The primary election was held here in Alaska on Tuesday, August 24th, 2010. I believe the biggest victory in that was the passage of ballot measure 2, which makes it illegal for a minor to get an abortion without parental consent. I was very impressed with this measure--it was well-written, building a system that makes it very hard for abuse to take place on the parts of the court, the physician, the patient, or parents.
In my opinion, this law is not about abortion, but protecting our kids and putting parents back in their proper role.
I have heard the argument over and over again that requiring parental consent could endanger a girl if her parents would become abusive if they were aware of her pregnancy. I have to respond: So your solution is to force her to make the decision of aborting based on fear, have her go through a major medical procedure, then go back to a potentially abusive home to be treated as if nothing has just happened? This hardly seems right or safe. If a girl has to make the choice whether or not to abort her pregnancy based on what others will do to her then she has lost her freedom of choice. I am at a loss as to how someone can argue in favor of this "solution" and still call himself "pro-choice."
I am pro-life, but it seems to me that this should be a uniting issue for both proponents and opponents of abortion. If a girl must fear for her life or well-being in her current home, then we need to work to get her placed in a home where she can make her choice free of that fear, and where she will have loving guardians who will be her advocates to give her the support and guidance she needs.
This law is an excellent start to that.
Also significant in this primary was the race for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate. It was so close between incumbent Lisa Murkowski and challenger Joe Miller that we had to wait a week for the results. Joe Miller has now been declared the winner in that race.
I would like to make a statement on this. I am very glad that Miller won--as anyone could guess from the Miller banners placed on my site. However, I am getting really tired of the hatred and attacks aimed at Senator Murkowski that I have been seeing from some. I am as passionate about the issues as the next Miller supporter, but I do not hate anyone, least of all, Murkowski. I am very disappointed and even angered by many of Senator Murkowski's votes and legislation, but I still have a lot of respect and affection for her.
Murkowski has done some good things that I will be forever grateful to her for. She voted against Obamacare. She voted against the confirmation of Elena Kagan as a justice of the Supreme Court.
I spent a lot of time in prayer and study leading up to this primary and have tried to watch the candidates carefully. I believe that Senator Murkowski is sincere. She believes that she is doing what is right. I vehemently disagree with her on some of those things--thus my Miller vote--but I respect her. I will not slander her. If Joe Miller is the worthy candidate I believe him to be, there is no need to slander his opponents in order for him to succeed.
I have no problem with a little negative campaigning--that is, pointing out how your views and votes differ from your opponent's. But when it goes into slander--name-calling, presuming to know your opponent's motives, lying, villifying, and otherwise obsessing over your opponent's flaws to the point of running on his lack of credentials rather than on your own merit, I draw the line. Wrong is wrong. Besides that, to use an old cliche', you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. We are not going to win over Murkowski-supporters by slandering her. It is one thing to state the facts of what Senator Murkowski has said, done, or voted. That is not slander. Go ahead and argue the facts 'til the cows come home; I don't care--that's great!
But I would like to propose that you put yourself in the shoes of a Murkowski supporter. Imagine that Joe Miller has been in the senate for some years now. You are a strong supporter of his. You believe in him and have seen how he has come through on fighting against many of the Democrats' bills that you hate. Suddenly, an unheard of candidate comes along to challenge Senator Miller. She says that he might as well be a Democrat, that he is voting along with their agenda. How would you react? You would immediately protest, saying that he has been one of our only advocates in a Democratic congress that is intent on shoving its agenda down our throats. Am I wrong? I don't think so, because that is how I saw Senator Murkowski until I started doing more research during the primary. There really are honest, good people who believe in Murkowski as much as Miller supporters believe in him. Why did I give Miller a chance and look into his claims about Murkowski? Because he was respectful of her. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same of some of his supporters.
One more thing to say: THE PRIMARY IS OVER!!! Stop campaigning against Lisa. Joe is not running against her anymore. He is now running against Scott McAdams. Miller only won against Murkowski by 2,020 votes. Don't alienate Murkowski's supporters. It's time to unite. Be kind and reasonable in trying to win them over. And for goodness sake, they know who won the primary; stop rubbing it in!
In my opinion, this law is not about abortion, but protecting our kids and putting parents back in their proper role.
I have heard the argument over and over again that requiring parental consent could endanger a girl if her parents would become abusive if they were aware of her pregnancy. I have to respond: So your solution is to force her to make the decision of aborting based on fear, have her go through a major medical procedure, then go back to a potentially abusive home to be treated as if nothing has just happened? This hardly seems right or safe. If a girl has to make the choice whether or not to abort her pregnancy based on what others will do to her then she has lost her freedom of choice. I am at a loss as to how someone can argue in favor of this "solution" and still call himself "pro-choice."
I am pro-life, but it seems to me that this should be a uniting issue for both proponents and opponents of abortion. If a girl must fear for her life or well-being in her current home, then we need to work to get her placed in a home where she can make her choice free of that fear, and where she will have loving guardians who will be her advocates to give her the support and guidance she needs.
This law is an excellent start to that.
Also significant in this primary was the race for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate. It was so close between incumbent Lisa Murkowski and challenger Joe Miller that we had to wait a week for the results. Joe Miller has now been declared the winner in that race.
I would like to make a statement on this. I am very glad that Miller won--as anyone could guess from the Miller banners placed on my site. However, I am getting really tired of the hatred and attacks aimed at Senator Murkowski that I have been seeing from some. I am as passionate about the issues as the next Miller supporter, but I do not hate anyone, least of all, Murkowski. I am very disappointed and even angered by many of Senator Murkowski's votes and legislation, but I still have a lot of respect and affection for her.
Murkowski has done some good things that I will be forever grateful to her for. She voted against Obamacare. She voted against the confirmation of Elena Kagan as a justice of the Supreme Court.
I spent a lot of time in prayer and study leading up to this primary and have tried to watch the candidates carefully. I believe that Senator Murkowski is sincere. She believes that she is doing what is right. I vehemently disagree with her on some of those things--thus my Miller vote--but I respect her. I will not slander her. If Joe Miller is the worthy candidate I believe him to be, there is no need to slander his opponents in order for him to succeed.
I have no problem with a little negative campaigning--that is, pointing out how your views and votes differ from your opponent's. But when it goes into slander--name-calling, presuming to know your opponent's motives, lying, villifying, and otherwise obsessing over your opponent's flaws to the point of running on his lack of credentials rather than on your own merit, I draw the line. Wrong is wrong. Besides that, to use an old cliche', you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. We are not going to win over Murkowski-supporters by slandering her. It is one thing to state the facts of what Senator Murkowski has said, done, or voted. That is not slander. Go ahead and argue the facts 'til the cows come home; I don't care--that's great!
But I would like to propose that you put yourself in the shoes of a Murkowski supporter. Imagine that Joe Miller has been in the senate for some years now. You are a strong supporter of his. You believe in him and have seen how he has come through on fighting against many of the Democrats' bills that you hate. Suddenly, an unheard of candidate comes along to challenge Senator Miller. She says that he might as well be a Democrat, that he is voting along with their agenda. How would you react? You would immediately protest, saying that he has been one of our only advocates in a Democratic congress that is intent on shoving its agenda down our throats. Am I wrong? I don't think so, because that is how I saw Senator Murkowski until I started doing more research during the primary. There really are honest, good people who believe in Murkowski as much as Miller supporters believe in him. Why did I give Miller a chance and look into his claims about Murkowski? Because he was respectful of her. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same of some of his supporters.
One more thing to say: THE PRIMARY IS OVER!!! Stop campaigning against Lisa. Joe is not running against her anymore. He is now running against Scott McAdams. Miller only won against Murkowski by 2,020 votes. Don't alienate Murkowski's supporters. It's time to unite. Be kind and reasonable in trying to win them over. And for goodness sake, they know who won the primary; stop rubbing it in!
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