. . . has created a pro-life pledge.
Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Tim Pawlenty, Rick Santorum have signed the pledge. Herman Cain and Mitt Romney have not signed it.
Emily Buchanan, executive director there, tells me: “Our goal is for all candidates to sign the pledge. We are urging our grassroots to reach out to candidates who haven’t signed, asking them to do so. We do plan to promote pledge signers to primary voters and to our membership.”
One former George H. W. Bush Justice Department official, unaffiliated with any GOP presidential-primary contender, raises the worry that the pledge as it currently reads could easily prove to be too far-reaching in its implications. Taken at its face, he worries, Medicare and Medicaid patients would not be able to use any hospitals that perform any type of abortion.
Harvard Law professor and former ambassador to the Vatican, Mary Ann Glendon — who was in the 2008 campaign (until she resigned to become ambassador) and will again be co-chairing Lawyers for Romney in this election cycle — tells me that she believes it would have been “irresponsible” for the governor to have signed the “far too broad” pledge.
Echoing the former Justice Department official’s concern, Glendon says: “You can’t defund all the hospitals in the country.” She adds: “I have no doubt about Mitt’s genuine commitment to life.”
“It does not trouble me at all that he has not signed this pledge. The pledge is asking him to do things he can’t responsibly do,” Glendon tells me.
I am an enthusiastic fan of the SBA List. But I might have taken a little more time to celebrate the seeming pro-life depth of the current field as displayed during Monday night’s debate. I also think that the candidates who have not signed it are fine — maybe even prudent — not to have done so.
I'm not sure quoting a random official from the Bush 41 Administration is going to appease pro-life social conservatives.
At the next debate, with the whole stage signing the pledge, and the inevitable abortion debate question arises, I'm not sure the Medicare answer is going to be too convincing for the former Governor desperate to convince the electorate of his pro-life bona fides.
Unfortunately, NOW, if he signs it - it looks like another flip-flop. I am sorry to see the Romney campaign go down this road. Another unforced error of major proportion.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"I also think that the candidates who have not signed it are fine — and maybe even prudent — not to."
Only because Mitt Romney hasn't signed it.
Had her favorite candidate signed it, there's No. Way. it would have been fine for another candidate to not sign it.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseVery disturbing to see K-lo sell out in support of Romney. It is clear Romney is already running in general election and has taken primaries for granted. Too bad for him that he is deluding himself with all these phony polls.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseHe will suffer the same fate as Mike Castle, who forgot about the primaries and was coasting to the Senate.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWhy would a Dem-lite sign a pro-life pledge? Mitt would rather donate to Planned Parenthood.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI highly doubt candidate Palin would sign this pledge, based on her years as Gov.
However, the base would forgive her for not signing this type of pledge. She could run to the center on abortion during the GOP primary, and all would be forgiven. For Romney, he will not be forgiven because of his past stances on choice/life issues.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse“You can’t defund all the hospitals in the country.” She adds: “I have no doubt about Mitt’s genuine commitment to life.”
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But many voters do doubt that commitment.
And the problem is the pledge does not talk about 'defunding all the hospitals in the country' - it is an example of being too smart by half.
The campaign's attorneys looking at possible interpretations of a pledge that nobody reading it would ever think of. And most importantly, his opponents not reading it that way.
Did anyone at Team Romney ask the SBA List to clarify if they intended all the hospitals in the country to be defunded? That sure would have cleared up a lot of things for the campaign.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"THIRD, to advance pro-life legislation to permanently end all taxpayer funding of abortion in all domestic and international spending programs, and defund Planned Parenthood and all other contractors and recipients of federal funds with affiliates that perform or fund abortions;"
"Taken at its face, he worries, Medicare and Medicaid patients would not be able to use any hospitals that perform any type of abortion."
The Romney camp comments are beyond the pale. He would pledge to support legislation. Certainly he can advocate legislation that does not preclude using hospitials that perform abortion.
Those comments are harmful to the pledge.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseRead the post again and then apologize to Romney. Those words you quoted came from NO ONE in his camp.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI want my elected officials to represent their constituencies, not to have their arms tied by opportunistic axe-grinders with their political pledges. They're as bad as lobbyists, but prefer to use the pressures of soundbite style gotcha politics instead of cash to pressure our elected officials to disregard the wills of the people who elected them.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseYup, the usual GOP establishment still doesn't get it. Keep telling yourselves you can win with Romney, click your heels three times and say, "There's no place like home...."
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWhat difference does any of this make? It's not as if any of them are ever going to be President.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIm pro-life but this pledge is a really bad idea. It binds the candidates to nominate pro-lifers to certain cabinet-posts. This is too much. If I were a candidate I wouldnt sign that thing either. This overreach gives Romney an easy exit, out of his potential pro-life problems. The refusal to sign a more moderate pledge focused on policy, would have been very difficult for him to explain.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseAre we going to have to suffer another year of this Romney fangirling from K-Lo? I used to read the corner religiously until the '08 primary, when Kathryn's fanatical devotion to Mitt became too much. Same went for Hugh Hewitt.
I have no doubt that had Romney signed this, and say, Huntsman or Pawlenty refused, the tone of this post would be different.
All that said, I'm no Mitt hater. But if Kathryn intends to spend the primary season spinning like a top as she did last time, I'm outta here.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWhy would we want our President beholden to such an overreaching list? None of them are likely to actually follow the pledge. At least Romney is willing to say that up front.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseK-Lo is flacking from Romney, as usual.
This is just another reason why Romney is not the person.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseFrankly, this sophistry is not fair to Ms. Lopez, nor does it do justice to her fine record.
To try to vilify those on Our side, with a varying opinion, is really quite ugly.
Far from conservative, one wonders where the hostility and bitterness comes from. It hardly will do anyone any good.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseRomney is a Rockefeller Republican.
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Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWhy should any candidate sign these? What value are these pledges? Is there not enough historical evidence about a candidate to make a decision? Just because a candidate didn't sign this or that group's pledge doesn't remove him from my consideration.
All these are good for is promotion of an organization.
Specifically with Romney, what evidence is there in his past that makes anyone think he'll suddenly become an abortion-friendly president?
If President Pawlenty violates the pledge, what's the recourse? It's not legally binding, it's simply a tool to get single interest voters fired up.
Well sorry, there's a lot more that goes into being a successful candidate than a silly pledge.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseEvidence?
"It is becoming difficult for Mitt Romney to keep track of his twists and turns on the abortion issue. The photograph above shows Romney back in June 1994 during his first big political campaign, running against Sen. Ted Kennedy in Massachusetts. It was taken at a fund-raiser for the pro-abortion rights group, Planned Parenthood, in Cohasset, Mass. The woman with her back to Romney is Nicki Nichols Gamble, former president of the Massachusetts branch of Planned Parenthood, which accepted a $150 contribution from Romney's wife Ann (in a white jacket to Romney's right.)
...Romney announced his conversion to "pro-life" views in an editorial in the Boston Globe on July 25, 2005, the day after vetoing a bill expanding access to the so-called "morning after" pill, which required that it be made available to rape victims. Abortion rights groups such as Planned Parenthood expressed shock at the governor's change of heart, after he had personally signed a pledge to support increased access to the "morning after" pill. "Pro-Life" groups hailed the decision.
That was not the end of the story, however. The controversy over "emergency contraception" continued to haunt Romney. In October 2005, another bill came to his desk, seeking a federal waiver to expand the number of Massachusetts citizens eligible for family planning services, including the "morning after" pill. Romney signed that bill over the objections of his new anti-abortion allies. On this occasion, he was applauded by "pro-choice" advocates.
The issue came up yet again in December 2005. After weeks of agonizing, Romney instructed all hospitals in the state to comply with the terms of the emergency contraception law, and make the morning-after pill available to rape victims. He acted on the advice of his legal counsel, over the objections of half a dozen Catholic hospitals, which had previously refused to provide emergency contraception on the grounds that it conflicted with their religious views.
...Romney's gyrations on abortion have upset both sides. "For Mitt Romney, this has been not just a flip-flop, but an extreme makeover," said Angus McQuilken, vice president for public affairs with the Planned Parenthood Advocacy Fund of Massachusetts. "Where he stands on any issue is always a moving target."
"I don't see how he can sign bills like that and say with a straight face that he is taking a pro-life position," said Joseph M. Scheidler, founder of the Pro-Life Action League, which is opposed to all forms of abortion. "There's no way we can accept that."
...I just spoke with Nichols Gamble, the Planned Parenthood official who accepted the $150 cheque from the Romneys in June 1994. She says she had no reason to believe at the time that Romney was "not 100 percent behind the pro-choice public policy position." She now thinks that Romney "tried to have it both ways and every way to Sunday" on abortion, depending on what political office he was seeking."
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