In contrast to the various high-profile right-wing leaders threatening to bolt the Republican Party should Rudy Giuliani win the presidential nomination, there are a few unlikely voices calling for pragmatism in order to achieve the ultimate goal: control of the Supreme Court and the overturning of Roe vs. Wade.
Back in April, Bill Donohue of all people urged others on the Right not to over-react to the possibility of Giuliani winning the nomination, saying that the pro-life movement would only hurt its own cause by sacrificing the chance to get more “strict constructionists” on the Supreme Court for the sake of their principles.
And now Rick Scarborough is weighing in, telling those who are threatening to abandon the GOP to quit all their whining and pouting:
To all of that I say emphatically, “Grow UP!!!” When I hear my friends, and people I admire, saying that they will either stay home or go to a third party, I lose my patience. Five years ago I stepped out of a good pastorate to devote my full attention to educating pastors and congregations on what Christian citizenship truly means and teach them why Christians, of all people, should and must stay engaged. Now some of the men who most inspired me to get involved are acting like our movement is dead and the cause is lost.
And most remarkably, they are acting that way when we are the closest we have ever been to victory. We are arguably one vote short of overturning Roe v Wade and over thirty years of judicial activism which has decimated our country. The next president will likely appoint a minimum of two justices to the Supreme Court. Justice Stevens is 87 Years old and his health is failing. Justice Ginsburg is 74 and battling cancer. Many court observers believe these two justices are holding on now in the hope that a liberal president who shares their views for America will be in place in ‘08 to name their successors. I am committed to seeing to it that they are disappointed in that hope.
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The next president will determine whether our courts return to their constitutionally mandated responsibilities and cease legislating from the bench, or continue to erode America’s long held biblical traditions. And I for one do not intend to sit idly by and allow evil to triumph because good men choose to do nothing–or worse, do the wrong thing.
I have often said in speeches to churches, “the only thing worse than not voting, is voting without a clue as to what you are voting for.” When it comes time for the ‘08 elections, we must be armed with truth and determined to vote our values. If enough of us do that, we will get a president who will make the right choice when it comes to nominating judges. In ’08, it’s all about the judges!
As we noted before, despite all of the opposition to his campaign, Rudy Giuliani remains something of a temptation for the Right as he has been more than willing to surround himself with Federalist Society members and been extremely vocal about promising to appoint Justices like Scalia, Thomas, Alito, and Roberts to the Supreme Court.
As Scarborough puts it: “We may have to hold our nose as we vote in ‘08, but we must and we will vote.”
