What a Year

After a 10 month hiatus, I return and low and behold, the influence of this blog only magnifies with time.

1) Giuliani's campaign is tanking ten months after the post stripped bare the pseudo pro-life credentials of America's mayor. US News and World reports that he is not even contensting in IA, NH or MI, but is waiting to put all his eggs in SC and the Super Tuesday of Feb 5. They write

As for Giuliani, he is playing down the importance of Iowa and New Hampshire, where he lags badly. He is counting on Florida to give him momentum on January 29, a week before the megaprimary day of February 5. Giuliani's strategy has always been based on his winning a number of the big states that day, including New York, New Jersey, and California, and emerging on top of the delegate tally.

A strategy that focuses on regaining the Big Mo' after a month of bad election returns, will seriously damage to his chances. Mortimer B. Zuckerman, Editor-in-Chief of US News & World Report, extrapolates on that sentiment in his December 23 column, where he pontificates about the 'US Grant of 9/11',

Giuliani has long led the national polls, [but] His campaign has been seriously weakened recently as the media focus shifted to his personal life. He is hoping to survive the early primaries and then do well in Florida and Michigan before hitting the big-state primaries of February 5.

2) Instapundit now offers RSS feeds, which are available in IE7 format. I lay claim to having sent the e-mail that wore down his defenses. Just like voting, Nag 'em early 'n' nag 'em often.

My friends: We did it. We weren't just marking time. We made a difference. We made the city stronger. We made the city freer, and we left her in good hands. All in all, not bad, not bad at all. -- Ronald Regan Farewell Address to the Nation --

Guilani: no pro-lifer

I disagree with the American Thinker blogger Kyle Ann-Shiver over what POTUS can do for the pro-life position. She lists 3 main power that a president can use:
1) appoint strict-constitutionalist judges
2) not veto any any pro-life legislation
3)veto any anti-life legislation.

Here she errs. POTUS can appoint a soliticer general and an AG who look for cour cases to prosecute in order overturn Roe v. Wade by fighting for the side of life. The AG & SG are not just defensive warriors reacting to the circumstances of the moment, but rather are proactive litigants fighting for the ideas of the party that put them in power. This is one power of the Presidency and at times why party I.D. is important. This is what happened in 1983 when RR wrote the Abortion & the Conscience of a Nation. The money phrase is

[m]ake no mistake, abortion-on-demand is not a right granted by the Constitution... No serious scholar, including one disposed to agree with the court's result, has argued that the framers of the Constitution intended to create such a right.

Second, POTUS can propose more pro-life legislation through influencing various sympathetic members of Congress. After RR wrote his pro-life masterpiece, Jack Kemp and others labored for the pro-life cause. In response to RR's booklet and the famous Baby Jane Doe case. Congress passed the Child Abuse Ammendment and RR signed the bill into law in October, 1984 (The idea of a Christian Statesman is not something that I am necessarily in full agreement with.)

Third, POTUS can cut off US foreign aid for organizations that promote abortions. This is what RR did in 1984 with his Mexico City policy and GWB followed suit in 2001. Clinton had undone this provision in 1993 by supporting the aborting of foreign babies. In 1985 Congress cut off funds to any organization that mandated forced abortions and/or sterlizations.

Guilani has not pledged yet to do any of these. SCOTUS judges are an imporant step, but Guiani still needs to make many more steps to fix the whole problem. I remain unconvinced.

My friends: We did it. We weren't just marking time. We made a difference. We made the city stronger. We made the city freer, and we left her in good hands. All in all, not bad, not bad at all. -- Ronald Regan Farewell Address to the Nation --