January 08, 2004
BETTER IF MILOSEVIC WERE TESTIFYING AT CLARK'S TRIAL:
Wesley Clark Backs Abortion Until Birth, Won't Pick Pro-Life Judges (Steven Ertelt, January 8, 2004, LifeNews.com)
In an interview with the Manchester Union Leader newspaper on Tuesday, Wesley Clark finally divulged his extreme pro-abortion views. Clark said he would never appoint pro-life judges and that he supported keeping abortion legal until the day of birth.Clark told the New Hampshire newspaper that he would never appoint a pro-life judge to any federal court because the appointee wouldn't be able to follow the precedent of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion on demand.
Clark flashed his extreme pro-abortion credentials by saying that, "until the moment of birth, the government has no right to influence a mother's decision on whether to have an abortion," the paper reported.
"Life begins with the mother's decision," Clark said.
Why stop with the moment of birth? Why not let mother's decide whether or not they want to keep their children for the first year or two? Who are we to take the "choice" from them?
UPDATE:
Seeking Women's Votes, Clark Changes His Style (EDWARD WYATT, 1/09/04, NY Times)
Gen. Wesley K. Clark has begun to show a softer side.Gone are his navy blue suit, red tie and loafers, replaced by argyle sweaters, corduroys and duck boots.
At many campaign events recently, a woman has accompanied the general, who is retired, to introduce him. Earlier this week it was the lieutenant governor of Wisconsin. On Thursday General Clark was accompanied by Sherron Watkins, the Enron whistle-blower, who endorsed him here at a center for the elderly.
The Clark presidential campaign is also running a commercial featuring a female soldier who formerly reported to him. And it is sending out fund-raising letters from Madonna announcing her support "not only as a celebrity but as an American citizen and a mother."
The efforts are intended to lessen a potential vulnerability for the general. Even as he is rising in national and New Hampshire polls, his advisers say women significantly trail men in support for the four-star general and former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO.
"There is a gender gap," said Geoffrey Garin, who heads the Clark campaign's polling operation, though Mr. Garin did not give out numbers.
It must give Democrats a warm, fuzzy feeling to know that they are the party where showing your softer side requires announcing you support abortion until the second breath. Posted by Orrin Judd at January 8, 2004 08:33 PM
Gee, all those times during the Vietnam war when soliders were being called "baby killers" and now many of those same people who were making the taunts are going to be backing an ex-general who sees nothing wrong with it (though referring to my post of yesterday, if you believe in nothing but your own self advancement, you can say anything. I doubt Clark gave the idea more than two seconds of thought before it left his lips, and if there was any thought at all, it was "support of all abortions is good for Democratic candidates" that his handlers no doubt have drummed into his head).
Posted by: John at January 8, 2004 09:03 PMHe doesn't seem to actually say that it does stop at birth. In fact, at the risk of being overly semantic, he implies that it doesn't.
"[U]ntil the moment of birth, the government has no right to influence a mother's decision on whether to have an abortion". So, can the government can "influence" the mother's decision to have an "abortion" after birth?
Posted by: David Cohen at January 8, 2004 10:10 PMMy wife wonders if he really believes this or is he just pandering, but we can't decide which would be worse. She hopes its pandering, because no rational person could actually believe this.
Posted by: David Cohen at January 8, 2004 10:14 PMI get the sense that if Clark displaces Dean as the frontrunner the media will soon discover he's as off as Dean is and will be in hot water as well.
Posted by: AWW at January 8, 2004 11:04 PMDoesn't Roe allow restrictions in the second and third trimesters? Any judge with Clark's extreme view wouldn't be able to support Roe either.
Posted by: jd watson at January 8, 2004 11:24 PMRoe says that it allows prohibition in the third trimester and regulation during the second, but as a practical matter the law allows for abortion on demand throughout pregnancy.
Posted by: David Cohen at January 8, 2004 11:29 PMDon't you just love those "Catholic" Democrats?
Posted by: Chris at January 9, 2004 07:44 AMAWW:
Exactly right. Clark cannot win for the Dems, at least, not as the head of the ticket.
Posted by: THX 1138 at January 9, 2004 09:30 AMI think he will find that the Roe effect leaves him appealing to a smaller and less influential set of people than he thinks he's appealing to.
Posted by: NKR at January 9, 2004 09:58 AMIf Clark really believes that no judge could act in accordance with legal precedent that might conflict with his or her personal views, then the pool of his potential judicial nominees would be extremely small.
Posted by: GER at January 9, 2004 01:59 PM