A PIVOTAL ELECTION, OR WHY "RADICAL AL" WOULD BE WORSE THAN "SLICK WILLIE"

It's the Supreme Court, Stupid
--Headline in the Village Voice, 8/30/2000

We stand here proudly today to announce NARAL's endorsement of Al Gorefor President of the United States. The next President will likely appoint two, perhaps three Supreme Court Justices and countless federal judges.*
--NARAL president Kate Michelman, 2/15/2000

With the appointment of just two Supreme Court justices hostile to Roe v. Wade, the freedom to choose could be lost. One election is all it takes. It's that simple. This election is serious. If he has the opportunity, George W. Bush will appoint enough Supreme Court justices to overturn Roe v. Wade and end legal abortion.*
--NARAL president Kate Michelman, speaking at the Democratic National Convention, 8/15/2000

America's women have the right to choose, and no one will ever steal that right away. And on behalf of President Clinton, I vow to you here that we will never let anyone take that right away.*
--Al Gore speaking before the NARAL conference on 1/22/97, the 24th anniversary of Roe v. Wade

[T]he next president will appoint probably three justices to the Supreme Court, and that makes this court one of the major issues in this election. I'm pro-choice. I will defend a woman's right to choose, regardless of economic circumstances. I will not allow Roe v. Wade to be overturned.*
--Al Gore in debate with Bill Bradley, televised on CNN, 3/1/00

And let there be no doubt: I will protect and defend a woman's right to choose. The last thing this country needs is a Supreme Court that overturns Roe v. Wade.*
--Al Gore in his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention, 8/17/2000

What would be the consequences of a Gore judiciary? For one thing, the abortion right cobbled up by the Court in Roe v. Wade would be entrenched for years, probably decades, to come, and would be broadened.* Partial-birth abortion would be a firm constitutional right, without pretense that a ban including a mother's-health exception might make any difference. Other restrictions, such as parental notification where a minor is involved, would fall by the wayside. So fierce is Gore on this topic that he has said that a pregnant woman under sentence of death must have a choice whether to have her unborn baby killed with her. On abortion issues, [NARAL president] Kate Michelman would in effect be the Supreme Court.*
--Judge Robert H. Bork in National Review, 8/14/2000

* [Emphasis added.]

Al Gore has a reputation of being dull, stiff, and robotic. But anyone who would, therefore, think that he can't win the presidential election would be a fool. Under that veneer of wooden clumsiness and choreographed "spontaneous passion" hides a man of enormous ambition, drive, and discipline. Unlike Bill Clinton, who foremost was interested in campaigning perpetually-- always in search of approval and applause--and relished the trappings of high office more than governing with clear policies, Al Gore is "serious" and on a mission. Unfortunately, Al Gore's "mission" includes perpetuating the "culture of death" that has taken hold of our country. Al Gore, once--supposedly--a pro- lifer, has become a fanatical "pro-choicer."

To understand how radical Al Gore has become on the issue of " choice," consider this exchange between NBC Meet the Press host Tim Russert and Al Gore on July 16, 2000:

Mr. Russert: "Right now there's legislation which says that a woman on death row, if she's pregnant, she should not be executed. Do you support that?"

Al Gore: "I don't know what you are talking about."

Mr. Russert: "It's a federal statute, on the books, that if a woman is pregnant and she's on death row [for a federal crime], she should not be executed."

Al Gore: "Well [chuckles] I don't know what the circumstance would be in that situation. I'd want to think about it."

The next day, at a news conference in Memphis, Al Gore gave us the fruit of his thoughts: "The principle of a woman's right to choose governs in that case." (New York Times, 7/18/2000.)

The sheer brutality of this statement is absolutely chilling. This is not a slip of the tongue; he thought about it, he means it. And since his speech at the Democratic National Convention, we know that Al Gore will "fight" for his convictions.

When the Clinton-Gore team first ran for the presidency in 1992, they thought it best to be coy about abortion. Abortion was to be "safe, legal, and rare," they said. In contrast, the Gore- Lieberman campaign openly courts the pro-abortion vote. They gave prominent pro-abortionists a forum at the Democratic National Convention. They calculated that such a blatant appeal would "energize the base" and motivate pro-abortionists to donate their time and money. Their goal is to negate the "pro-life advantage" that so often has decided close elections in the past. And it looks like this election will be close.

As the quotes above show, the pro-abortionists are motivated. They do know what's at stake. They do know that a President Gore would pack the Supreme Court with pro-abortionists for decades to come.

Therefore, they are organizing as never before. They are donating money to pro-abortion PACs as never before. And after their disastrous public relations defeat during the campaign to ban partial-birth abortions, they are running scared. They want to win this election at all cost. Don't underestimate them!

The next president will be either the Republican candidate, George W. Bush, or the Democratic candidate, Al Gore. No third- or fourth-party candidate will win. The pro-abortionists know that. That's why they are united behind Al Gore. They are thoroughly misguided, but they are not fools.

How do we respond? With intense and unceasing prayer, hard work, cooperative organization, and serious financial sacrifice. We aren't fools either, and we are definitely not misguided.

This page was paid for by the NRL Political Action Committee and not authorized by any candidate.