The American Spectator : The Spectacle Blog : Cain Isn't Pulling a Romney on Abortion

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The Spectacle Blog

Cain Isn't Pulling a Romney on Abortion

By Aaron Goldstein on 10.20.11 @ 1:13PM

Joe Lawler takes Herman Cain to task for not communicating his pro-life position clearly during his interview with Piers Morgan on CNN last night.

However, I think his answer to Morgan and to David Gregory over the weekend is perfectly consistent with what he has said about the question of abortion in the past. Consider Cain's reasoning for declining to sign the Susan B. Anthony List's Pro-Life Presidential Pledge back in June:

The fourth requirement demands that I 'advance' the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. As president, I would sign it, but Congress must advance the legislation. (italics mine) I have been a consistent and unwavering champion of pro life issues. In no way does this singular instance of clarification denote an abandonment of the pro-life movement, but instead, is a testament to my respect for the balance of power and the role of the presidency.

The key word here is "advance." Back in April 2007, I wrote about the question of the role of the President with regard to abortion:

One must ask how much of the Presidency is consumed by the question of abortion. Aside from appointing Roberts and Alito, signing the Partial Birth Abortion Act into law and addressing the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C. by telephone, I would argue President Bush has spent less than 1% of his Presidency on the question of abortion. The case can be made that the word of the President on abortion or any other public matter can sway public opinion and influence the course of the debate. But in a time of war does a majority of the American public believe who sits in the Oval Office should be determined by their view of abortion, be it pro-life or pro-abortion?

Simply put the legality of abortion is not in the hands of the Oval Office. Nor does it rest entirely with the Supreme Court. While there might come a time where the Court will revisit Roe v. Wade, it cannot do so on its own whim.

The bottom line here is that Herman Cain opposes abortion and would sign pro-life legislation into law if passed by Congress. But Herman Cain can't outlaw abortion with an Executive Order any more than George W. Bush or Ronald Reagan.

I mean it's not like Cain is pulling a Romney who is pro-choice when he runs for office in Massachusetts and pro-life when he runs for President.

View all comments (52) | Leave a comment

Margie| 10.20.11 @ 1:22PM

Thanks for these words, Aaron Goldstein. I am appreciating you more and more.

Sean| 10.20.11 @ 2:43PM

Herman Cain in his own words. He is now pro choice. He says he is personally pro life, but government should not get involved. That means his political position is pro choice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73vPtcvLsUY

talkradio55| 10.20.11 @ 1:37PM

This attempt to paint Herman Cain as pro-choice is just another ruse from so-called conservatives, who want a Romney-coronation in a complete contradiction to the democratic process.

Sean| 10.20.11 @ 2:44PM

Ruse? Herman Cain himself said it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73vPtcvLsUY

Steve P| 10.21.11 @ 1:51PM

Yup, I've been a Cain supporter, but he dug his own pit on this one. Can't fault the Romney camp with this one. Cain needs to clarify *forcefully and immediately* that he is a genuine, practical (versus theoretical) pro-life Republican. Anything short of that and he can likely kiss me and many of his social conservative supporters bye-bye.

Bumr50| 10.20.11 @ 1:40PM

A voice of reason.

Cain's putting himself out there in order to gain "name ID" as he calls it.

As a consequence, no one else is "getting vetted" to this degree.

Didn't Rick Perry advocate sending troops into Mexico (the only country he's had foreign policy dealings with)?

I don't hear anyone talking about that.

Chuck| 10.20.11 @ 1:43PM

We are having this discussion because Cain gave a mealy-mouth answer. People expect firm answers from Herman Cain but an answer open to interpretation on a key issue to many was a grave mistake.

Margie| 10.20.11 @ 1:47PM

Mealy mouthed?
Only to someone who is hard of hearing!

C Bowen| 10.20.11 @ 1:57PM

When Cain originally filed to run for President in 1999, he was also vague--declining to give a position- on abortion, and at the time, pro-Affirmative Action, anti-voucher.

So yeah, he is pulling a Romney.

Margie| 10.20.11 @ 2:04PM

C Bowen is a flaming Lefty-Libertarian Paul-bot.
You guys have an agenda, right along with the MSM~ including this punky Piersy-baby, and that is to try and destroy a genuine conservative.

To anyone who's been posting here for even a short while, knows where you guys stand.

It's Ron Paul or no one. And your "ends justify your means" of destroying good and decent people, like Herman Cain, who is AGAINST abortion, including in the cases of Rape or incest, as he STATED himself.

Paul Bot| 10.20.11 @ 2:21PM

Ron Paul is a Non-Starter.

Margie| 10.20.11 @ 2:37PM

Yeah, just like starter dough without the leaven.
LOL.

PaulBot#9| 10.20.11 @ 8:36PM

Tell us more about the connection between Ron Paul and the Feast of Unleavened Bread!

Margie| 10.20.11 @ 10:03PM

"A little leaven leavens the whole lump." Gal. 5:9.

But there just ain't no leaven there.

mzk1| 10.21.11 @ 7:20AM

Sorry, I can't resist. In Jewish tradition, the evil inclination (which is the same as the satan) is called "the leaven in the dough".

(Not to call Paul anything; he's probably a decent guy, even if I would vote to Obama over him.)

I would suggest all of this is due to Cain's lack of decent staff. He really needs some decent position papers.

Margie| 10.21.11 @ 11:46AM

The leaven in Gal 5 is indeed not a good thing, you are right.

In the context I meant to for.. that of leavening a figurative "loaf of bread", Ron Paul couldn't do it.

He is like flat bread. No leaven, period.

Remember that the Bible says.. the Devil disguises himself as an angel of light.
He has supposedly conservative ideas, yet is a terrorist sympathizer, who blames his own country, calling us "Occupiers", for the terrorists being terrorists.

Clint| 10.20.11 @ 9:18PM

" RON PAUL “PLAN TO RESTORE AMERICA”

ENTITLEMENTS:
Honors our promise to our seniors and veterans,
while allowing young workers to opt out. Block grants
Medicaid and other welfare programs to allow States
the $exibility and ingenuity they need to solve their
own unique problems without harming those currently
relying on the programs."

The Tea Party Rebellion Is Here.

mzk1| 10.21.11 @ 7:22AM

OK, so he's a normal Republican. George W probably would have done the same, given the Congress.

But not very constitutional.....

Clint| 10.20.11 @ 9:11PM

" RON PAUL “PLAN TO RESTORE AMERICA”

SPENDING:
Cuts $1 trillion in spending during the #rst year
of Ron Paul’s presidency, eliminating #ve cabinet
departments (Energy, HUD, Commerce, Interior, and
Education), abolishing the Transportation Security
Administration and returning responsibility for security
to private property owners, abolishing corporate
subsidies, stopping foreign aid, ending foreign wars, and
returning most other spending to 2006 levels."

The Tea Party Steps On ObamaBoy Israel Firster's Face.

mzk1| 10.21.11 @ 7:27AM

?? Interior mainly does Constitutional duties. As for energy, I assume he'll put the NRC somewhere?

Obama is an Israel-firster? Are you insane? (No need to answer that one.)

Should we mention that "stepping on the face" is George Orwell's description of extreme statism?

It seems Paul is a fake libertarian; just another southern isolationist like George McGovern at heart.

Margie| 10.21.11 @ 11:47AM

From the Patriot Post today:

"However, there are also problems with the plan. For one, it would take a Republican super-majority in Congress to even consider doing any of the things in Paul's plan, and many Republicans don't agree with its prescriptions. Many of Paul's proposed eliminations are sacred cows in Washington, not least of which is the Department of Education. Yes, it duplicates state power and resources and is unconstitutional to boot, but even Ronald Reagan couldn't eliminate it, and it was less than a year old when he took office.

Primarily, however, Paul offers little explanation for the thinking behind his proposals, much less how to achieve them. The entire plan consists of a one-page executive summary, followed by charts and graphs of one sort and another. Paul must make a better case for why the departments of Commerce and Interior, for example, are unconstitutional or unnecessary, and how he would implement an orderly transition. The would-be commander-in-chief also needs to explain how zeroing out line items for wars or foreign aid serves our national security interest."
Amen!

C Bowen| 10.20.11 @ 3:25PM

Cain favored TARP and was scared of Saddam. He recently said that while Iraq wasn't a threat of course as it turned out, that it was still a good idea to spend trillions of dollars to strengthen Iran's position in the region.

LOL--can you believe that--he was scared of Saddam! Too funny, a grown man scared of Saddam.

mzk1| 10.21.11 @ 7:29AM

I assume the Kurds he poison-gassed, the countless numbers in the mass graves, the countless rape victims were also silly little children. The whole world was scared of Saddam.

Cain sounds better and better. Thank you.

Clint| 10.20.11 @ 9:20PM

" RON PAUL “PLAN TO RESTORE AMERICA"

CUTTING GOVERNMENT WASTE:
Makes a 10% reduction in the federal workforce,
slashes Congressional pay and perks, and curbs
excessive federal travel. To stand with the American
People, President Paul will take a salary of $39,336,
approximately equal to the median personal income of
the American worker."

The Tea Party Rebellion Is Here.

mzk1| 10.21.11 @ 7:30AM

Will he take the expense money?

W| 10.20.11 @ 2:08PM

I saw Cain on Meet the Press with Gregory. He did well on abortion. He said life begins at conception. He did not explain his 9-9-9 tax plan that well. He did well on all questions except it isn't clear why someone paying no income taxes now will benefit by having to pay 9% income and 9% sales tax.

mzk1| 10.21.11 @ 7:37AM

He's explained it before. He said that by cutting the (De facto) 15% payroll tax to 0, the average worker will have enough left to make up for it. What he missed was the argument that he was giving the government a new taxing tool. He should have said he was taking away one (the payroll tax) in return.

Cain has trouble with these sorts of things. PErhaps he can go back to the old sort of press conference ,where the president answers written questions given to him in advance. The only reason for these conferences is to give TV time to prime donna reporters - I say they be abolished. (Well, it does let the president be caught by surprise, sometimes.)

Bob| 10.20.11 @ 2:21PM

Another one bites the dust. Another one bites the dust. Herman Cain is gone. His vague abortion answer just cast a total eclipse over his presidential aspirations. Unacceptable to right-wing fanatics no doubt therefore it's back to anchovies, pepperonis and meat balls. What's left another pro-abortion candidate named Willard the Rat. You Republican pukers are just amazing.

Antibob| 10.20.11 @ 2:24PM

Your a nidiot.

Kill the Occupiers| 10.20.11 @ 2:32PM

Any of them will be beat Obama next year. All Osama has is people like Bob and other cultivated dumb Democrats. At the end of the day this will leave him in the low forties. Can Bob say landslide? A lot of Democratic senators and state office Democrats will join him in the unemployment line. You haven't hit bottom yet, Bob. Osama can't make himself into the fraudulent blank sheet he was in 2008. It is over and Bob is left to his pathetic sniping. You're living in the past Bob.

mzk1| 10.21.11 @ 7:31AM

I assume you have no life.

Teflon93| 10.20.11 @ 2:34PM

Aaron Goldstein is a ray of hope in a sea of Next Generation FauxCon pundits.

He's important because with The Weekly Standard and National Review firmly in RINO hands now, we are down to one mainstream conservative publication.

AmSpec is now the flagship of the conservative movement. We need more hands on deck as adroit and principled as Mr. Goldstein.

Margie| 10.20.11 @ 2:38PM

Well, well, well... we agree!

Teflon93| 10.21.11 @ 8:08AM

We usually do, Margie---after all, we're conservatives.

Simon Templar| 10.20.11 @ 4:13PM

Thank you Aaron for your excellent article on this dustup. This is what I call professional journalism. You did your research, strayed away from speculation, gave us sourced references, and offered a greater context to place this within.

Earle Belle| 10.20.11 @ 5:05PM

Paul v Romney – Donations Show Stark Difference
Paul raised most from active military, Romney tapped big banks

LAKE JACKSON, Texas – A recent independent analysis of candidates’ campaign contributions reveals an interesting disparity between the Ron Paul 2012 Presidential Campaign and frontrunner Mitt Romney’s campaign. Romney’s top supporters appear to be made up of big banks while, unsurprisingly, Paul’s top contributors were men and women serving in the U.S. Armed Forces.

“This fundraising analysis confirms Americans’ beliefs about Ron Paul and their suspicions about Mitt Romney. It is that Dr. Paul is extraordinarily popular and accepted by the everyman and by everyday heroes, while Romney relies almost exclusively on his big-business ties,” said Ron Paul 2012 National Campaign Chairman Jesse Benton.

According to the analysis, the top three organizations that employ Romney’s supporters are Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse Group, and Morgan Stanley. Reflecting his popularity with the everyman and our uniformed service men and women, the top three organizations that employ Dr. Paul’s supporters are the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Army, and the U.S. Navy.

The study notes that the organizations themselves did not contribute. Rather, “the money came from the organization’s PAC, its individual members or employees or owners, and those individuals’ immediate families.” The analysis suggests, then, that the use of PACs, bundling, subsidiaries and the like was not a feature of Dr. Paul’s grassroots fundraising.
Ron Paul Campaign Tops Others in Q3 Active-Military Donations
Outraises all other Republican candidates combined, outraises Obama

LAKE JACKSON, Texas – The Ron Paul 2012 Presidential Campaign raised more campaign donations from active military than all other presidential candidates—Republican or Democrat—including having raised more funds from this segment than all other GOP competitors combined, and more than incumbent President Barack Obama.

Dr. Paul, an Air Force veteran, raised more than $75,000 from active military in the third quarter. This comes after Dr. Paul out-raised all GOP candidates – including all GOPers combined, and President Obama singularly – in the second quarter of this year. Dr. Paul also outraised his GOP competitors in a head-to-head comparison during his 2008 run for the presidency.

This determination was arrived at using an independent campaign analysis of FEC filing data focusing on contributors who listed their occupation and employer when contributing.

“Ron Paul is the only candidate with a plan to end the growing number of unconstitutional undeclared wars, having an unclear connection to U.S. national security, end costly overseas nation-building that pays no friendship dividends, and stop subsidizing global security. Instead Dr. Paul will bring our troops home, secure our borders and lead the nation in practicing a traditional Republican noninterventionist foreign policy,” said Ron Paul 2012 Campaign Chairman Jesse Benton.

“Let me also submit that Dr. Paul out-raising all candidates in military donations demonstrates that his ‘Plan to Restore America’ might sit well among voters who are active-military or veterans,” continued Mr. Benton.

To view the Ron Paul 2012 Presidential Campaign’s latest veterans-themed ad, click here. To view its latest foreign policy-themed ad, click here.
Ron Paul’s Free Market Fix for Healthcare

Ron Paul on how we can substantively fix our healthcare problems:

Obama is just adding on more government…

Our problem is that we have too much government management of our healthcare…

If you want better competition and healthcare you should allow the American people to opt out of government healthcare…

When a government gets involved in an industry prices go up…

We need more competition in healthcare…

Let people have control over their own money…
Standing Above the Fray

Once again, it’s worth pointing out that all of these candidates are viciously attacking one other over each of their lackluster, big government records.

They all have them. Except one.

And that candidate continues to stand above the fray because there is nothing to attack.

http://www.revolutionpac.com/2.....er-snipes/

mzk1| 10.21.11 @ 7:39AM

Um, who did this study?

Simon Templar| 10.20.11 @ 7:17PM

Taken from the Blaze:

In response, Cain released the following statement:

“Yesterday in an interview with Piers Morgan on CNN, I was asked questions about abortion policy and the role of the President.

I understood the thrust of the question to ask whether that I, as president, would simply “order” people to not seek an abortion.
My answer was focused on the role of the President. The President has no constitutional authority to order any such action by anyone. That was the point I was trying to convey.

As to my political policy view on abortion, I am 100% pro-life. End of story.

I will appoint judges who understand the original intent of the Constitution. Judges who are committed to the rule of law know that the Constitution contains no right to take the life of unborn children.

I will oppose government funding of abortion. I will veto any legislation that contains funds for Planned Parenthood. I will do everything that a President can do, consistent with his constitutional role, to advance the culture of life.”

Now, shut up!

Clint| 10.20.11 @ 9:15PM

Herman Cain,
"So what I'm saying is it ultimately gets down to a choice that that family or that mother has to make. Not me as president, not some politician, not a bureaucrat," Cain said. "It gets down to the family and whatever they decide, they decide. I shouldn't have to tell them what decision to make for such a sensitive issue."

"The government shouldn't be trying to tell people everything to do, especially when it comes to social decision that they need to make."

Margie| 10.20.11 @ 10:00PM

So now Clint wants government to intervene in parental rights when it comes to abortion?
LOL!

According to Clint, how else should government intervene in parental rights regarding a minor child.

SNAKE: that IS what Cain was talking about in that specific comment, which you left out.

And Lefty Libertarians don't believe in government interference when it comes to an individual's rights. And when did Libertarians decide that government has any say over abortion AT ALL, not to mention Parental rights?

You're such a creep.

Clint| 10.20.11 @ 11:00PM

You're A Serial Slandering Liar, Phoney Christian Bigot Margie.

I Quoted Your Boy, Herman Cain.

He's An Argument Against Himself & So Are You.

The Tea Party Rebellion Steps On The Margie's Fat Ass.

Margie| 10.21.11 @ 12:19AM

No, you little slob, you didn't quote all that he said.
I'm not the slandering liar. You are filled with deceit, and despise real conservatives, and seek to destroy them.
You are a brother to him who destroys. Prov. 18:9.

REPENT OR ELSE:

"A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who utters lies will not escape." Prov. 19:5

GOD IS JUST!
Praise His Holy Name.

PaulBot#9| 10.20.11 @ 9:39PM

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mzk1| 10.21.11 @ 7:41AM

Bock grants? Isn't that Richard Nixon's idea?

This is a libertarian?

Margie| 10.20.11 @ 10:01PM

2012 Iowa Republican Caucus
Iowa: Cain 28% Romney 21% Paul 10%

http://www.rasmussenreports.co.....can_caucus

Nyuk, Nyuk, Nyuk.

PaulBot#9| 10.20.11 @ 10:17PM

Dig it, haterz. Ron Paul is rockin' double digits again for the first time in weeks yo.

Why Ron Paul be slammin' the polls? It's Clint's mad copy and paste skillz in your FACE yo!

Margie| 10.20.11 @ 10:45PM

I know. Because Cain's 28% to Paul's 10% is really something to celebrate, right?

Clint| 10.20.11 @ 11:04PM

Ron Paul Takes Third in Latest Reuters/Ipsos Poll

Rep. Ron Paul continues his string of strong poll finishes with a third place finish in the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll of likely Republican voters. The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted between October 6 and 10

The Tea Party Rebellion Is Here.

PaulBot#9| 10.20.11 @ 11:16PM

You tell 'em Clint! In your FACE haterz! And Paul hit 8% in the most recent AP poll, 9% in the most recent CNN, 5% in the most recent Rasmusson, and 5% in the most recent PPP. Add them all together and that's 37% looozerz.

mzk1| 10.21.11 @ 7:42AM

Sorry. I should have recognized satire.

Steve P| 10.21.11 @ 1:48PM

Bigger problem here is Cain's muddled responses to a number of issues. There's this abortion hash, there's his murky response to the "negotiating with terrorists" matter earlier this week, there are the sloppy declarations he made about never appointing Muslims to his administration, well, maybe patriotic Muslims, then again, maybe Islam isn't a problem, etc. There's the cloudiness he displayed earlier in the summer about the Palestinian "Right of return" debate. Cain is in the big time now; he needs to get it together on issues besides the 9-9-9 plan. His folksy, plain-spokenness will only go so far to cover one gaffe after another. And, trust me, I write this as a supporter.

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