Holly Bailey
|
Nov 13, 2007 10:50 AM
Photo: Mark Wilson / Getty Images
In
yet another sign of how split social conservatives are over 2008,
former Tennessee senator Fred Thompson has picked up the endorsement of
the National Right to Life Committee, the country’s most prominent
anti-abortion group. The move, formally announced today, is a big win
for Thompson, who is not considered a pro-life crusader on the campaign
trail. In fact, the bigger news in today’s decision may lie in which
candidates the group decided to bypass in tapping Thompson. The NRLC
had been heavily courted by many GOP presidential hopefuls, including
Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney. Some had speculated that Romney might
get the nod because of his close ties to the group. Jim Bopp Jr., the
group’s general counsel, is a top adviser to Romney, while John
Willkie, who founded the group, is also supporting the former
Massachusetts governor. But according to one Republican with close ties
to the organization, NRLC members were concerned about Romney’s past
views on abortion, which were considerably more moderate than the
positions he takes today. Huckabee, meanwhile, seems to have suffered
from worries among the NLRC’s ranks that he would not be electable next
November. But Thompson has his own problems on the abortion front. As
NEWSWEEK has previously reported, Thompson was also very moderate on
the matter during his two campaigns for the Senate a decade ago,
indicating on various questionnaires that he didn’t believe in
criminalizing abortion. Other documents, on file with his Senate
records at the University of Tennessee, indicate that Thompson
struggled with the question of when life begins. “It comes down to
whether life begins at conception. I don’t know in my own mind if that
is the case, so I don’t feel the law ought to impose that standard on
other people,” he said in a 1994 interview with a Tennessee newspaper.
The file also includes a copy of answers provided in 1994 to another
newspaper. “The ultimate decision on abortion should be left with the
woman and not the government,” he answered. But in the NRLC’s view,
actions speak louder than words. During his eight years in the Senate
Thompson supported a ban on partial-birth abortions and joined with
conservatives to block federal funding of abortions. The NRLC rewarded
him with a 100-percent ranking on its annual survey of lawmakers—a stat
that was pivotal in the group’s decision to give Thompson the nod.
Will the NLRC help rally other pro-life activists to Thompson’s
side? Hard to say. While Thompson has moved to the right on the
issue—he says his position was firmed up when he saw the ultrasound
image of his now four-year-old daughter—the former senator still hasn’t
made his views on abortion a central thrust of his campaign. In fact,
he opposes a constitutional amendment banning abortion—an item high on
many pro-lifers’ wish lists. Thompson, who is a federalist, believes
the issue should be left up to the states—and that could be a deal
breaker for some anti-abortion activists. Then again, maybe not. Pat
Robertson’s endorsement aside, Rudy Giuliani is still considered by
many social conservatives to be too moderate. Thompson has a long way
to go in positioning himself as the more conservative alternative, but
he takes one big step closer today.
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