Now that My Man Mitch is getting national attention, and rumors of his potential run for the White House abound, the critics are coming out full force.
I was just telling J the other day that if Mitch does indeed run, I’m going to need to grow a thicker skin ASAP, because I cannot TAKE it when people are mean about Mitch. I mean, have you guys seen him? He’s someone you want to hug and put in your pocket.
Anyway, Mike Huckabee, of all people, is criticizing Mitch for saying, in that fantastic Weekly Standard article I told you guys about several days ago, that we “would have to call a truce on the so-called social issues” so that we could address the more critical economic issues this country faces.
Even our Hoosier Access friends complained about this. The argument? Huckabee cries, “The issue[s] of life and traditional marriage are not bargaining chips nor are they political issues. They are moral issues. This is absolutely heartbreaking. Can you let the tragedy of abortion go unchecked while we get our financial house in order? I cannot. Governor Daniels is a personal friend and a terrific governor, and I’m very disappointed that he would think that pro-life and pro-family activists would just lie down.”
And the Hoosier Access writer posts, “If you believe abortion is murder, then nothing should take precedence over doing what you can within the law to prevent babies from being killed by dismemberment for profit. Nothing else comes close, whether it be shrinking the budget deficit or defeating Islamic terrorists.”
I hear what they’re saying. I do. But I think they’re missing Mitch’s point, which is that frankly, we kind of have bigger fish to fry right now. He’s not trying to minimize the issue, but come ON. We need to be realistic about what a President can and should do the day they step into office. Personally, if Mitch were elected, I wouldn’t want him to spend his first day trying to overturn Roe v Wade. I’d want him to take the steps necessary to save our economy, to ensure our country is safe, to protect our national interests, and to begin chipping away at the entitlement mentality that threatens to destroy everything this country is about. That’s kind of a tall order on its own, isn’t it? Even the best multi-tasker in the world has to consider what’s most pressing first.
When Mitch calls a “truce” on social issues, he’s not renouncing his pro-life stance. He’s simply suggesting that there are more immediate threats to our very way of life than abortion or same-sex marriage. His pro-life record is solid, and according to the source link, includes “signing into law in Indiana legislation that permits women to see an ultrasound of their unborn children prior to undergoing abortions, the establishment of an umbilical cord blood bank as an alternative source of stem cells to human embryos, stronger inspection requirements for abortion clinics, and a bill banning human cloning. His administration also approved a state “Choose Life” license plate that supports pro-life pregnancy crisis centers.”
But people are still critical. Kristin Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America said, “When it involves life, no one can make a truce. There is no room for gray area, no time to play dead, and no time to stick our head in the sand. When you realize that 1.3 million babies are aborted every year, Governor Mitch Daniels’ words show a level of cowardice that is not expected from a presidential hopeful.”
See – that’s where I bristle. She’s going to call him COWARDLY now? Really???
I would argue that a GOP candidate making social issues his/her number one platform would fail miserably in a general election, when the country is struggling so much economically, and when our national security is so fragile.
Anyone have any tips for how to go about getting thicker skin? Is it on sale anywhere?
UPDATE: After whining about this to a clever and competent friend of mine, he pointed me to a press conference transcript where Mitch addressed this very thing:
(Reporter): Your interview from the weekly standard has been drawing some angst from the right. Tony Perkins and Mike Huckabee have been critical of you calling for a social issues truce. I wondered if you could expand a little on what you meant by that, and what you say to people who think you are somehow shortchanging those issues or putting them aside.
(Governor Daniels): Ok. That is just a suggestion. It was an expression of urgency I think that all Americans should feel about certain other questions like the debt burden. It literally threatens not just our economy, but Americas role in the world. There is also the threat of nuclear terror or weapons of mass destruction I should say, in the hands of people who are perfectly willing to use them. I guess it was simply a suggestion that I hope Americans would come together around these survival issues. If someone thinks that I am exaggerating the urgency then I understand that. I really believe that for the first time the future of the American experiment is at risk. It is a thought. We can agree to disagree. I chose the word truce because no one has to change their point and no one has to surrender. Simply we have to come together to address what I believe are the most urgent problems of the country.
(Reporter): Do you think you are taking some heat on this because they see you as a rival for the presidency?
(Governor Daniels): If they do they should not. I am just trying to give honest answers for the questions that were put to me. I am hardly the only citizen who is worried about the debt and burden being piled on ourselves. I am hardly the only citizen who is worried about whether we have really taken the steps necessary to protect ourselves against mass murder, and it doesn’t mean anything more than that.
Take that, Mike Huckabee, and other critics who can’t seem to see that we really are facing basic survival issues here, and that Mitch isn’t asking anyone to compromise their values. We simply need to prioritize.
