Echoes in Eternity

This is a letter written by Bishop Thomas Tobin in response to an invitation he received to attend a Rudy Giuliani fundraiser.

I have no idea why I received an invitation to Giuliani’s fundraiser. I don’t know the mayor; I’ve never met him. I try to avoid partisan politics. Heck, I’m not even a Republican. But most of all, I would never support a candidate who supports legalized abortion.

Rudy’s public proclamations on abortion are pathetic and confusing. Even worse, they’re hypocritical.

Now, this is what we get from Rudy as he attempted to explain his ambiguous position on abortion in a speech at Houston Baptist College earlier this month: “Here are the two strong beliefs that I have, here are the two pillars of my thinking . . . One is, I believe abortion is wrong. I think it is morally wrong . . . The second pillar that guides my thinking . . . where [people of good faith] come to different conclusions about this, about something so very, very personal, I believe you have to respect their viewpoint. You give them a level of choice here . . . I’ve always believed both of these things.”

What? This drivel from the man who received high marks, and properly so, for his clear vision and personal courage in healing New York City, and by extension the nation, after the horrific terrorist attacks of September 11?

Rudy mentions the two pillars of his position. But you know what happens if you sit on a stool with two legs? Yep, it collapses. And so does Rudy’s position, and along with it his integrity and reputation.

Rudy’s explanation is a classic expression of the position on abortion we’ve heard from weak-kneed politicians so frequently in recent years:

“I’m personally opposed to but don’t want to impose my views on other people.” The incongruity of that position has been exposed many times now. As I’ve asked previously, would we let any politician get away with the same pathetic cop-out on other issues: “I’m personally opposed to . . . racial discrimination, sexual abuse, prostitution, drug abuse, polygamy, incest . . . but don’t want to impose my beliefs on others?”

Why is it that when I hear someone explaining this position, I think of the sad figure of Pontius Pilate in the Gospels, who personally found no guilt in Jesus, but for fear of the crowd, washed his hands of the whole affair and handed Jesus over to be crucified. I can just hear Pilate saying, “You know, I’m personally opposed to crucifixion but I don’t want to impose my belief on others.”

While I completely agree with the Bishop Tobin about never voting for a pro-abortion candidate, I am not sure what I will do if the choice in November 2008 is between Clinton and Giuliani. I have heard good arguments from the likes of Dr. Dobson and Nathanael Blake for not voting if such a situation arises. I've also heard Dennis Prager address this issue on his radio show during an interview with Giuliani this week. To summarize the primary pros and cons of voting for Giuliani rather than abstaining in the Presidential General Election next fall...

Pros:
- Not enabling Hillary Clinton (or whatever Democratic candidate he would face) to gain office
- Giuliani appears to completely understand the threat that radical Islam poses to this country and the world at large, something that dunderheads like John Edwards will never understand
- Giuliani will probably be as likely to nominate conservative judges as any of the other Republican frontrunners, while who knows what scary second comings of Ruthie Ginsburg a Clinton or Obama administration would drum up

Cons:
- Enabling the Republican party to ignore the social conservatives in the future by showing them proof that a pro-choice candidate is viable within the party
- Giuliani's personal life (three marriages, his family in tatters) doesn't bode well for the chances of him conducting himself in a "presidential manner"
- Giuliani's history of fighting against 2nd Amendment rights in NYC
- Giuliani might flip flop and nominate pro-choice candidates for our courts

Hopefully I won't have to make that decision next November.