Gov. Sarah Palin said this from the stump. For me, it sums up how I feel about this entire election. I love the plainspokeness of Palin, especially compared with Obama’s high-falutin phrases signifying nothing. Here it is:
“In this same spirit, as defenders of the culture of life, John McCain and I believe in the goodness and potential of every innocent life. I believe the truest measure of any society is how it treats those who are least able to defend and speak for themselves. And who is more vulnerable, or more innocent, than a child?
When I learned that my son Trig would have special needs, I had to prepare my heart for the challenges to come. At first I was scared, and Todd and I had to ask for strength and understanding. But I can tell you a few things I’ve learned already.
Yes, every innocent life matters. Everyone belongs in the circle of protection. Every child has something to contribute to the world, if we give them that chance. There are the world’s standards of perfection … and then there are God’s, and these are the final measure. Every child is beautiful before God, and dear to Him for their own sake.
As for our beautiful baby boy, for Todd and me, he is only more precious because he is vulnerable. In some ways, I think we stand to learn more from him than he does from us. When we hold Trig and care for him, we don’t feel scared anymore. We feel blessed.
It’s hard to think of many issues that could possibly be more important than who is protected in law and who isn’t – who is granted life and who is denied it. So when our opponent, Senator Obama, speaks about questions of life, I listen very carefully.
I listened when he defended his unconditional support for unlimited abortions. He said that a woman shouldn’t have to be – quote – “punished with a baby.” He said that right here in Johnstown –“punished with a baby” – and it’s about time we called him on it. The more I hear from Senator Obama, the more I understand why he is so vague and evasive on the subject. Americans need to see his record for what it is. It’s not negative or mean-spirited to talk to about his record. Whatever party you belong to, there are facts you need to know.
Senator Obama has voted against bills to end partial-birth abortion. In the Illinois Senate, a bipartisan majority passed legislation against that practice. Senator Obama opposed that bill. He voted against it in committee, and voted “present” on the Senate floor. In that legislature, “present” is how you vote when you’re against something, but don’t want to be held to account.
Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a Democrat, described partial-birth abortion as “too close to infanticide.” Barack Obama thinks it’s a constitutional right, but he is wrong.
Most troubling, as a state senator, Barack Obama wouldn’t even stand up for the rights of infants born alive during an abortion. These infants – often babies with special needs – are simply left to die.
In 2002, Congress unanimously passed a federal law to require medical care for those babies who survive an abortion. They’re living, breathing babies, but Senator Obama describes them as “pre-viable.” This merciful law was called the Born Alive Infants Protection Act. Illinois had a version of the same law. Obama voted against it.
Asked about this vote, Senator Obama assured a reporter that he’d have voted “yes” on that bill if it had contained language similar to the federal version of the Born Alive Act. There’s just one little problem with that story: the language of both the state and federal bills was identical.
In short, Senator Obama is a politician who has long since left behind even the middle ground on the issue of life. He has sided with those who won’t even protect a child born alive. And this exposes the emptiness of his promises to move beyond the “old politics.”
In both parties, Americans have many concerns to be weighed in the votes they cast on November fourth. In times like these, with wars and a financial crisis, it’s easy to forget even as deep and abiding a concern as the right to life. And it seems our opponent hopes that you will forget. Like so much else in his agenda, he hopes you won’t notice how radical his ideas and record are until it’s too late.
But let there be no misunderstanding about the stakes.
A vote for Barack Obama is a vote for activist courts that will continue to smother the open and democratic debate we need on this issue, at both the state and federal level. A vote for Barack Obama would give the ultimate power over the issue of life to a politician who has never once done anything to protect the unborn. As Senator Obama told Pastor Rick Warren, it’s above his pay grade.
For a candidate who talks so often about “hope,” he offers no hope at all in meeting this great challenge to the conscience of America. There is a growing consensus in our country that we can overcome narrow partisanship on this issue, and bring all the resources of a generous country to the aid of both women in need and the child waiting to be born. We need more of the compassion and idealism that our opponent’s own party, at its best, once stood for. We need the clarity and conviction of leaders like the late Governor Bob Casey.
He represented a humanity that speaks to all of us – no matter what our party, our background, our faith, or our gender. And no matter your position on this sensitive subject, I hope that spirit will guide you on Election Day. I ask you to vote for McCain-Palin on the November fourth, and help us to bring this country together in the rational discussion of compassion and life.”
H/T The Corner
October 11, 2008 at 10:32 pm
Sarah For President.
— Mack
October 11, 2008 at 10:53 pm
A wonderful speech! I hope she continues in this vein. I only wish she had been doing this for the past month and a half. It seems like so much time has been wasted when people need to be aware of the big issues at stake. Does anyone have a link to her delivering the speech?
October 11, 2008 at 11:12 pm
John Paul the Great would love this speech and I believe he would want Sarah Palin in the highest office in the land as a symbol of the culture of Life, as well as her Marian virtues.
I, personally, tried to link to the speech live this morning, the TV section/Ustream of the McCain page is not reliable…
I saw it on the NY Post w/ the typical left wing commentary below by the hard core “feminists”.
Make no mistake, Obama is on record as stating he will sign the Freedom of Choice act which would invalidate ANY and ALL restrictions on abortion in the states.
Moreover, his socialized health care boondogle will pay for all abortions, even late term!!!
October 12, 2008 at 12:32 am
You can watch this speech at:
http://cspanjunkie.org/?p=792
The pro-life portion of the speech begins about halfway in, at 14:40.
I am SO glad they are finally talking about what is really important – this is LONG overdue.
Thanks, CMR, for bringing this to our attention!
October 13, 2008 at 5:30 am
Odd, how the lives of children are important, and yet we continue to bomb innocent children in the Middle East.
How hypocritical.
October 13, 2008 at 6:27 am
I’m no expert on American politics, but I seem to have missed the candidate who supports bombing children on purpose…. yes, innocent life gets taken in war (which is a travesty) but the troops are not there looking to kill innocent people deliberately… but I have heard of candidates support taking innocent life on purpose (one even goes for infanticide) but this all goes under the banner of “rights”.
October 14, 2008 at 7:35 am
How long will the Republicans have to lie to you before you realize that they have no intention of actually doing anything about this issue. They want it to stay around forever so that single issue voters like yourself will waste vote after vote on their anti-working-class programs in the futile hope that they are voting against abortion.
Right now, seven out of nine Supreme Court justices are Republicans. If Republicans are so pro-life, then why does the Supreme Court allow Roe v. Wade to stand?
How many Republican presidents, legislators, and judges will have to betray you before you catch on?