Henry Hyde, RIP

Former Congressman Henry Hyde died today at the age of 83.

On November 5th, President Bush awarded the former Congressman the Presidential Medal of Freedom saying Hyde was a "towering figure in Washington" who "walked with kings and kept the common touch."

In 1996, Congressman Hyde rose before his colleagues and spoke at length about the need to ban partial-birth abortions. His eloquence as a speaker, especially on this issue, could not be surpassed.

He said toward the end of his speech:

One of the great errors of modern politics is our foolish attempt to separate our private consciences from our public acts, and it cannot be done. At the end of the 20th century, is the crowning achievement of our democracy to treat the weak, the powerless, the unwanted as things? To be disposed of? If so, we have not elevated justice; we have disgraced it.

This is not a debate about sectarian religious doctrine or about policy options. This is a debate about our understanding of human dignity, what does it mean to be human? Our moment in history is marked by a mortal conflict between a culture of death and a culture of life, and today, here and now, we must choose sides.

I am not the least embarrassed to say that I believe one day each of us will be called upon to render an account for what we have done, and maybe more importantly, what we fail to do in our lifetime, and while I believe in a merciful God, I believe in a just God, and I would be terrified at the thought of having to explain at the final judgment why I stood unmoved while Herod's slaughter of the innocents was being reenacted here in my own country.

This debate has been about an unspeakable horror. . . .We are not talking about abstractions here. We are talking about life and death at their most elemental, and we ought to face the truth of what we oppose or support stripped of all euphemisms, and the queen of all euphemisms is "choice" as though one is choosing vanilla and chocolate instead of a dead baby or a live baby.

. . .

Let the innocence of the unborn have the last word in this debate. Let their innocence appeal to what President Lincoln called the better angels of our nature. . . .

Make it clear once again there is justice for all, even for the tiniest, most defenseless in this, our land.

I was privileged to have been in the presence of this great man on several occasions. He will be greatly, greatly missed. But we have had the honor of having known him and he was a voice for the voiceless.

Thank you Congressman. It is my hope and belief that the chorus you hear now is one of comprised of millions of young voices testifying to your work on their behalf.

LifeNews.com Column

My next LifeNews.com column has been turned in and it is a critical look at . . .criticism. As pro-lifers, we should be criticizing the pro-abortion groups. Instead it seems as if election cycles are opportunities to also criticize each other. Be sure to look for it this week.

On a side note, I want to apologize for not writing lately. We've had some medical issues crop up with our middle child, Peter, who is autistic. If you would like to know more about what is going on, please feel free to visit my autism blog at http://www.copingwithautism.blogspot.com/

Thanks.

I Am Not Endorsing Anyone--Yet

My last post explained how National Right to Life would have gone about finalizing the endorsement of Thompson from an internal perspective.

Personally, I am holding off on endorsing anyone. I think it's still too early to make any kind of judgments regarding who the most viable candidate will be. I do understand why others have made endorsements but as a writer I feel I need to hold back.

In the interest of full disclosure, I did make a $25 donation to Mike Huckabee and plan on donating to a couple of other pro-life candidates as well. We have a long haul in front of us and it makes better sense for us to focus on the Democratic candidates than who among the Republican frontrunners is more pro-life.

The Democrats have a strong chance of winning with one of their candidates and we have to make sure the American people know that each candidate vehemently supports abortion on demand.

Yes, there are varying degrees of pro-life among the Republican candidates. Some have come to the issue late in the game, others are more politically correct in their approach. Still others have been trusted friends of the movement for their entire political careers. But the enemy is in the other camp. Let's use our ink to expose the lies and misstatements of the pro-abortion left.

National Right to Life Endorses Thompson

Earlier this week, my former employer, National Right to Life, endorsed Fred Thompson for president.

And the fur has begun to fly.

Yesterday, Paul Weyrich, the president of the Free Congress Foundation, claimed that the Thompson, in essence, bought off the National Right to Life Committee.

Weyrich told The Washington Times, "I think in all probability the Thompson people were engaged with the National Right to Life people in financial dealing."

Weyrich then went on to say that the Republican Party has funded National Right to Life in the past-- which is true, in part. The Republican Party made a sizable donation several years ago but the organization has received larger donations from private individuals before so that doesn't amount to any kind of smoking gun.

Relative to the organization's budget, the donation was a small percentage. Appreciated? Yes. The promise of future donations a bribe to the organization's leaders or board members? No, never.

I may not work for National Right to Life anymore but I believe in the group and the leaders. I know these people. They are like family.

They would not take a bribe for an endorsement.

National Right to Life is not some fly-by-the-seat-of-the-pants organization. It's board is comprised of representatives of all 50 states and let me tell you that if board members disagree with an idea another board member or staffer proposes, they will politely, but firmly, say so and then a discussion follows. A decision is made only with a majority of the board in agreement. The endorsement of Thompson was made after very careful and methodical consideration. And it received acceptance from the board representatives of all 50 states.

Does this mean that NRLC doesn't like the other candidates or doesn't think them pro-life enough? No. It means that the group sees Thompson as the best possible winnable candidate in a field of several very good ones.

Oh, did I mention that Weyrich is a Romney supporter?