When Daschle is sending fundraising emails for NARAL, the nation's leading pro-choice group, Daschle says: "As the Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate, I've stood up for a woman's right to choose" and that his "pro-choice leadership of the Senate has made a difference by safeguarding women's rights from the anti-choice agenda." There you have it. Daschle is pro-choice, just like lots of people in the country. But wait, Daschle is now saying, during an election year in South Dakota, something different. It's classic Daschle. He is truly shameless. And the press doesn't hold him accountable.
Let's start with the fact that Daschle sent out a NARAL fundraising email in 2002 when he was planning to run for President and wanted to ingratiate himself to the pro-choice Democratic base. Note what he says:
HARD WORK BRINGS SUCCESSDate: October 29, 2002
To: NARAL Supporter
From: Tom Daschle, U.S. Senate Majority Leader
Rarely has so much been at stake for a woman's right to choose in a U.S. Senate Election.... Anti-choice forces are organizing and mobilizing right now to defeat champions of reproductive rights, champions like Missouri Senator Jean Carnahan. The U.S. Senate's pro-choice leadership cannot afford to lose an ally like Senator Carnahan. So, we must succeed in getting out the pro-choice vote in this and other key states where pro-choice leadership could be lost. Because Jean Carnahan is serving as an appointed Senator in place of her late husband, Mel Carnahan, Missouri's current governor could be forced to immediately swear-in Jim Talent, a strongly anti-choice conservative. As the Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate, I've stood up for a woman's right to choose, and the pro-choice leadership of the Senate has made a difference by safeguarding women's rights from the anti-choice agenda of the Bush administration. Please give to NARAL today, so NARAL can mobilize the resources to get out the pro-choice vote on Election Day.
Gratefully,
Senator Tom Daschle
Fair enough. Daschle says he's pro-choice. It's quite simple. Ah, but not so fast. Read on. In today's Argus Leader there's an article addressing the NARAL letter which is subtitled "Daschle pro-choice, Thune says." Thune says?!? That's what Daschle says in the NARAL fundraiser, for Lord's sake. You know, Daschle's statements like "As the Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate, I've stood up for a woman's right to choose." Anyway, the Argus then reports that "Daschle said the letter was for a colleague, not a cause." What?!? It was for NARAL! Read the text--it's all about a CAUSE, i.e. keeping the Senate pro-choice. I really can't believe this guy has gotten away with this for 25 years. Daschle then says that the only difference between him and Thune is that Thune "believe[s] that you ought to throw a young women in jail." That's just simply a lie. And it's a "negative attack!"
By the way, what did Daschle say back home when first running for Congress, i.e. in the years before he became a NARAL shill? In 1978:
To hold his Democratic base together enough to prevail in the election and avoid McGovern's impending fate, Daschle emphasized his Catholic credentials. Daschle sent a letter to voters saying "I am opposed to abortion. I do not support it. I have never supported it. It is an abhorrent practice. As a citizen and as a lifelong member of the Catholic faith I will do everything in my power to persuade others that abortion is wrong." To solidify his Catholic bona fides, Daschle enclosed a letter from eight Catholic nuns saying "We know and we tell those with whom we speak of your abhorrence for abortion — and of your commitment to life."
From 1986:
On November 1, in response to criticism of his abortion record, Daschle sent a letter to voters stating that "I am unalterably opposed to abortion on demand" and casting the issue as "a battle over human life." Daschle enclosed a letter to him from a minister, who vouched for Daschle's pro-life credentials: "I remember some of the very personal, deeply soul-searching conversations we've had on this subject. You used expletives like 'repulsive' and 'gross' in underscoring your abhorrence of abortion. You even said it is a form of murder, and I believe you are right. The bottom line is you are as opposed to abortion as I am."
Wow, Daschle told a minister he thought abortion was "murder" during his last competitive Senate race. Doesn't that deserve some ink? Obviously, any complete piece on this issue should include the info from 1978 and 1986. And what about what the Bishop has told him to do?
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