Can anyone imagine Abraham Lincoln suggesting during the campaign of 1860 that as President he would have no "litmus test" on slavery for his nominations to the U.S. Supreme Court?
Of course not. It is unimaginable that Mr. Lincoln would have nominated someone who was pro-slavery, or whose views on that momentous issue were unknown to him. The Great Emancipator would have asked any potential nominee whether the infamous 1857 Dred Scott decision upholding slavery had been constitutionally decided.
Abortion, like slavery in the last century, is the preeminent moral issue of our time. Does anyone suppose that the rabidly pro-abortion Al Gore does not have a pro-abortion litmus test for nominees to the high court? Or that, in nominating to the court Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Stephen Breyer, Bill Clinton did not know that both would support so-called abortion rights?
Even so, Gov. George W. Bush, who says that he is pro-life, insisted here in New Hampshire that he would not require that his nominees to the Supreme Court support the unborn's right to life. As President, Gov. Bush's sole inquiry would be whether his nominees would "strictly interpret" the Constitution.
As for a constitutional amendment protecting the life of the unborn, here again Gov. Bush says that, while he personally favors such an amendment, a majority of the American people do not at present support the idea so there is little reason to pursue it. This is reminiscent of Boston's late and colorful mayor, James Michael Curley, who once said, "There go my people. I must follow them, for I am their leader."
Is Gov. Bush a leader or a follower of public opinion? Is he a man of conviction or a politician chasing polls?
Yes, candidate Bush had an impressive couple of days here in New Hampshire. Clearly, he is a man of considerable charm and charisma. Like Bill Clinton, Gov. Bush has the ability to connect personally with people.
But on the issues, Gov. Bush's first foray into the first-in-the-nation primary state was uninspiring. Unaccountably, he put himself outside the Republican grass-roots mainstream on a number of important issues.
The Bush position on taxes is equivocal. He rules out income or corporate tax increases, but leaves the door ajar to other tax hikes and regulatory levies. With the next President having to grapple with the international treaty on the bogus threat of global warming — a treaty bursting with economy-and-jobs-killing new taxes on energy — this wobbliness is hardly encouraging.
Gov. Bush also waffled on affirmative action, that is, racial preferences and race-based quotas. He opposes immigration reform and supports open borders with Mexico. On trade issues, NAFTA and Red China, his positions cannot be distinguished from Bill Clinton's globalist fevers.
Conservatives are uncomfortable, moreover, with Gov. Bush's talk of a "compassionate conservatism"; not because they lack compassion or they believe that compassion is not a virtue, but because in recent years "compassion" has become a code word for big government welfare statism. In Washington, compassion is measured by how much of the taxpayers' money one is willing to spend on socialist schemes.
Insofar as Gov. Bush means by "compassion" lifting the dead hand of government from Americans and enabling us thereby to pursue our dreams, keep more of the money we earn and enjoy more of the fruits of liberty, conservatives will embrace his spin on conservatism.
Many among the Republican Party establishment and elite liberal media were positively gleeful that Gov. Bush whacked the GOP's right wing on the abortion issue. Other candidates, however, were quick to respond...
Pat Buchanan said, "After 40 years of liberal judicial activism, we must have Supreme Court nominees dedicated to overturning the abomination called Roe v. Wade . . . The remaking of the United States Supreme Court in the images of Justices Scalia, Rehnquist and Thomas should be among the highest priorities of the next President."
Gov. Bush's inexplicably squishy positions on many issues suggests that he believes he already has a lock on the Republican nomination. This may be somewhat premature. Gov. Bush puts himself outside the mainstream of Republican primary voters at his peril.
