Crist Wins Over 'Compassionate Conservatives' By Vetoing Pro-Life Bill?
"Compassionate conservatives...may be hard pressed to disagree" with Charlie Crist's veto of a bill supported by the pro-life movement, Miami-based reporter Damien Cave argued on Saturday. He thinks Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, under fire from the right, has effectively threaded the needle with his explanation of his veto of a bill popular with the pro-life movement in "Florida Governor Vetoes Abortion Ultrasound Bill."
The ever-more-liberal Crist, a former Republican running for the Senate as an independent after being chased out of the party by more conservative candidate Marco Rubio, vetoed a bill that would have required women to pay for an ultrasound before having an abortion. Cave found his reasoning persuasive:
And in a letter outlining his reasoning on the veto, Mr. Crist seemed determined to win over those who usually stand on opposite sides of the issue.
He started off with a nod to liberal opponents of the sonogram legislation, saying the bill "places an inappropriate burden on women seeking to terminate a pregnancy."
Mr. Crist then emphasized that his own personal views, which he has most recently described as "pro-life," "should not result in laws that unwisely expand the role of government." That explanation, along with a mention of women's right to privacy, seemed aimed at Tea Party libertarians.
Finally, he said financial and medical measures that make it harder for women to end their pregnancies "do not change hearts, which is the only true and effective way to ensure that a new life coming into the world is loved."
Compassionate conservatives and parents of all persuasions may be hard pressed to disagree.
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