The American Spectator

Reader Mail

(Page 3 of 8)

br> Seattle, Washington /p>

I greatly enjoyed the Deroy Murdock article on Mayor Rudy. I would opine that the current war with the Islamic Jihadists would be going a great deal better were Rudy at the head of it. I wonder, however, if he would have appointed someone like Sec. Def. Rumsfeld and then had the audacity to stick with his appointee during a very messy, very bloody, but necessary transformation of the U. S. military to a lighter, faster, but more lethal military. Rudy does not seem to be the type of politician that can operate well while sharing the spotlight with one of his appointees.

I would have to see great change in Rudy's stances in three areas in order to vote for him, plus seeing a comprehensive discussion of the kind of judges that a Rudy administration would nominate. First, Rudy would simply have to genuinely reverse his thinking on the 2nd Amendment. It is real simple. If you are an advocate of the freely exercised right to bear arms, then I am with you. If not, then I am not. That means no registration of guns, or their law abiding owners, period. It also means a "Shall Issue" policy on carry permits, and passage of a "Castle Doctrine" that removes any need to attempt to retreat from a threat to my person or that of my family when I am abiding by the law in a place that I have a legal right to be. This is NOT an issue that I am squishy on.

Second, the border control issue must be dealt with and settled before any bill to grant citizenship rights to illegal aliens. That means that the borders must be effectively sealed against the invasion of illegals. It also means that any illegal here now would have to return to their home country and apply for admission to the U. S., AND wait in their home country for permission to emigrate. We had an amnesty under Pres. Reagan, and it didn't work. Quite simply the carrots are passed out immediately, but the sticks are NEVER applied. I also want to see a deliberate and consistent crack down on the employers that hire illegals, not some kind of token enforcement. If the employer doesn't swing, it ain't got no zing.

I would lump together the homosexual rights and the abortion rights issues. Bottom line is that these are both gender rights issues in my view. I would like to see abortion illegal except for rape, incest, and the life (not health) of the mother. I can, however, live with the first step of outlawing the late term abortions/partial birth abortions as a down payment on heading in the right direction. As for homosexuality, society got along well enough for many millennia without the many having to have the sexual habits of the few shoved in our faces. You do your thing and I will do mine, but I don't want to be constantly told (or shown) what you are doing. I also do not think that companies should be told who has to be covered under their employee benefit plans. It has served the purpose well for society to favor heterosexual arrangements, since we have no interest in our species becoming extinct, and nature's plan for the perpetuation of the species is the heterosexual model.

If Rudy can come to these three threshold levels, then we can talk about nominees to SCOTUS and the other levels of the Federal Judiciary. Scalia, Thomas, Roberts, and Alito are the acceptable models. Souter, Ginsburg, and Breyer do not pass the test. And for our Libertarian friends, Janice Rodgers-Brown would be a splendid choice for elevation to the SCOTUS.

p>So, how about it, Rudy? Can we talk? br> -- Ken Shreve /p> p> Rudy can win the Abortion issue by shifting the argument away from abortion and onto judges. So long as Rudy goes for strict constructionist judges, he can win. br> -- John Jaggers br> Ashburn, Virginia

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Taxes, John McCain, Islam, Abortion, Constitution, Law, Supreme Court, Military, Iraq, Iran, European Union, NATO, Energy