Despite my prediction days ago that Arizona Right to Life PAC would endorse the far more pro-life JD Hayworth over John McCain, sadly AZRTL PAC did not.
As a former Chairman of the PAC, I can only wonder if some untoward influences came into play that lead to this misguided endorsement. For instance, one of the members of the PAC is a member of a law firm that represented McCain in legal matters. And at least one member of the PAC has personal ties to the McCain campaign. Further, the Senator has also been a long time financial contributor to AZRTL, generosity that's always appreciated, but was appropriately discounted in 2008 when I was Chairman and the PAC endorsed Mike Huckabee.
In its press release, AZRTL PAC states, "Under the AZRTL PAC criteria for endorsing candidates, if the incumbent candidate and the challenger both have a pro-life voting record, AzRTL PAC will endorse the incumbent over the challenger." That language never existed in any document I ever saw as Chairman, and is ridiculous on its face as any incumbent could be found to be pro-life on some issue. Would AZRTL PAC endorse an incumbent with a 2% NLRC rating? I hope not. It's the level of their commitment, and the consistency of the candidate's positions that count, not their mere incumbency. After all, we're working to save lives here, and each one should matter. Moreover in 2008, like now, John McCain had an inferior pro-life record to a more committed opponent. The PAC did the right thing then in endorsing the stronger pro-life candidate, why not now?
Ironically, the press release from AZRTL PAC states, " Those who serve in public office have a duty to use their office to protect and defend innocent human life and ensure that laws are passed to protect the defenseless in our society." Yet John McCain has made many questionable statements about Roe v. Wade, and supports embryonic stem cell research. McCain has a 75% approval ranking for National Right to Life Committee. JD Hayworth, on the other hand, has a 100% ranking, and by any objective standard, deserved the endorsement from Arizona's oldest and largest pro-life organization.
Arizona Right to Life has had troubles over the last few months with several key people resigning. It is my understanding as well that a member of the PAC resigned after being unable to convince other PAC members to endorse Hayworth. (In the interest of full disclosure, she does work for the Hayworth campaign, but has for many years questioned McCain's pro-life commitment, and was instrumental in endorsing Huckabee over McCain in 2008.) In addition, I'm being told that other key supporters of the organization, including former Board members, are distancing themselves from the organization as a result.
I'm a fan of AZRTL, and I hope the organization gets its act together, but this endorsement is a black mark on the 30 plus year legacy of pro-life leadership. The pro-life citizens of Arizona might just be better served by a new organization, unadulterated by political ties and financial donations from the people it may endorse.



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