Barack Obama and the Pro-Abortion Myth

Christianity Today has posted an interview with Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama. In the interview, Obama addresses the subject of abortion. Check out the exchange below:

For many evangelicals, abortion is a key, if not the key factor in their vote. You voted against banning partial birth abortion and voted against notifying parents of minors who get out-of-state abortions. What role do you think the President should play in creating national abortion policies?

I don't know anybody who is pro-abortion. I think it's very important to start with that premise. I think people recognize what a wrenching, difficult issue it is. I do think that those who diminish the moral elements of the decision aren't expressing the full reality of it. But what I believe is that women do not make these decisions casually, and that they struggle with it fervently with their pastors, with their spouses, with their doctors.

Our goal should be to make abortion less common, that we should be discouraging unwanted pregnancies, that we should encourage adoption wherever possible. There is a range of ways that we can educate our young people about the sacredness of sex and we should not be promoting the sort of casual activities that end up resulting in so many unwanted pregnancies.

Ultimately, women are in the best position to make a decision at the end of the day about these issues. With significant constraints. For example, I think we can legitimately say — the state can legitimately say — that we are prohibiting late-term abortions as long as there's an exception for the mother's health. Those provisions that I voted against typically didn't have those exceptions, which raises profound questions where you might have a mother at great risk. Those are issues that I don't think the government can unilaterally make a decision about. I think they need to be made in consultation with doctors, they have to be prayed upon, or people have to be consulting their conscience on it. I think we have to keep that decision-making with the person themselves.

Obama is right. I don't know anybody who is pro-abortion either. The dichotomy that has been constructed that says one is either "Pro-Life" or "Pro-Abortion" is a false one. The pro-abortion label is a slur used by many conservative evangelicals to smear their fellow Christians who vote for candidates not from the Republican Party.

Have those Christians who employ such rhetoric read the former Catholic Governor Mario Cuamo on abortion and public morality? In light of Huckabee's constitutional amendment plans, Mario Cuamo is more relevant than ever. If only they could understand and absorb what the American Catholic philosopher Michael Novak once wrote: "Religious judgment and political judgment are both needed, but they are not identical."

Meanwhile, many of these same conservative evangelicals are shifting their support from Mike Huckabee and Fred Thompson to John McCain who isn't your average Mr. Pro-Lifer. At a debate last year at the Ronald Reagan library, John McCain loudly voiced his support for expanding federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. Though McCain did not support the repeal of Roe v. Wade back in 1999, now he believes that Roe v. Wade was a terrible decision and promises to only nominate judges to the Supreme Court that will not "legislate from the bench." However, McCain has not declared that he will nominate judges willing to overturn 35 years of settled law. There is a big difference between simply being a judge who is pro-life and being a pro-life judge with the cojones to be party to such a revolutionary decision. If you'll remember, John McCain was one of the leaders of the Gang of 14. Further, McCain has always declared that if Roe were overturned, exceptions for rape, incest, and the life of the mother should be made by the individual states.

Folks, John McCain's pro-life positions aren't so simplistic. While clearly many pro-life evangelicals including some Southern Baptists have expressed their willingness to accept McCain's more complex pro-life position - they turn around, dumb things down, get simplistic and label Barack Obama and his supporters as being pro-abortion! I don't get it.

An Hour w/ Martin Luther King Jr.'s Niece

I'm a fan of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

As a Georgian, I grew up reading about the King family drama.

Talk about drama!

Well, one of the most interesting members of the King family is Dr. Alveda King. Alveda is the niece of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Her father is the brother of Martin Luther King Jr., the late Albert Daniel Williams King (aka A.D. King). Alveda is the founder of King for America which assists "people in enriching their lives spiritually, personally, mentally and economically." According to her bio, Alveda is an author, actress, song writer and formerly served in the Georgia State House of Representatives.

Earlier today, I listened while Alveda addressed a small group of mostly students from Baylor's pro-life student organization - Bears For Life. Alveda King is most known for her pro-life activism. She had two abortions and considered having a third Somewhere along the way Alveda became a born-again Christian and got involved in the pro-life movement.

I had hoped to hear Alveda tell at least a few stories about her family and uncle. No such luck. Instead, I listened and watched while King showed a PowerPoint presentation entitled: Pro-Life is a Civil Right.

However, I did learn a little somethin during my lunch hour.

#1 - Planned Parenthood is the boogeyman. Blame it all on Planned Parenthood. Without Planned Parenthood, abortion would disappear. One member of the audience suggested that Planned Parenthood embraces a belief in eugenics. From where I was sitting, Alveda seemed to affirm this gentleman's assertion that Planned Parenthood is part of some "black genocide" conspiracy....

#2 - Guys and Girls should never be alone in a room together.

That's about all I learned.

However, I do find this piece of civil rights history quite interesting. Today, Alveda stated that her father (A.D. King) was assassinated just like her uncle, Dr. King. According to her website, A.D. King was "slain." Wikipedia disputes that A.D. King was murdered. Instead, several other sources state that A.D. King drowned in a pool accident. Any of my knowledgeable readers care to chime in?

On a side note, Alveda has endorsed Sam Brownback for President!

Democrats Pass Bill To Reduce Abortion

Led by pro-life Congressman Tim Ryan (D-OH) and a pro-choice Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), the Democrats have now passed an initiative in the House of Representatives to cut down on the abortion rate.

From Congressman Tim Ryan....

“By funding this initiative, we are offering policy solutions that promote life and support parents beyond the birth of their new child. We are affirming the need to prevent unintended pregnancies and to help women with the economic pressures that may lead them to choosing an abortion,” said DeLauro. “And of all the important goals this initiative can help us reach, perhaps the most important is that it helps move us all forward on this issue – beyond the question of the legality of abortion and toward actually reducing the need for abortion and providing critical investments for families.”

“It is our moral obligation to address those issues with which all sides agree. Whether you are pro-life like me or pro-choice like my friend Congresswoman DeLauro, the common ground we must build upon is our serious desire to reduce the rate of abortions,” said Congressman Tim Ryan. “This package accomplishes that goal by increasing or creating funding streams for programs that have been shown to reduce both unintended pregnancies and abortions. ”

With $647 million in funding, the initiative will have the resources to make an impact on reducing the number of abortions in America. It is focused on the need to reduce abortion in our country, while also providing supports for new parents to strengthen their families. Read more about the measures here.

Back in September and January I wrote about the efforts of House and Senate Dems to pass Prevention legislation that would help reduce the abortion rate. Finally such legislation has passed!

Abortion has been effectively used as a wedge issue for many many years now. It's great that a majority of our House are willing to find common ground and pass a measure that will actually help reduce the abortion rate.

HT: Jesse Lava of Faithful Democrats

Giuliani's Planned Parenthood Donations

Politico has reported that in the 90's, GOP Presidential hopeful (and one-time? drag queen) Rudy Giuliani contributed money at least six times to Planned Parenthood.

Last week, when asked during the GOP Debate whether it would be a good day for the country if Roe v. Wade were overturned, Rudy responded - "It'd be OK."

Talk about a wimpy answer!

From the article...

Asked how Giuliani could reconcile personal opposition to abortion with a contribution to Planned Parenthood, a Giuliani spokeswoman reiterated the former mayor's stump message and took what could be construed as a shot against former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who has recently become an opponent of abortion rights.

"Mayor Giuliani has been consistent in his position -- he is personally opposed to abortion, but at the same time he understands it is a personal and emotional decision that should ultimately be left up to the woman," said Maria Comella.

Dave Woodward, a political science prof at Clemson University had this to say...

"If he actually gave money to Planned Parenthood, boy, that puts him in a very precarious position, at least in the South Carolina Republican Party."

A Republican, Woodard noted that a personal contribution is something that is difficult to explain away to abortion opponents. "This isn't something like where your position is misunderstood," he said. "An overt act of giving money shows support for a position. That can't be a mistake or misinterpretation."

And more from Politico...

Following a speech Giuliani gave to the Heritage Foundation in Washington last night, I asked him why he would give money to the abortion rights organization.

"I'll have to look at that," he said before launching into his message about personally opposing the procedure but supporting a woman's right to choose.

When I followed up about why, if he was personally opposed to abortion, he would give his own money to an abortion rights group, he held firm.

"All's I can tell you are what my views are," he responded before again explaining again a stance of personal opposition but public support for legalized abortion.

Emory Professor Merle Black (my favorite Southern Politics author) stated in the article that Rudy needs to change the subject. Point taken. Any success at changing the subject may be short-lived. I hardly doubt McCain, Brownback, and others will hold back and ignore Rudy's abortion record.

Chris Matthews and other folks in the media don't seem to fully grasp the role that conservative evangelicals play and have played in choosing the GOP nominee. Abortion is THE wedge issue. I don't see Rudy overcoming that hurdle.

Can Rudy win the nomination without significant support from conservative evangelicals? If Rudy prevails next January-March, will the so-called "values voters" suck it up and cast their ballots for a TRULY pro-choice Republican? Vote Third Party? Or just stay at home?

I don't know. But my choice for the Republican nomination is John McCain. The guy likes the Beach Boys and Boxing. Enjoyed separately, who can go wrong with a little Brian Wilson and HBO PPV? Now, only if I knew whether he was rooting for Pretty Boy Floyd or not. Hope so.

Wiley Drake and The Google

Frederick Clarkson of Talk2Action has responded to Wiley Drake's denial with a thoughtful and timely post.

Like last time, I will post snippets below but read Clarkson's entire article before responding...

What public figures do when they get caught doing or saying something controversial is endlessly interesting. Sometimes they puff on a big cigar and blow smoke in your face. Sometimes they try to nuance their way out of it. Sometimes they toss out a series of evasions, red herrings and other distractions. Sometimes they just lie. This brings us to the strange case of Rev. Wiley Drake, a national vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). It was recently reported and widely blogged that he had signed onto a Declaration of Support for the confessed assassin of an abortion provider; and that the endorsement is featured on the web site of a domestic terror organization, the Army of God.

Rev. Drake has issued a denial via at least two of his SBC political allies, Wade Burleson and Art Rogers, who are now calling for apologies all around. But they will have to forgive us if we first apply some healthy reporter's skepticism to Drake's much-ballyhooed denial.

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But before we do, let's briefly review what he is responding to: Intelligence Report, the quarterly magazine of the Southern Poverty Law Center, a leading civil rights and anti-hate organization, published an article detailing Drake's support for the assassination of Dr. Barnett Slepian, an abortion provider; by James Kopp, a prominent antiabortion activist. The text of the magazine is also available on the SPLC web site. Intelligence Report is authoritative, legally vetted, and its readership includes civil rights advocates, attorneys, police and other law enforcement officers charged with enforcing civil rights and anti-hate laws. (I know a bit about this since since I happen to have written for Intelligence Report about the Army of God and anti-abortion violence; but not the article about Drake.) The magazine reported that Drake is very publicly signed onto an outrageous Declaration of Support for James Kopp which is posted on the web site of the Army of God; a national network comprising convicted felons and those who advocate murder, bombings, arson and other crimes.

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Indeed, the "Declaration of Support for James Kopp" has been on the AOG web site since at least July 20, 2003, according to the web archive, Way Back Machine. And as my Talk to Action colleague Moiv pointed out: "Drake knows how to Google." After a little Googling of her own, she learned that Drake once berated someone for not Googling to get "background" information about him, and said a bit about what that person would find if he did Google Drake.

So, for all these years, a man active in public life, and often in the news, and who knows how to Google himself -- allows this easy-to-find but horrifically controversial use of his name that he now says is a "lie"? It doesn't seem likely, does it?

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Third, Drake's claim to have never heard of James Kopp is very difficult to believe. Drake has been active in anti-abortion politics for many years, as well as being very involved in public life. Kopp was a long-time activist in Operation Rescue and the Lambs of Christ before his career as a world famous assassin. By the time he was named as a suspect in the Slepian murder; and after being put on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list (along with Osama Bin Laden); after being captured in France; extradicted; and tried once for murder and a second time for FACE violations; and his American AOG accomplices who helped him on the lam were also tried and convicted -- he is certainly one of the most famous, or infamous depending on your point of view, pro-life activists in American history. It seems to me, it would be almost impossible for anyone involved in abortion politics to have not heard of Kopp. It also seems highly improbable that no one would have sought to discuss with Drake the support he ostensibly expresses for Kopp on the AOG web site. And for that matter, if Drake had Google himself, (which it appears that he did) he would probably have learned about Kopp.

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ME: Just read the entire article.

On other blogs, I have stated my skepticism as to whether Drake had ever heard of James Kopp. After reading Clarkson, let's go back to the original award-winning article written by Brian Kaylor. Drake didn't exactly have a firm grasp on the truth back then. He lied.

So pardon me while I remain skeptical of Wiley Drake's latest denial.

The Sound of Silence Surrounding Wiley Drake

Please read this post from Frederick Clarkson of Talk2Action....

A Top Leader of the Southern Baptist Convention Endorsed Domestic Terrorism. Shouldn't That Be News?

Snippets won't do Clarkson's post justice. I'll offer a few tidbits below - but check out the fullversion at Talk2Action.

And now there is the vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention who publicly endorsed the assasination of a doctor by a member of an underground terrorist organization who had been on the FBIs Ten Most Wanted List. The first two scandals created international news, but not the third. Since Intelligence Report, the magazine of the Southern Poverty Law Center broke the story, there has been no press coverage that I can find, except for Ethics Daily on Friday; and only a handful of blog posts, notably Mainstream Baptist, Big Daddy Weave, Moiv and me. This merits further discussion.......

The silence is not limited to Baptists. There is silence across the entirety of the religious and political spectrum, at least as far as my Google searches indicate. To me, this is quite inexplicable. A top official of the largest protestant denomination in the U.S. endorses domestic terrorism -- and the nation is silent?

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The Baptist blogger, Rev. Wade Burleson, a leader in the SBC election of a reform slate of candidates that included Drake, was challenged by several fellow bloggers to speak out about the Drake affair. In this comment thread at Baptist Life Burleson initially (see April 30th) declined to say a discouraging word about the man who endorsed the murder of a doctor; described the government and judicial system of the United States as "godless" and "oppressive," and hangs out with the Army of God. Here is part of his response:

I have personally visited with Wiley Drake about several issues that he has advocated and supported in the SBC (both before and after his election) with which I adamantly, publicly and vociferously disagree.... His positions politically, culturally and eschatologically are precisely the logical ends of the ideological and philosophical viewpoints of many in current leadership -- but not the majority of the convention herself. ... but I admire his compassion for those he considers downtrodden ... that will be my only comment on Pastor Wiley Drake.

I was struck by the quote that Burleson has as his signature line on his comments:

The world is too dangerous to live in - not because of the people who do evil but because of the people who sit and let it happen. Albert Einstein

Well, Rev. Burleson, one of the great evils in the United States is the terrorizing of abortion providers in violation of the laws and constitution of the United States, not to mention a few Christian principles. This happens because there are thousands of people who specifically encourge and enable these activities or do and say nothing in response. They let it happen.

Interesting that the conservative Baptist Burleson quoted the atheist, socialist, scientist Einstein in his signature line. So let's quote the conservative Christian philosopher of the Enlightenment Edmund Burke, right back at him (since Burke and Einstein are essentially saying the same thing):

"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is that good men do nothing."

If the leaders of the SBC, reform or otherwise, cannot speak out against the endorsement of domestic terrorism by one of their own elected national officers -- then how can they say that they speak with integrity on anything?

A little farther down in the comment thread, after several commenters challenged him, Burleson further huffed:

"I, Wade Burleson, strongly, vehemently, unconditionally, and eternally disagree with Wiley Drake's affirmation of a murderer, if indeed he ever made such an affirmation."

So Burleson said he "disagrees" with Drake, then casts doubt on the entire matter -- pretending that the facts might not exist, or if they do, he is not going to look into it.

The simple fact is an elected national officer of the Southern Baptist Convention is at least periferally involved with a domestic terror organization with a long history of violent crimes and has explicitly endorsed one of them. My hunch is that this that this is probably but the tip of the iceberg of Drake's involvement with the Army of God.

Given what is known, it would seem like SBC leaders and the national press corps, would want to get to the bottom of all this.

As it now stands, Wade Burleson, a leader of the reform wing of the SBC is publicly unconcerned that a national officer of his denomination not only supports domestic terrorism, but may have deeper involvement. Of course in fairness to Burleson, no other leaders SBC leaders have yet to emerge from the shadows, making Burleson the more courageous and forthright leader in the Southern Baptist Convention. But I am eager to learn of any others. I may have missed.

And in fairness to the Baptists, I have not heard any other leader from any sector of society say anything either.

Please read the rest at Talk2Action.

The BaptistLife discussion can be found here. In my response to Burleson - I wrote:

Mr. Burleson forgets that as former-Southern Baptists, we still proudly claim the title - Baptist. When my non-Baptist and non-Christian friends from college hear about the shenanigans of Baptists like Wiley Drake - they give me a call. It's embarrassing. I have to defend the Baptist namesake for the umteenth time....

And for those looking for some Big Daddy positivity directed towards a Southern Baptist figure, please see my previous post:

T.B. Maston - Conscience For Southern Baptists

I'm quite proud of that post - as my paper was well received today.

Democrats Seek To Reduce Abortions

Democrats are seeking to govern from the Middle on social issues according to The New York Times. Check it out.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 15 — The promise may not outlast their political honeymoon, but Democratic Congressional leaders say they are committed to governing from the center, and not just on bread-and-butter issues like raising the minimum wage or increasing aid for education. They also hope to bring that philosophy to bear on some of the most divisive social issues in politics, like abortion.

In their first days in session, Senate Democratic leaders reintroduced a bill that they said was indicative of their new approach: the Prevention First Act, which seeks to reduce the number of abortions by expanding access to birth control, family planning and sex education.

In September, I blogged about this bill sponsored by Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid. As Christians we should be committed to reducig the number of abortions in America. Governing from the middle requires that politicians start listening to the wishes of their constituents not voices from the Religious Right. According to this poll, 89% of adults in the United States favor more access to birth control options and 81% agree that those options should not be limited by income.

The Democrat's Prevention First Act is the first step towards creating a society in which the desperate realities that entice women to abort are reduced in severity.