September 07, 2008

Sanctity Of Life Far Right Extremism?



The following essay was posted by Donald Douglas at American Power.

I, too, am appalled at the idiotic ideology of the far left extremists, so my thanks to Donald for allowing me to cross-post this excellent piece.

In my essay, "The Secret Life of Senator Infanticide," I confessed that Barack Obama's consistent votes against Illinois' Born Alive Infant Protection Act was perhaps the most disturbing revelation so far on Obama's extreme left-wing ideology (and that really is saying a lot).

Frankly, I was appalled (and nearly sick) reading stories of
babies left to die in soiled-utility closets. Knowing that readers of this blog might share my indignation, I distributed my essay via e-mail to dozens of regulars.
Some responded by redistributing the post on their own pages (thanks
here and here), but others were not so pleased with my pro-life audacity. Especially upset was Elaine from Elaine's Place, a generally nice women with whom I've had occasional contact, who sent this uncharacteristic attack in response:
Here I thought you were a nice Reagan neocon and instead I find you are a right wing extremist, in the same category of left wing extremist Wade Churchill. I was shocked....then mad...........then just plain disappointed. And what's really frightening is you are in a teaching position! I shudder at the thought.
Well, you know, I shudder at the thought of the indifference to life among Obama defenders, including the many, many more like Elaine who've become so enamored of the oratorical powers of "The One," that they've checked their intellectual faculties at the gates of Mile High.
So on that point, next to
Andrew McCarthy and Elizabeth Scalia, this week's essay by Jeff Jacoby - on the power of life in the John McCain-Sarah Palin presidential ticket - is unsurpassed in moral clarity: "A Stark Choice on Abortion":

DURING a town hall meeting in Pennsylvania last March, Senator Barack Obama was asked about teenagers and sexually transmitted diseases.
He replied that "the most important prevention is education," including "information about contraception." Then he added: "Look, I've got two daughters - 9 years old and 6 years old. I'm going to teach them first of all about values and morals, but if they make a mistake,
I don't want them punished with a baby. I don't want them punished with an STD at the age of 16."

If Obama had deliberately set out to appall prolife voters, he couldn't have uttered four words more jarring than "punished with a baby." The equation of any new child with punishment set teeth on edge, and Obama's campaign quickly
issued a clarification. The candidate, a loving father of two, believes that "children are miracles," it said; he only meant to underscore the importance of reducing teen pregnancy. But Obama's unscripted words needed no clarifying. They tartly encapsulated the extreme position on "choice" he has staked out in his career.

What brings Obama's revealing turn of phrase to mind, of course, is the pregnancy of Governor Sarah Palin's unmarried 17-year-old daughter.
"Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned," Palin and her husband
announced in a statement. "We're proud of Bristol's decision to have her baby and even prouder to become grandparents. As Bristol faces the responsibilities of adulthood, she knows she has our unconditional love and support. Bristol and the young man she will marry are going to realize very quickly the difficulties of raising a child, which is why they will have the love and support of our entire family."
Granted, Obama was engaging in a hypothetical speculation, while the Palins were dealing with a real-life family challenge. Still, what a contrast! To the Democratic nominee, a teenage daughter's unforeseen baby is a punishment to be prevented; to the Republican Veep-designee, it is a blessing to be embraced.

Jacoby also mentions Obama's clinical, lawyerly dodge of the issue at last month's Saddleback Civil Forum, adding this:
And when has a Republican ticket ever been so unabashedly prolife? Senator John McCain, long one of the Senate's reliably prolife votes, is a father of seven, including an adopted orphan from Bangladesh. His running mate lacks McCain's voting record, yet her bona fides are even more impressive: When Palin and her husband learned last winter that she was carrying a baby with Down syndrome, they never considered not having him. More than 90 percent of pregnant American women in the same position choose abortion. Palin chose life....
Ambiguities may muddle the 2008 campaign, but not when it comes to abortion. The next president and vice president will be the most pro-choice in US history. Or the most pro-life.
With the selection of Sarah Palin, social issues have emerged as the undeniable dividing line in the 2008 election.
The differences between the Democrats and the Republicans on the sanctity of life couldn't be more clear, and frankly, if there's any extremism involved here, it's on the far left-wing end of the spectrum.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

One of the marvelous things about our country is that everyone is entitled to have an opinion, whether it's the same or different from yours. Having a different opinion doesn't make one evil. One of the things we are struggling to overcome is the violence of Islamic extremists, because it's not merely an opinion they express, but the wanton destruction that comes with it.

The name of your blog is vinegar and honey. I see far more acid than vinegar, and absolutely no honey or open-mindedness. You haven't convinced me of your views nor that all your facts are correct, only that you feel you're right and the rest of us be damned. I certainly hope that in the coming years, women won't be forced to go back to knitting needles, wire hangers, or dirty back-alley doctors, because like it or not, women always have and always will make the painful, heart-wrenching decision to end a pregnancy.

Jan said...

anonymous..when you say, "our" country, which country are you referring to..the United States, or Germany, where you are writing from?

Yes, we do have free speech here, and we can express our opinions, one way, or the other, and we all have different opinions, but if you would like for me to apologize for believing that it is morally wrong to end the life of a baby in such a cruel, and inhumane way, don't hold your breath.

Maybe you should get your facts straight, too, because I'm not trying to convince you, or anyone else, of anything..I am expressing my opinion, whether you believe it to be right, or wrong. I certainly don't believe you are right if you condone murdering a baby, outside of the womb, when it just happens to survive the attempted abortion, while still in the womb. Many of these babies are nearly full-term.

You are right about women making the decision to end a pregnancy, but the old song and dance about coathangers, and back-ally doctors just doesn't cut it, anymore. You know, as well as I, that Roe v Wade is not going anywhere.

I think you have missed the point, entirely, or else you really do see nothing wrong in infantacide.

As far as my blog not meeting your expectations, just remember that it was your decision to read it, so if you are not happy with what is on here, there are many others with blogs who believe as you do, so perhaps you should not waste your time here.

GUYK said...

Never could see the logic of sucking the brains out of a fetus to legally kill it yet if they had waited an hour until it was born and did the same it would be called murder.

Jan said...

guyk..you are absolutely right about that!

But worse, many who see nothing wrong in allowing a baby to die, after surviving the attempted abortion, will protest loudly against the death penalty, as if the taking of a convicted killer is worse.

I, personally, could not sentence another to death.

Papa Frank said...

I'm with you, Jan. Sorry about "anonymous" up top being an absolute thug. They should just change "anonymous" to......well........I'll just leave it there since I'm in your company. Keep on keepin' on Jan!!!

Jan said...

Papa Frank..unfortunately, they are out there, just waiting to pounce at anything that doesn't line up with their point of view.

It does seem, though, that if they are so adamant in believing that they are right, that they would be courageous enough to sign their name, and not sneak in under "anonymous."

Pathetic.

Desert Cat said...

Sorry about the late post but...

as soon as they manage to successfully cast the pro-life position as "right-wing extremism" in the minds of the public at large, we will know the end is at hand.

Since when is a "nice Reagan neocon" *not* pro-life?

And how someone can applaud the slaughter of innocent unborn human life and still call themselves human is difficult for me to understand.

Palin's candidacy, her Down's Syndrome child, and her daughter's pregnancy are bringing the pro-death ghouls out of the woodwork. I pointedly *don't* call them "pro-choice", because they aren't. Because in fact they condemn both Palin and her daughter for *not* committing murder, and fret about the effect these very public choices will have on other women.