Illinois Senators Vote Against Defunding Planned Parenthood

U.S. Senators Richard Durbin (D) and Mark Kirk (R) both voted against a bill that would have de-funded the Planned Parenthood yesterday. The bill failed on a 42-58 vote. In addition to Kirk, Republicans voting against the amendment to de-fund Planned Parenthood were: Scott Brown (MA), Susan Collins (ME), Lisa Murkowski (AK), and Olympia Snowe (ME). No Democratic Senators voted for the bill.

Illinois Review comments:

No one ever doubted radical left extremist Dick Durbin would vote against an effort to push Planned Parenthood from the federal gravy train, but there was hope that Illinois' brand new Republican senator Mark Kirk would support his Republican House colleagues' effort to stop special interest tax doleouts to Planned Parenthood. He did not.

Kirk has traveled throughout Illinois warning people at town hall meetings about the budget disaster America is facing because of uncontrolled spending. He has publicly boasted that the era of congressional earmarks is over. He told an audience downstate that he was for a 10 % across the board budget cut, including a 10% slice from Planned Parenthood's budget.

Because of all those factors there was hope that Kirk, who now represents the whole state of Illinois rather than the socially-liberal 10th Congressional District, would consider moderating his historical pro-abortion stance. There was hope that for the sake of budget cuts and the pending economic disaster he warns us against, consider voting to eliminate the morally-repugnant Planned Parenthood earmark.

We're not surprised with Senator Kirk's vote, but we're disappointed with it. He and Senator Durbin failed not only Illinoisans, they failed all American hard-working, self-sacrificing taxpayers.

Writing at his blog, Republican News Watch, conservative activist Doug Ibendahl comments:

Frankly no one should be surprised.

But Republicans, take note. It’s certainly true that Mark Kirk has no problem saying he’s pro-choice (yeah no kidding, as a U.S. Congressman he even voted in favor of partial birth abortion).

However on multiple occasions during last year’s campaign he would add a caveat to his otherwise 100% pro-abortion stance. Kirk repeatedly said he opposed federal funding of abortion.

So score yesterday’s vote as just one more lie by Mark Kirk. Add it to the list of countless dishonest things Kirk has said over the years in order to keep gullible voters and reporters in his camp.

Someone please remind me again, what was supposedly the difference between Mark Kirk and Alexi Giannoulias?

Oh that’s right, I remember. Both are very liberal – Kirk arguably more so.

But Mark Kirk brings that liberalism into our Republican Party – combines it with a rather disturbing inability to tell the truth – and continually undermines and dilutes the GOP brand from within.

Yeah, thank goodness the Democrats didn’t elect their “mob banker” Giannoulias.

My observation continues to be that no matter how fiscally conservative one is, if he's a social liberal, then socially liberal measures will take precedence over fiscal conservatism every time.

Pay to Play

Gov. Quinn Nominates Supporter to Key Post

Illinois' premier pro-abortion activist, Terry Cosgrove, Executive Director of Personal PAC, claims credit for electing Democrat Pat Quinn as Illinois Governor last November, and well he might. His organization's vile, lying, misleading and mean-spirited ads, mailings and calls slandered Republican Bill Brady -- and many other candidates besides.

Is Governor Quinn grateful? You bet your sweet bippy!

Last week, Governor Pat Quinn nominated abortion rights leader Terry Cosgrove to fill an opening on Illinois' Human Rights Commission. Next Thursday, Cosgrove's nomination will be heard before the Senate Executive Appointments Committee.

Cosgrove, the 58 year old CEO of Personal PAC, plans to continue directing his pro-abortion political action committee while he serves part-time on the commission. Personal PAC's generous $400,000 campaign donation to Governor Quinn's campaign in 2010 is stirring another round of Quinn "pay to play" buzz.

Cosgrove's Facebook photo (right) is pretty indicative of his pro-Quinn, anti-Brady partiality in the 2010 governor's race. You've got to wonder how impartial he'd be voting on the Human Rights Commission, don't you?

Certainly, no one could reasonably hope that Cosgrove would support human rights for all humans. Cosgrove's vision of "human rights" is something that mere humanity doesn't qualify you for.

And Quinn's vision of public service is something that mere public service isn't a qualification for. In both cases, something... extra is required.

And, oh yeah, this is the same guy who sent out this mailing about me during my campaign in a Republican primary.

(Cross-posted from Thoughts of a Regular Guy.)

Ellen McCormack RIP

1976 Pro-life Democratic Presidential Candidate passes on...

Michael J. New at National Review On-Line has the story:

This past Sunday, longtime pro-life activist Ellen McCormack passed away. Since the pro-life movement often devotes little attention to its own history, her name may be unfamiliar to many young pro-lifers.

However, pro-lifers of a slightly older generation will remember her as one of the most famous pro-life activists of the 1970s. McCormack was a wife, mother, homemaker, and a pro-life activist. She got her start in politics in New York, which was a hotbed of pro-life activism when it became among the first states to legalize abortion in 1970.

McCormack is most well known for running for the Democratic party’s nomination for president in 1976 on a pro-life platform. Her story is chronicled in Professor Jane Gilroy’s recent book A Shared Vision.

Throughout her campaign, McCormack had little money, name recognition, or media coverage. However, she still received more votes than better known, better funded Democratic presidential candidates in a number of primaries and caucuses.

McCormack became the first female presidential candidate to qualify for federal matching funds and her campaign commercials which focused on pro-life issues reached tens of millions of voters. She received three delegates and received a nominating speech and a seconding speech at the Democratic National Convention that summer. Her campaign educated many about abortion and demonstrated that there was a sizeable contingent of Democrats who were willing to support a single-issue pro-life candidate.

Pro-life pioneers like Ellen McCormack deserve credit for the gains the pro-life movement has made in recent years. In its early years, the pro-life movement was very short on resources and received precious little attention from the mainstream media. As such, it was up to articulate volunteers and single-issue candidates like EllenMcCormack to keep voters informed.

Furthermore, McCormack’s campaigns raised the salience of sanctity of life issues and gave countless campaign workers valuable experience. McCormack went on to run for lieutenant governor of New York in 1978 and for president as a single-issue pro-life candidate in 1980. Her steadfast devotion to the pro-life cause will be missed. RIP.

It's hard to imagine today that anyone might run for the Democratic nomination for President on a pro-life platform. I can only imagine the abuse they'd receive. Today, the Democrats are at least as wedded to abortion as they once were to slavery.

The Price Of Abortion

Sometime in the next few days, the Illinois General Assembly will pass, and the governor will sign, a bundle of tax hikes that includes a 75% increase in the personal income tax rate, a 100% increase in the corporate tax rate, an increase in cigarette taxes, and virtually no authentic limits on state spending.

If you are pro-choice, and unhappy about this situation, please understand that this is the fault of the pro-abortion forces in (and around) the Democratic Party.

Terry Cosgrove of the pro-abortion Personal PAC very credibly claims a lion's share of the credit for the re-election of Gov. Quinn, who has championed these tax increases. Too, Cosgrove's assistance (or at least his methods) was extensively used by Speaker Madigan to fight to elect Democrats like Carol Sente, Karen May, and Daniel Biss.

In all of these races, and many more, voters were warned that voting for a Republican meant that their daughters would be cruelly forced to bear rapists' children, that Republicans would take away a woman's right to kill her baby for any reason or no reason, and that parents might -- heaven forfend! -- actually be entitled to be consulted before their minor children sought abortions.

You opposed all that. And now you have to pay the bill. And so do I. And so do we all. The bill for abortion will come in the form of far higher taxes, still more state spending, and reliably fewer jobs due to the savings that businesses will realize from moving out of Illinois into nearby states with more reasonable restrictions on abortion, but far lower burdens on small businesses.

So, just how many partial birth abortions are you planning to have to make this worthwhile?

(Crossposted to Thoughts of a Regular Guy)

Burris Pushes for Military Abortions

From our friends at Illinois Review, we learn that our very own Senator Roland Burris wants you to pay for abortions for military personnel:

If you thought Roland Burris was a harmless lame duck filling Barack Obama's old U.S. Senate seat until next January, you were mistaken. Burris has taken advantage of his lack of accountability to try and overturn a longstanding military policy that would cause U.S. taxpayers to pay for military abortions -- both overseas and in the states. Thursday, Burris' amendment striking the current restriction on military abortions passed out of U.S. Senate Armed Service Committee in a 15 to 12 vote.

If Burris' amendment becomes law, all military medical facilities will be required to provide unrestricted abortions, including for the purposes of sex selection as well as anytime in the pregnancy, from conception to baby's birth.

Mississippi Senator Wicker led the discussion in opposition to Burris amendment:

The committee yesterday decided to reverse this long-standing policy and to say that indeed abortions, for whatever reason, will be performed in these facilities that are paid for by taxpayer expense that are there for the care of our service members to keep them healthy and to repair their injuries. We're going to use those facilities for elective abortions. If this amendment stands -- and I guarantee you it will be challenged on the floor of the House and Senate, with separate amendments -- Members will be given a chance to vote on this separate issue.

But if this stands, our military installations, Fort Bragg, Columbus Air Force Base, Keesler Air Force Base in my home state of Mississippi, their medical facilities will be able to be used for abortions, performed late term, abortions performed for purposes of sex selection, abortions performed for any reason. Abortion-at-will will be the requirement for our military installations and the medical facilities on those installations.

Senator Burris' website provides a response section here. Let him know what you think -- after all, he still represents Illinoisans, whether he acknowledges it or not.

Tell me again how "no one is pro-abortion." This guy certainly is.

(Cross-posted to Paulfor62.com.)