by Last Sunday Representative from Texas, Republican Ron Paul, was interviewed on the CNN program “State of the Union.” During the interview Paul, who is now in a race for the nomination to be the Republican candidate for president in this year’s upcoming presidential elections, told Candy Crowley that social conservatism is “a losing position” for the Republican Party.
Social Issues Not for Republicans
Crowley asked Paul, “Are you uncomfortable with this talk about social issues? Do you consider it a winning area for Republicans in November?”
Paul’s answer: “No. I think it’s a losing position.”
“I mean, I talk about it because I have a precise understanding of how difficult problems are to be solved,” Paul added. “And they’re not to be at the national level. We’re not supposed to nationalize these problems. The founders were very clear that problems like this, if there needs to be legislation of sorts, the state has the right to write the legislation that they so choose. And that solves a lot of our problems.”
Took the Personhood Pledge
On December 19 Paul signed what is called the “Personhood Pledge.” This is a statement published by an organization called PersonhoodUSA which seeks to criminalize abortion in the US. Part of the pledge reads: “I stand with President Ronald Reagan in supporting ‘the unalienable personhood of every American, from the moment of conception until natural death,’ and with the Republican Party platform in affirming that I ‘support a human life amendment to the Constitution, and endorse legislation to make clear that the 14th Amendment protections apply to unborn children.”
The 14th Amendment to the Constitution states: “nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” This amendment also says, “The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.”
The context of the 14th Amendment was of course the aftermath of the Civil War, and was meant to protect the rights of the newly freed slaves, and it is very unlikely that embryos and fetuses were on the minds of the lawmakers who passed the amendment. But let’s not let the facts get in the way of Paul’s position on abortion.
“As President, I will sign and aggressively advocate for a law that removes abortion from the jurisdiction of the federal courts,” said Paul. “This approach, done by simple majority vote and stroke of my Presidential Pen, would effectively overturn Roe v. Wade and allow states to pass strong pro-life legislation immediately. Millions of lives would be saved by this approach while we fight to make every state a right to life state.”
Obamacare Outta Here
In addition to taking the Personhood Pledge Paul promises to discontinue the enforcement of all of the Obama healthcare regulations. He is especially keen on allowing Catholic employers to disregard the portion of the health care reform act which requires all employers to provide health insurance coverage of contraceptives and other forms of birth control.
“I will use my constitutional authority as President to stop the enforcement of all regulations relating to ObamaCare, including the new HHS regulations forcing all employers, even religious or church-affiliated ones, to provide coverage for contraceptives and RU-486 as part of their health insurance plans,” said Paul.
Crowley also asked Paul, “Do you believe from what you see today that Rick Santorum can beat President Obama in November?”
Paul’s answer: “Well, I don’t see how that’s possible. And this whole idea about that talking about the social issues and who is going to pay for birth control pills, I’m worried about undermining our civil liberties, the constant wars going on, the debt of $16 trillion and they are worried about birth control pills and here he wants to, you know, control people’s social lives. At the same time, he voted for Planned Parenthood.”
