RE: "The End of Roe"

Before I respond to Mark Noonan's recent post let me begin by restating my own views on abortion. I am generally pro-life. I oppose abortion except in cases of rape, incest, or in instances to save the life of the mother. Every human life is valuable, no matter what circumstances the child may be born into. The practice of abortion robs each of it's victims of their right to life and the world of their unique talents and gifts. I believe a woman should be allowed to receive an abortion in the circumstances I listed above because I cannot, in good conscience, compel a woman to carry to term a pregnancy she had no choice in creating; nor can I compel a woman to give up her life in order to carry a pregnancy to term.

In regards to Mr. Noonan's post, I believe he makes some valid observations on the American public's fallacious understanding of the Supreme Court's landmark Roe decision and it's meaning and application. In his analysis of the data he discussed however, he makes some comments I find incendiary and excessive:

[Y]ou have to be a real, genuine, God-forsaken barbarian to think that abortion on demand is the correct course of action (heck, that is an insult to barbarians, actually); most Americans probably wouldn't imagine that the Supreme Court of the United States would rule that abortion is something that can happen any time for any reason whatsoever...I mean, think about it: what kind of inhuman SOB would do such a thing?

Abortion is a mostly objectionable, always tragic practice; but to classify anyone who supports abortion on demand, as extreme as they may be, as a "God-forsaken barbarian" is over the top. This form of rhetoric does a disservice to the pro-life movement and diminishes those who purvey it into a position equivalent to the most extreme abortion on demand proponent. It poisons the tone and substance of political discourse. Say what you will about abortion on demand proponents, they believe and support what they do not because they are barbarian or uncivilized, but because they, in good conscience, believe it is the most ethically tenable position to hold.

Moreover, this type of rhetoric is a repellant to moderate, mainstream Americans who are uncomfortable with abortion but acknowledge there are certain circumstances in which it's exercise is justifiable. Not many people will seriously listen to an individual who derides those he strongly disagrees with in such terms, and it may ultimately turn those still undecided away from the pro-life position.

If we are to have a mature and civil national discussion on abortion this type of over the top bombast needs to be restrained. Mr. Noonan is well within his right to freely express views such as these, I do not seek to deny him that. If given the opportunity though, I would advise him to more carefully and artfully select his words when discussing abortion and those with whom he disagrees, for all of those reasons I highlighted above.

Iraq Takes Another Step

If it had not been already, the notion or claim that Iraq has descended into civil war was dispelled once again today by the appointment of a new prime minister, agreed to by both Sunni and Kurdish parties. The new prime minister will have thirty days to form a new government. A new speaker for the parliament and two deputies were also selected, along with the reelection of Kurdish President Jalal Talibani.

Though finding consensus on who will fill posts in the most significant ministries is likely to cause as much tension as finding a prime minister was, the fact that Iraq is making slow but steady progress is irrefutable. The next step in forming the nation’s first constitutionally formed government has been made, Iraqi security forces grow stronger and more experienced by the day, the economy is growing, and Iraqi civil society continues to develop. Sectarian strife and violence does exist, no one denies that, but exceeding that, at least at this point, is a broader desire within Iraq to keep the nation on the path towards secure democracy. There is no civil war, not now, because the Iraqi populace and it’s leaders have not allowed one.

On the Immigration Debate

The ongoing national debate over immigration has not been, as so many issues are, one of right vs. left or Republican vs. Democrat, but one between two diverse elements within the Republican Party. On one side you have the enforcement crowd, what I would say comprises the majority of the party. This wing is primarily interested in stronger border enforcement along the Mexican-American border and is intensely opposed to any amnesty, real or perceived, for illegal aliens currently within the country. On the other side are those Republicans, mostly the president and free marketers, who stress the importance of immigration to the country and the economy and support the enactment of a guest worker program.

As is always the case, political considerations are competing with substantive ones. The enforcement crowd points out that border insecurity is a major concern among rank-and-file conservatives and failure to address the situation will result in depressed conservative turnout in this year's mid-terms. Those supporting a guest worker program counter that an anti-immigration perception will be fatal to the party's chances in November and will reverse the inroads the party has made within the Hispanic community and thus jeopardize the party's majority status.

While the prospect of disenchanted Republican voters staying home in the fall is real, immigration has always been fool's gold for the Republican Party. Making the issue the centerpiece of any Republican campaign will ultimately repel more Hispanic and swing voters than it will attract conservative ones. Pete Wilson's disastrous Proposition 187 in '94, which helped him win re-election but led to minority status for the Republican Party in the Golden State since, serves as compelling evidence of this.

Substantively, the matter is complex and the task daunting. No one disputes that the situation along the border is, as of now, unacceptable. The millions of illegal aliens now residing within the United States constitute millions of undocumented individuals whose connections and backgrounds are unbeknownst to us. This is a tangible security concern, and the threat of an al-Qaida or terrorist operative crossing the border and invisibly entering the country is a very real possibility.

In trying to find an avenue to alleviate the border situation several interests have to be weighed. For one, what to do with those illegal aliens currently in the country? I agree with the enforcement crowd that these individuals should not be given simple amnesty; the law should not be altered to respect those who do not respect the laws of this country. With that said the idea of deporting all those who have illegally entered the country is logistically impossible. Moreover, they came here for the right reasons: they saw America as the "shining city on a hill" and place of opportunity that we as Americans have always prided our country in being. Simply deporting the millions of immigrants currently in the country would send the message that America is closed for business to all of those who come here seeking new opportunity and a better life.

The only avenue left then is something less than full deportation but still punitive in nature; a fine perhaps.

In regards to preventing more individuals from crossing the border illegally, simply increasing the amount of border security personnel or building a wall will not cut it. Increasing security personnel might help relieve some stress along the border and help re-enforce the over-stretched personnel currently there, but I shudder to think what kind of deleterious symbolic effect constructing a wall along the entirety of the American-Mexican border would have. The simple fact of the matter is that we will never have sufficient enforcement personnel along the border, unless of course we're interested in maintaining a permanent military force of some kind there. The economic incentive to cross the border is currently too much for any beefed up border security effort to overcome.

The only way to tangibly rectify our border problem is to alter this so the incentive then becomes to come here legally. A guest-worker program, whether it be the president's version or some other, is about the only solution to the problem, at least the only one I am able to envision. Those who come here legally have to wait in long-lines and go through an entire process to gain citizenship or a green card. The process to legally gain entry into the country needs to be expedited and a means in allowing workers from Mexico to come here temporarily so they may earn some money for their family back home, as many come here to do, should be created.

If a tenable solution is to be achieved we must not only increase actual security along the border, but also create new incentive for Mexicans workers to come here legally as opposed to illegally. Granted, creating and enforcing a guest-worker program will be a bureaucratic headache and a daunting challenge. However the question is, would it be any harder to maintain the current situation, which has been impossible to maintain? Something has to change, and the only way to really change the border situation for the better is to not only increase enforcement there, but to de-incentivize coming here illegally which will, more than anything, prevent hordes of illegal immigrants from crossing the border illegally.