My latest from Townhall.com
Questions for McCain
Gregg Jackson
Thursday, May 29, 2008Senator McCain, as an across-the-board conservative, I plan to vote for you in November—unless a more authentically conservative ticket emerges or you choose a liberal running mate, such as Mitt Romney. You would be superior to a President Barack Obama in protecting and defending America and promoting free market reforms and limited government. Like many other conservatives across America, however, I have some significant concerns with some of your positions, which I hope you can clarify here on Townhall.com.
Abortion: Senator McCain, you have stated that you would like to see Roe v. Wade overturned and the issue of abortion returned to the states. If you consider abortion murder, why should individual states have a right to legalize it? How is your position that abortion is a “states’ rights issue” any different from Stephen Douglas’ position on slavery-that it too was a “states’ rights issue?” Isn’t the right to life guaranteed in the Declaration of Independence (“life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”) as well as our Constitution (under the 5th and 14th amendments)? You have stated that you believe individual states should determine the issue of abortion because of your belief in federalism. Doesn’t our federalist system give the federal government the right to amend its own constitution? Is there ever a justification in your mind for amending our federal constitution that wouldn’t violate the principle of federalism?
Marriage: You said of same-sex marriage: “I think that gay marriage should be allowed if there’s a ceremony kind of thing, if you wanna call it that, I don’t have any problem with that.” Do you stand by that statement, as you have also stated that you personally oppose same-sex “marriage?” You don’t offer a section on your website dedicated to this issue, which continues to make national headlines.
The California Supreme Court recently postulated that limiting marriage between one man and one woman was unconstitutional. Last week you appeared on the “Ellen DeGeneres Show” and didn’t respond to Ellen’s comment that she could “now legally get married.” You have said that issues such as abortion and marriage should be decided via the voters of the individual states. Since the voters in California already voted to define marriage in 2000 (by 61%) as the legal union of one man and one woman, and since that voter approved statute has not changed and can’t unless revoked by the people themselves, why did you not remind Ellen that “gay marriage” isn’t legal in California because the courts’ declaratory opinion, containing no court order, hasn’t changed the current marriage statute which does not include any provision for members of the same sex to marry ? Why have you also not called on Governor Schwarzenegger to uphold his sworn oath to only enforce the current marriage statute in California since he has stated that he will “honor the court’s decision and uphold its ruling” and authorize the issuance of marriage licences without a legally binding accompanying statute just as former Governor Mitt Romney did in Massachusetts? Why are you undermining California Supreme Court Justice Baxter’s dissent, in which he forcefully and compellingly defended constitutional separation of powers, by lending credence to the lie that a court can grant to a legislature powers denied them by the constitution and overturn the people’s definition of marriage?
rest here