The Massachusetts primary Election in this Thursday, Sept 6th.
As usual, MCFL sent Questionnaires to all challengers. Their responses and the voting records of incumbents will tell you where these people stand on the life issues. This involves a huge amount of work. I want to thank Janet Callahan, Helen Cross, Eva Murphy, John Triolo, and everyone else who worked on it.
It is important that we all vote - and that we each cast an informed vote. For Life, Anne
The U. S. Senate is expected to vote as soon as Thursday, but more likely next week, on the second omnibus bill that contains the State/Foreign Operations, Energy and Water, and Financial Services appropriations measures. Four amendments are expected which will help deter the federal government from financing abortions and the abortion industry.
1) Sen. Orrin Hatch, Utah, will offer a pro-life amendment to strike language in the bill sponsored by Sen. Lautenberg, N. J., that prohibits any future presidential administration from reinstituting the Mexico City Policy that Obama removed by executive order during his first week in office. Support Hatch Amendment to remove Lautenberg language.
2) Sen. Mike Johanns of Nebraska is floating an amendment to negate language in the minibus bill that would remove the current Dornan Amendment - the D.C. Hyde Amendment, which prevents taxpayers from being forced to pay for abortions in the District of Columbia. Support Johanns Amendment to restore Dornan Amendment.
3) Sen. Roger Wicker, Mississippi, has an amendment to totally de-fund the UNFPA via the omnibus bill. The House had cut funding from Obama's $55 million to $40 million. Support Wicker Amendment.
4) Sen. Tom Coburn, Oklahoma, is sponsoring an amendment which would restore the ban on coverage of elective abortions in the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program. Support Coburn Amendment.
CALL SEN. BROWN, 202-224-4543. URGE HIM TO VOTE PRO-LIFE. TELL HIM TO VOTE AGAINST THE ENTIRE MINIBUS BILL IF THE AMENDMANTS ARE NOT APPROVED.
When you call, you are asking for the four items in bold. National Right to Life called the current Senate version a "cluster bomb of pro-abortion provisions" (see MCFL email of Nov 2). I want to thank our friend, Steve Ertelt at Life News for the recent analysis.
Yesterday was exactly a year before the "big one." Pundits were calling it a harbinger of the 2012 elections.
Oregon first congressional district. Pro-life Republican Rob Cornilles will face EMILY's List Democrat Suzanne Bonamici in special election, January 31, 2012.
In Virginia, pro-lifers already control the governor's office and the House of Delegates. Yesterday, Virginia voters replaced two pro-abortion state senators with two pro-life senators, giving pro-life Senators control in the Commonwealth. (Pro-life candidates easily retained control of the House of Delegates.)
The pro-abortion chair of the Senate Health and Education Committee, appears to have lost by 86 votes to his pro-life challenger, a race in which Virginia Society for Human Life PAC, a National Right to Life affiliate, played a key role.
In Kentucky, pro-life challenger state Senate President David Williams (R) was unable to defeat pro-abortion incumbent Governor Steve Beshear (D).
Pro-life Governor Haley Barbour (R) was term-limited in Mississippi, so the gubernatorial seat was open. Fortunately, there were two pro-life candidates competing. Pro-life Lieutenant Governor Phil Bryant (R) defeated his pro-life challenger Hattiesburg Mayor Johnny DuPree (D).
On October 22, Louisiana's popular pro-life Governor Bobby Jindal (R) was re-elected, garnering more than 65% of the vote in a ten way race.
The Personhood Amendment in Mississippi was defeated. MCFL does not have a position on the PA but I found this analysis from Americans United for Life very helpful, "The loss has no immediate implications as the initiative restricted what the government could do, not what individuals could do. The measure would have restrained government actions - government-funded abortions - and not abortions conducted by individuals or enterprises such as Planned Parenthood... the importance of the recognition of the humanity of a child in the womb will not falter as a result of this vote."
In Massachusetts, we will have the "Death with Dignity"/ Doctor Prescribed Suicide ballot question in 2012. We have a wonderfully helpful web site and many presentations next week. I'll be sending out an email about all of those shortly.
Even before she announced that she was running for the Democratic nomination against Sen. Scott Brown, Elizabeth Warren received the endorsement of Emily's List, which endorses, and bundles money for, only the most pro-abortion of women. They will touch a male candidate only if he is running against a staunch pro-life incumbent. In January of 2010 E.L. bundled at least $5,000,000 for Martha Coakley. As you would expect, Warren is top-tier pro-abortion.
At the Harvard Law School graduation last spring, the student speaker talked about his classmates knowing what is best for people and urged them to get in positions where they can regulate the lives of others - since they know best. I could just see Elizabeth Warren as the ventriloquist looming large behind him as he spoke. This is how George Will describes her.
This special offer is for those of you who are not currently members of Mass. Citizens.
Get your Choose Life license plate during September or October and send us a picture of your plate or a copy of your registration.
We will credit you with an MCFL Family Membership ($40.00 value). This will enable you to receive the MCFL News, to belong to a local Chapter, to attend the Annual Convention at a Members' Discount, and to vote at the Annual Meeting in June 2011. Most important, you will personally be helping to restore the Culture of Life!
It is so exciting to see Choose Life Plates on the highway! I just saw number 322 on Rte 128 in Needham. I am looking forward to seeing you on the road and having you as part of our MCFL family! Anne
The Susan B. Anthony List is calling out former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman for not signing its pro-life pledge that has candidates agreeing to appoint pro-life nominees for key positions and agreeing to support de-funding abortions and abortion businesses.
Despite Huntsman's pro-life record and pro-life comments he's made recently saying he won't compromise on pro-life issues, SBA List informed LifeNews.com that he has not signed the pledge:
Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Tim Pawlenty and Rick Santorum all signed the pledge, but Herman Cain, Mitt Romney and newcomer John Huntsman have thus far refused to sign.
Pro-life Congressman Ron Paul said during the 2008 race, where he ran in the GOP primary, that the most important thing that young people could do to help society was to do pro-life work. Paul, known popularly as a libertarian, has always had a consistent pro-life track record. Paul is an obstetrician and gynecologist and has delivered numerous children.
One reporter doing a live feed for a newscast was overheard to say that only social moderate Jon Huntsman's second-place showing was relevant because "Ron Paul always wins the straw polls". Huntsman is said to also have a pro-life record as Utah's former governor.
HB2239 - An Act restoring free speech and public access - this is a great bill filed by Reps Mark Lombardo and Jim Lyons, good pro-lifers both, which would repeal the Buffer Zone! SUPPORT
Ellen McCormack RIP March 31, 2011 10:03 A.M.
By Michael J. New
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.
BOSTON - A Massachusetts anti-abortion group proposed legislation today that would allow individual taxpayers to opt out of paying for publicly-funded abortions in the state.
Under the measure, taxpayers could choose to have whatever portion of their state taxes pays for abortions or abortion counseling for low-income women directed instead to a public information campaign for the Baby Safe Haven Law, which allows parents to drop off unwanted newborns at police or fire stations and hospitals.
Former Pennsylvania Rick Santorum and his wife, Karen, are pro-life heroes. Many of you have read Karen's Letters to Gabriel about their baby whose brief life inspired us all.
Catholic Citizenship has invited Senator Santorum to a fund raiser they are hosting on Feb 1st. The tickets are $100. Knowing how much pro-lifers would like to meet the Senator, Catholic Citizenship has kindly extended a special invitation to members of Mass. Citizens.
Every year at the March for Life, 300,000 people show up to March and a dozen crazies show up to steal all the media attention. It's amusing, as well, to watch about 10,000 each try a new persuasion tactic on the dozen people assembled, trying to make a conversion of the heart on the spot. Even the annual Assembly for Life and Walk brings a few protesters and its tempting to engage them, to hope that they can see the light of pro-life truth.
The effort is well-intentioned, but often ineffective due to simple mistakes. Those who show up to protest often do so lead to harden their positions by being exposed to us, the more we yell, the more we solidify their position. Anyone who has had an argument with a teenage sibling or child knows that strong language rarely persuades. Let's consider seven primary problems with amateur pro-life street apologetics:
1. Appeal to reason and facts, not emotion. Partisans on both sides are filled with emotive stories. The pro-aborts talk about women dying in back alleys, and pro-lifers focus on the gut-wrenching stories such as those of Gianna Jennsen, Rebecca Kiessling and others. Emotional stories are not useful when dealing with partisans and zealots, because they just retreat into their own emotional stories. Instead, focus on facts. The cold hard facts of abortion cut to the mental core of many of these activists, they become unshakable things that sticks with them. There were, at most, 1,500 deaths from abortion per year when it was illegal, but there are 1,000 times more abortions each year now. Each baby feels pain, and scientific advancements in understanding fetal development have provided amazing and powerful facts to present to these zealots. Give them the facts they lack, the things they're never told by their national pro-abortion groups.
2. Don't be confrontational or hostile It's tempting to be angry with these people, they're perceived as 'the enemy' and those forcing abortion on many women in tough situations. Mothers and fathers who are post-abortive can, as well, sometimes have a hardened edge when dealing with these protesters because of their trauma. The key is not to become so confrontational and hostile so as to be counterproductive. Calm, slow and serious is what they aren't expecting. These protesters thrive on being able to shout down a crazed pro-lifer, they want you to lose your cool, but by being kind, gentle, and serious you can potentially make real converts.
As expected, Harry Reid tried to bring up the Defense Appropriations Act for a vote. It still includes the Burris Amendment, which requires tax funding of abortion in military facilities.
Senator Brown voted against cloture, thus keeping the Burris Amendment, which would have passed, from a vote.
Senator Brown deserves our profound thanks!
Please call right now, (617) 565-3170 or (202) 224-4543.
This is just the opening shot from wily Harry. We will need Scott to keep voting the way he has. Thank you for your vigilance and prompt action! Anne
Politico reports: Harry Reid announced this morning (Wed) in a speech on the floor of the Senate, "I'm likely going to move to my motion to reconsider on the Defense Authorization Act this evening, allowing as I will indicate at the time, time for amendments to that piece of legislation."
If you haven't called Sen. Brown, you must do so before tonight! We need him to vote against cloture.
A Senator might be lulled by Reid's offer of amendments. We do not have the votes to remove the funding or to kill the Act, so the vote against cloture is the last ditch before we start paying for military abortions.
This is the desperation call. Please make it right now: (617) 565-3170 or (202) 224-4543.
Bless you! Anne
The following letter was sent to Jennifer Nassour, Chairman of the Republican State Committee, on November 15, 2010
Dear Ms. Nassour,
Along with the rest of the state, we at Massachusetts Citizens for Life have
been looking at the election results. There are a couple of important facts
to which we would like to draw your attention.
Most of the newly elected State Representatives in Massachusetts are
pro-life. We are delighted by this outcome.
In addition, the huge Republican sweep across the country was accomplished
by pro-life candidates. The Republican wins in Massachusetts were almost
entirely reserved to those candidates who are willing to defend human life.
Looking at the data, it seems obvious that the lack of "surge" in
Massachusetts is attributable to the fact that the statewide candidates were
led by a man who described himself as "To the left of Obama on social
issues" and were coached by professional consultants who told them to steer
clear of anything that sounded pro-life. That was bad advice.
For many election cycles now, Republicans have been winning nationally
running with pro-life positions. The Republican win of note over that time
in Massachusetts is Scott Brown. Senator Brown took pro-life positions on
the legislative issues facing the U S Senate. The factor which propelled
him to victory was his promise to be the "41st vote" against pro-abortion,
pro-rationing Obamacare. He was also helped by Martha Coakley's "Shannon
O'Brien moment" when Ms. Coakley said that pro-life people should not be
allowed to work in emergency rooms.
Keep in mind, as of 10/13/2010 the number of registered Republicans in MA
has dropped to a new low of 474,798 voters, representing a mere 11.33% of
all voters. If the MA GOP Leadership wants the State Republican Party to
remain relevant, they must reconsider their advocacy of candidates who are
"left of Obama" and adopt true Republican Principles.
We respectfully suggest that in reviewing your statewide loses, you
learn from the local successful legislative races and listen to those newly
elected who embraced the value of life. In setting a course for the future,
the leadership of the MA State GOP should embrace, and not abandon, the core
principle on which it was founded - the defense of Life.
We would respectfully suggest that leaders of the party in this state meet
with successful national Republicans to understand better the role of life
issues. Of course, we would be happy to meet with you locally as well.
LifeNews reports on post-election polling. I remember when our advantage was 2:1. This is almost 3:1. We are making a difference! Anne
A new post-election poll shows the issue of abortion helped pro-life candidates and played a role in the Republican shellacking of pro-abortion Democrats. A survey conducted by the Polling Company firm found pro-life candidates enjoyed a definite advantage in yesterday's elections.
Thirty percent of all voters said that abortion "affected" their vote with 22% of all voters backing pro-life candidates and eight percent saying they supported pro-abortion candidates - giving pro-life candidates a net pro-life advantage of 14 percent among all voters.
When I wrote about the election yesterday, the results were not in from Norwood and Walpole. John Rogers, with an 18 year, 100% pro-life record won there. His challenger is also pro-life. A basic PAC principle is to back pro-life incumbents - they deserve it and have to know they can count on us.
Some national columnists and a few of you have said that our votes for Tim Cahill denied the election to Charlie Baker. That assumes every Cahill vote would have gone to Baker. Actually, the polls showed the Cahill vote would have split pretty evenly if he had not been in the race.
The bigger point, however, is that the entire state-wide Republican ticket and the nine Congressional challengers lost while Republicans across the nation made huge gains. The difference is that those Republicans are pro-life and for repealing Obamacare. Baker stated that he was "to the left of Obama on social issues" and then campaigned that way. It was not Tim Cahill who took down Charlie Baker, it was Charlie Baker who took down the entire Republican ticket.
Our Congressional candidates did better than any challengers in recent years because they were pro-life and promised to repeal Obamacare. Some who had real chances to win, like Jeff Perry, Bill Hudak, and Sean Bielat, were also dragged down by the lack of turn-out and negative tone of the Baker leadership.
The Fed PAC endorsed six candidates and recommended two. All but one were Republicans - obviously, given our congressional delegation. The MCFL State PAC, however, supported Democrats and Republicans pretty evenly. We are lucky enough to have pro-life people and politicians in both parties in this state.
We lost one State Representative, James Fagan, but all of the other incumbents endorsed by the State PAC were re-elected as were many new pro-lifers including Michael Rush in the Senate and Paul Adams, Richard Bastien, Matthew Beaton, John Binienda, Nicholas Collins, Edward Coppinger, Angelo D'Emilia, Peter Durant, Ryan Fattman, Kimberly Ferguson, Sheila Harrington, Randy Hunt, Kevin Kuros, Steven Levy, Marc Lombardo, Jim Lyons, and Daniel Webster in the House. These are the people the State PAC supported. Other pro-lifers were also elected.
Local pro-lifers worked closely with many of these people. You may have noticed the email the night before the election saying that Matt Beaton's opponent had been endorsed by NARAL. The local people had called with that information on Monday.
We are very grateful to these people for running! We are very excited about working with the pro-life incumbents who were re-elected and with these new Senators and Representatives - at the local level and at the State House.
Thank you all for your hard work in these campaigns! Anne
Congratulations to these people who were supported by the MCFL State PAC. Congratulations to them and to the PAC for its hard work!
I also want to thank the people who worked all summer on keeping the MCFL Questionnaire information current: Janet Callahan, John Triolo, Linda Thayer, and Helen Cross.
Senate: Jack Hart (D, Robert Hedlund ( R ), Thomas Kennedy (D), Michael Knapik ( R ), Richard Moore (D), Richard Ross ( R ), Michael Rush (D)
House: Paul Adams ( R ), Brian Ashe (D), Bruce Ayers (D), Jay Barrows, Richard Bastien ( R ), Matthew Beaton ( R ), John Binienda (D), Nicholas Collins (D), Edward Coppinger (D), Vinny De Macedo, Angelo D'Emilia ( R ), Paul Donato (D), Geoff Diehl ( R ), Stephen DiNatale (D), Peter Durant ( R ), Christopher Fallon (D) Ryan Fattman ( R Kimberly Ferguson ( R ), John Fresolo (D), Paul Frost ( R ), Colleen Geary (D), Thomas Golden (D), Sheila Harrington ( R ), Donald Humason ( R ), Randy Hunt ( R ), Michael Kane (D), Kevin Kuros ( R ), Steven Levy ( R ), Marc Lombardo (R)Jim Lyons ( R ), James Miceli (D) Eugene O'Flaherty (D) George Patterson ( R ), Betty Poirier ( R ), Angelo Puppolo (D), Angelo Scaccia (D), Todd Smola ( R ), Walter Timilty (D), Timothy Toomey (D), Daniel Webster ( R )
Governor's Council: Charles Cipollini ( R ), Marilyn Devaney (D), Mary Ellen Manning (D)
National Right to Life has all the amazing national results:
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