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Today in Arkansas: Cotton cheers Hobby Lobby ruling
Bill Kristol Quotes Tom Cotton on Fox News Sunday
Mark Pryor is not pro-life according to ARKANSAS RIGHT TO LIFE in 2014 and his conversation with David J. Sanders in 2002!!!!
Tolbert: Arkansas Right To Life Endorses Cotton
Arkansas Right to Life, along with the National Right to Life, rolled out an endorsement Monday for Congressman Tom Cotton pointing to both his consistent pro-life record as well as what they called “waffling and ducking” from his opponent – incumbent Sen. Mark Pryor on the life issue.
“As a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Tom Cotton has been a strong advocate for the right-to-life cause,” said Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life. “Tom Cotton is needed in the U.S. Senate to continue his strong advocacy on behalf of the most vulnerable members of our society.”
In their endorsement, the pro-life group pointed specifically to differences between the two candidates on the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act – a bill which would prohibit late-term abortions after 20 weeks, the point at which the unborn baby can experience pain. Cotton voted for the bill which has passed the House but has stalled in the Senate, where it has not had any support from Pryor.
“Mark Pryor has tried to have it both ways on the right-to-life issues, but nearly 12 years of waffling and ducking is enough,” said Jacki Ragan, Arkansas director to the National Right to Life Board of Directors.
I asked the Pryor campaign for comment on this legislation back in January but never heard back. Others in the media have had similar results.
Pryor has a 35% pro-life rating based on votes on legislation tracked by the National Right to Life, while Cotton has a 100% rating.
The 20-week ban is similar to the ban passed by the Arkansas legislature back in 2013. I will point out that this legislation was criticized by Mike Ross on the day he announced he was running for governor, however he voted for similar legislation while in Congress.
David J. Sanders: Pryor abortion stance hard to pin
Former Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill got in hot water with the leadership of the Catholic Church back in his home state of Massachusetts when he announced that his personal opposition to abortion wouldn’t hinder his support of the Constitution. (At the time of his announcement, the country was beginning to cope with the Roe v. Wade decision, which established that a woman’s right to an abortion was protected under the Constitution.)
Catholic leaders publicly chastised O’Neill. They were distraught that his proclaimed loyalty to what was at that time a new Supreme Court decision trumped any personal or religious convictions he had on the issue. The leaders asserted that O’Neill was worse than other supporters of abortion. They said his position was illogical in that he knew abortion was immoral and wouldn’t do anything about it.
Since entering the race for the U.S. Senate, Attorney General Mark Pryor has been somewhat elusive about his stand on abortion. Recently, questions about his position on abortion led Pryor’s pastor, Robert Lewis of Fellowship Bible Church of Little Rock, to prod his high-profile parishioner on the issue.
Lewis, a noted author and religious leader in the conservative Bible church movement, announced in Sunday’s church service that his “interview” with Pryor on abortion would be posted on the church’s Web site and encouraged members of his flock to check it out.
Having visited with Pryor about his stance on abortion — which isn’t different from the positions of Bill Clinton, Al Gore or Tip O’Neill — I decided to check his latest statements, wondering if he had changed his mind.
What I found was a transcript of a conversation between Pryor and his pastor. Pryor offered little new information.
Pryor acknowledged that out of political expedience, as recently as 1998, he had identified himself as “pro-choice.” He said that he felt all abortion was wrong except when the life of the mother is at stake. Pryor also claimed that he would consider any law to limit abortion.
Pryor asserted that he is opposed to so-called partial-birth abortions, but did not mention that as attorney general he failed to appeal a federal court decision’s striking down Arkansas partial-birth abortion law.
Lewis tried to nail Pryor down on abortion, asking him what he considered his political position. Pryor gave a canned answer, in which, like Bill Clinton, he said that he is personally opposed to abortion.
“I think women should have the right to decide in cases of rape, incest, and when the mother’s life is in danger. As a United States senator, I would balance my personal convictions with my sworn responsibility under the Constitution as I carefully consider each issue relating to abortion,” Pryor responded.
Last March, I asked Pryor the same question and received a similar answer. Not satisfied with his answer I probed further asking him if he would be in favor of a law that banned abortion except in cases of the aforementioned exceptions.
Pryor responded that he thought it would be unconstitutional. So I went further. I asked if he would be in favor of a constitutional amendment banning abortion except in the case of rape, incest or life of the mother. He responded, “No.”
He offered up a weak argument proclaiming a “general reluctance” to amend the Constitution on specific issues. Pryor said he believes the legal doctrine on abortion will change over time with our attitudes and values.
Lewis asked Pryor when he believes life begins. (Pro-lifers consider this to be the “mother of all questions.” Since they believe that life begins at conception, any action, like abortion, after conception is destroying a human life. This is a point many pro-choice crowds will rarely concede.) Surprisingly, Pryor stated a “common sense” approach that led him to believe that life begins at conception.
Pryor was even more illusive when his pastor asked him about Roe v. Wade. He correctly stated that striking down Roe wouldn’t end abortion, but would give states the right to regulate abortion laws. Even when given a clear opportunity to say so, Pryor wouldn’t advocate the end of Roe.
He seemed more concerned with states having different standards than with curtailing abortion. If Roe were ever struck down, abortions in Arkansas would be illegal except in cases where the life of the mother was in danger.
Unlike the Catholic clergy that castigated O’Neill nearly three decades ago, Pryor’s pastor put on kid gloves. Pryor continues to advocate positions that are illogical and disingenuous; Lewis should have called him on the carpet. If Pryor believes that life begins at conception, how can he be for maintaining the status quo?
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(EDITOR’S NOTE: David J. Sanders writes for the Arkansas News Bureau in Little Rock. His e-mail address is DavidJSanders@aol.com.)
David Sanders announces he will run for State Representative
Uploaded on Jan 13, 2010
TolbertReport.com – David Sanders announces he will run for Arkansas State Representative District 31
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