Our culture is filled with the phenomenon of “in name only’s.” For example, RINOs – Republicans in Name Only, and CINOs – Catholics in Name Only.
These are people who proudly claim a label – Republican, Catholic – but go against some of the fundamental principles of that label. It is apparent that for decades the pro-life movement has been plagued with PLINOs – Pro-Lifers in Name Only – and they are rearing their ugly heads again:
Mitch McConnell says the GOP won’t defund Planned Parenthood
I’ve been involved with pro-life work for over 20 years now, and in that time I have witnessed a lot of beautiful pro-life rhetoric coming from politicians. However, what I have not witnessed is any significant action to stop, or even slow down, the onslaught of legalized abortion in this country. Today we have a situation in which Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in the country, is caught red-handed – and on video! – perpetrating some of the most vile evils imaginable, and yet the “pro-life” GOP can’t even muster the strength to deny them funding. Not shut them down and lock them away (which would be true justice), but just simply stop sending them our money.
This is why I simply do not care how great a politician’s pro-life rhetoric is. I have heard it all before. What I care about is: will Politician X actually spend political capital to confront legalized abortion? Are they willing to risk their political careers to stop this evil? If you look at the previous GOP presidential candidates of the last 25 years: H.W., Dole, W, McCain, and Romney – the answer is pretty clear.
Looking at the current crop of GOP candidates, the chances are not much more promising. I would guess that Paul, Cruz, Jindal, Santorum, Huckabee, and perhaps Perry would spend at least a little political capital to defund Planned Parenthood. But I can’t be too sure – fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice (or 100 times), shame on me. Others, such as Carson, Fiorina, Rubio and Walker, might support defunding, but I won’t hold my breath.
That is why I don’t take pro-life rhetoric in consideration when evaluating candidates. Yes, Marco Rubio sounded great at the first GOP debate, but does anyone sincerely think he really will spend political capital to push a pro-life agenda?
This is why my main consideration in picking a candidate is their attitude towards the Leviathan State. Why do I say this? Because as we have seen clearly, the Leviathan State NEVER defunds anything, it only adds new initiatives and programs. If a candidate is comfortable with Big Government (in their actions, not just words!), then he or she will probably do little to stop legalized abortion.
Unfortunately, all the GOP candidates in some form or another are comfortable with an expansive Federal Government. Sure, some, such as Paul and Cruz, are closer than others to recognizing the inherent problems of Big Government, but that is like saying Philadelphia is closer than New York to Los Angeles. Both cities are a long drive away. Hopefully the GOP will nominate someone who at least has an inkling that the first step to a strong country is a weaker Federal Government, which will be good for all of us, including the unborn.
