Cog in wheel, pebble in shoe: Update on parental notice bill
Hi from DC. Had preplanned a trip here for another reason; got involved in the fight over the interstate parental notification bill yesterday. And it has quickly escalated to an all-out Senate war, because the Child Custody Protection Act would have a major impact on abortion in the US. Read backdrop here.
Senator Frist’s bold move took everyone by surprise. But to our side it was a “yee, haw!” moment; to pro-aborts it was an “oh, no” moment (or something like that). So we organized much more quickly than they did. In fact, the other side is still reeling. God forgive me, I’m loving that.
That said, Democrat Senator Dick Durbin, ever earning his name, quickly became the Senate force behind stalling/stopping CCPA, throwing nails, glass, and even his pitchfork on the road to blow out CCPA’s tires. Goal? Slow it down at least until Saturday, when senators may leave town for campaign events. CCPA needs 60 votes to overcome procedural roadblocks. Last time the Senate voted on CCPA, there were 65 ayes. And if senators don’t leave town, Republicans will suffer more than Democrats for missing opportunities to get their message out at home.
So, our side’s goal is to call CCPA for a vote THIS AFTERNOON. Therefore, calls are critical this morning. And make those calls to DC offices if possible, not in-state offices. If you called yesterday, call again today. The Capitol switchboard is 1-202/224-3121. I was proud to hear you ringing Senator Obama’s phone off the hook while I was waiting to waste my time speaking to his staff yesterday afternoon. But I did it because someone told me the other day that while some people may seem impossible to convince, placing a pebble in their shoe at least makes it harder for them to walk.
Calls to 14 Democrats who previously voted for CCPA are top priority. If you live in those states, have everyone in your family call, even the dog. Then tell your friends and their dogs to call:
Mark Pryor (AR)
Ken Salazar (CO)
Thomas Carper (DE)
Bill Nelson (FL)
Daniel Inouye (HI)
Evan Bayh (IN)
Mary Landrieu (LA)
Ben Nelson (NE)
Harry Reid (NV)
Kent Conrad (ND)
Byron Dorgan (ND)
Tim Johnson (SD)
Robert Byrd (WV)
Herbert Kohl (WI)
I cannot overstate how important this bill is. More on that when the dust settles. Thanks.
Jill Stanek is a nurse turned speaker, columnist and blogger, a national figure in the effort to protect both preborn and postborn innocent human life.
Jill,
what happened to the vote????
John
John,
Although pro-lifers did the best they could, Senate Democrats successfully obstructed the Child Custody Protection Act. Only 13% of them voted against filibustering CCPA, including eight who changed their vote between July and now.
The silver lining is Democrats displayed their pro-abortion activism for all to see.
Beyond the rhetoric of wanting abortion to be “safe, legal, and rare,” and beyond the hand wringing that “votes like this are so hard!” were their actual votes to block legislation 80% of the American public supports and that would have protected girls from adult sexual predators.
There will be another day.
My column today (http://wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=52272) touches on this. Also read more at
http://www.lifenews.com/nat2616.html, http://www.nrlc.org/Federal/CCPA/Release093006.html, or
http://www.cwalac.org/article_378.shtml.
Thanks for your concern.
Thanks very much for getting back to me, Jill!
Unlike you though I try very hard not to politicize abortion in the sense of identifying one single party as pro-life. The human-pain-tragedy gets lost somehow when we speak of ‘the abortion issue’, as if this is somehow equated as a difference of opinion. We know that someone dies ……………… as non-partisan as is possible!
Perhaps to reign-in politicians it might be good to ask voters: If they like killing young babies, do you think these guys will do anything to stop the vote (and its coming, soon … count on it) to kill Dad or Mom? Or, will these politicians actually aid and abet by financing the building of crematoriums …. that’s after they cut/eliminate social security? YOU are an ‘official burden’ and deserve death!
John, my column this week was focused strictly on the November 2006 election. Our strategy may change in 2008 and beyond, who knows?
The time to fight against moderate/liberal Republicans or Democrats is in the primary.
I agree that the better question to ask in a general election is which party in general supports us and which party aids and abets the enemy.