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Pro-Life Response Makes Specter Eat His Words

We have many things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving, not least of which is the fact that moral values played an important role in the recent election. True, there is still much to be done since those mostly concerned with moral values was only 22% of the electorate, but it’s a start.

Give Thanks for Pro-Life Wins

Other things to be thankful for are the decreasing number of abortions being performed, the new warning on RU-486, though the pill should be totally outlawed.

We should be thankful for 4-D ultrasound that shows a clear picture of the baby in the womb, for the growing number of clergy speaking against abortion, for the young people joining the pro-life movement, for conservative majorities in both houses and hopefully for more restrictions on the funding of abortion and the fact that even some secular journals have begun calling the unborn child an unborn child.

There are many more things to give thanks for, but this is a start. Happy Thanksgiving!

Pro-Life Wins Promise from Specter

Some pro-lifers are complaining that all the thousands of e-mails, letters and phone calls that flooded the Senate didn’t stop the Judiciary Committee from giving Sen. Arlen Specter the green light for Chairman of that committee.

Yet some pro-life political analysts say this was the best thing that could have happened, because it took the wind out of Specter’s sails and forced him to eat his arrogant remark the day after Bush’s election, saying that Bush could not get pro-life nominees into the federal courts, and should not even bother introducing them. That’s when the deluge of protests from pro-life groups and individuals started and Specter soon learned that he had grabbed a tiger by the tail.

Now he has not only promised that he will support any candidate Bush nominates, but has gone even farther than we had hoped. Here are his exact words — read his pledge, then be prepared to remind Specter of this pledges as candidates are presented to the Judiciary Committee:

I have not and would not use a litmus test to deny confirmation to pro-life nominees. I voted to confirm Chief Justice Rehnquist after he had voted against Roe v. Wade. Similarly, I voted to confirm pro-life nominees, Justice Scalia, Justice O’Connor and Justice Kennedy. I lead the successful fight to confirm Justice Thomas which almost cost me my Senate Seat in 1992.

I have assured the President that I would give his nominees quick Committee hearings and early Committee votes, so floor action could be promptly scheduled. I have voted for all of President Bush’s judicial nominees in Committee and on the floor, and I have no reason to believe that I’ll be unable to support any individual President Bush finds worthy of nomination.

I believe I can help the President get his nominees approved just as I did on confirmation of two controversial Pennsylvania Circuit nominees when other, similarly situated Circuit nominees were being filibustered. I have already registered my opposition to the Democrats’ filibusters with 17 floor statements and will use my best efforts to stop any future filibusters.

It is my hope and expectation that we can avoid future filibusters and judicial gridlock with a 55-45 Republican majority and election results demonstrating voter dissatisfaction with Democratic filibusters. If a rule change is necessary to avoid filibusters, there are relevant recent precedents to secure rule changes with 51 votes.

I intend to consult with my colleagues on the Committee’s legislative agenda, including tort reform, and will have balanced hearings with all viewpoints represented. I have long objected to the tactic used, of bottling up civil rights legislation in the Judiciary Committee when it should have gone to the floor for an up or down vote. Accordingly, I would not support Committee action to bottle up legislation or a constitutional amendment, even one which I personally opposed, reserving my own position for the floor.

One astute Pro-life spokesman said this statement stemming from pro-life pressure, is even better than defeating Specter and making an enemy of him to join the Democrats in working against us. Now he has to tow the line. In any event, have a happy Thanksgiving.

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