political calculation -- Duncan Hunter can't win; Mike Huckabee is too independent and allegedly alienates fiscal conservatives; Mitt Romney is going to be beaten and the abortion policies of his Mass. health care plan are a problem; Thompson will win in the South. Thompson will owe the NRLC. Rebuttal: The NRLC isn't generally like that; more than almost any interest group, it's faithfully represented the interests of its 3000 chapters and hundreds of thousands of members. And so far as political calculations go, Thompson's standing in early state polls has been declining.
(3) Huckabee hatred: the one person in the race who doesn't have to pander to pro-life activists has aroused the ire of the Beltway establishment. Rebuttal: again, the NRLC prizes itself on its independence.
(4) They forgot McCain-Feingold: Remember, NRLC and its affiliates are as responsible as anyone for the fight against the issue ad provisions of BCRA. Thompson has backed away from his support of those provisions, but his support of the thrust and principles behind McCain-Feingold is undeniable. Rebuttal: ??
The statement from the president of the NRLC said this:
Since announcing his candidacy in September, Fred Thompson has run second only to pro-abortion candidate Rudy Giuliani for the Republican nomination in the overwhelming majority of national polls. As pro-lifers throughout the nation begin to unite behind his candidacy, he will be well positioned to win the nomination and the presidency.
It's obvious that 1, 2, & 4 of the above theories are correct.
