Thursday, April 19, 2007

A Good Decision; The Right Man.

Pro-lifers, myself among them, are of course pleased with this week's decision upholding a statute banning Partial Birth Abortion. But we should remember that the vote was five to four. Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote the majority opinion, yet he cannot be considered a reliable ally in this fight. It is possible that he could switch sides in the future. His past voting record indicates he can be swayed by the liberal wing of the Court. This state of affairs shows that there needs to be at least two more Conservative appointments to the Court to be sure of a solid pro-life majority. With this state of affairs, it was not a good thing that many Conservatives sat out the last election or voted for the Democrats. At least the Democrat's Senate majority consists of one vote. This gives the Republicans a chance to regain the Senate in 2008. One way to insure this outcome is for the Republicans to nominate a Presidential candidate that is popular enough with the voters that they will vote for Republican Congressional candidates. To receive the nomination, the winner must be reliable on pro-life issues and be most likely to appoint judges to the bench who are just as reliable on this issue as well.

These considerations bring me to again consider Fred Thompson as a candidate. In my last article on Thompson, I stated that I knew nothing about him that would cause me to oppose his canidacy. Since then, there have been facts reported concerning him that would cause me to be concerned. His past support for McCain and McCain-Feingold, his campaigning for liberal Republican Lincoln Chaffee. There are stories about Thompson being lazy and that caused him to become bored with being in the Senate. Then there is the health issue. It does not surprise me that he supported McCain in 2000. Senators tend to support one another. As for McCain-Feingold, Thompson has admitted in public that it has not lived up to its backers expectations. As to being lazy, I think Thompson is a man who likes to make things happen, and as one Senator out of one hundred, he was limited in his ability to achieve. No wonder he became bored. The Presidency promises to be a sphere where Thompson could do more. The cancer he has is in remission and it is a rare event for someone to die of it. He could live twenty more years with it and likely die of another cause. Campaining for Chaffee really makes me gag! Yet this is not enough to disqualify him from getting my vote. As I said, Senators tend to support one another and I am sure Thompson has campaigned for his fair share of Conservatives. His private life is still a mystery to me. He has been divorced. Yet I doubt his private life is appalling as Gringrich's or Guiliani's. Thompson is not perfect, and if he wins the Presidency, I am prepared to be disappointed with him as I was when Bush won in 2000.

John McCain can not be counted on to govern as a Conservative. Even though he does have a solid pro-life voting record, there is too much animosity between him and the social Conservatives that they will not work for his election. I do not know if he can be trusted to appoint Conservative judges. Guiliani's social views and private life disqualify him. Personally, I like Romney, yet I do not know what his true views on abortion and other social issues are. Gingrich. Lets not go there. There are reliable Conservatives besides Thompson running for the Republican nomination, yet none of them excite the Party as a whole or can show that they can win in the national election. That leaves Thompson. His voting record is acceptably Conservative and he could unite all the GOP factions behind him. I believe that if the Republicans nominate a true Conservative for President, they could beat the Democrats no matter who they nominate. So far, only Thompson seems able to a unite the party. But we shall see. This is not an official endorsement. I am still waiting for any information that would cause me to change my mind.

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