Conservative Forum — Week of June 23

On Liberal Opposition To Judicial Nominees

Regarding your recent article on Bill Pryor ["The Anti-Souter Has Arrived," HUMAN EVENTS, June 16, page 1], I have observed that one of the most effective ways of getting a point across is to say nothing and allow the other side to make your argument for you.

Unfortunately, many times words are taken out of context or manipulated for effect; one only needs to read the New York Times or listen to network television "news."

With that in mind, I was quite pleased that rather than restate the words of People for the American Way, you provided a link to their website so that their words could speak loud and clear on why William Pryor should be confirmed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit.

Bush’s Carrier Landing The Rest of the Story

There has been a lot of very ignorant talk about President Bush’s landing on an aircraft carrier, supposedly just showing off for political purposes ["Byrd Droppings," HUMAN EVENTS, May 19, page 12].

What all have missed is that the wings on his flight suit have a star above the shield in the middle, meaning they are Senior Pilot Wings, meaning that he had at least seven years experience and 1,500 flying hours as a rated pilot (plus 300 hours in Air Force pilot training). That’s at least as much time as a regular Air Force fighter pilot would get in five years.

President Bush is the real thing.

Bush flew the F-102 jet fighter plane with the Texas Air National Guard (ANG). I know the plane well, flew it a few years before Bush did. It had one engine and one seat and it usually flew alone, meaning its pilot did a lot of individual thinking and usually flew without on-the-spot supervision. In that business, survival alone was a pretty good measure of competence.

Lest anybody forget, there was a worse war hovering on the horizon while Vietnam was going on-the free world v. the Soviet Union.

The F-102s of the ANG at the time were real players in deterring that war. A lot of them were sitting hot alert, fully loaded with rockets and air-to-air guided missiles, the pilots required to get airborne in 5 minutes or less from the time the scramble klaxton sounds, even from a sound sleep. While on alert duty, ANG aircrew were in fact on active duty with the Air Force and subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

The alert F-102s at Houston could have been scrambled and sent to Seattle or Alaska or Vermont or Quebec at the whim of the Commander of North American Air Defense Command or the Canadian general who was his deputy.

Regular Air Force and Air Guard F-102 pilots met exactly the same standards. There were no draft dodgers among them.

Oliver North’s recent column confirms my feelings that the West Virginia senator’s arguments against President Bush’s carrier landing display the best-known characteristic of a Christmas Goose.

Big Government RINOs Sabotage Bush Tax Cuts

As far as I’m concerned, President Bush went the extra mile in trying to secure the passage of his tax cut proposals in the U.S. Congress. This is especially true for those senators within his own party ["Senate Passes Final Version Of Tax Cut," HUMAN EVENTS, June 2, page 38].

Those three senators who did not vote along with their colleagues were Chafee (R.I.), McCain (Ariz.) and Snowe (Maine). This piece of legislation was the centerpiece of Bush’s effort to revive the sagging economy and to put real money in Americans’ pockets and to correct long overdue inequities in the way taxes were collected.

These overdue reforms were given the cold shoulder by Chafee, McCain and Snowe.

Sen. McCain has long been a thorn in the side of President Bush because he is still bitter that he did not win the GOP presidential nomination in 2000.

As for the other two, their liberal voting records speak for themselves. Lest we forget, there are three RINOs up for re-election in ’04-John McCain, Arlen Specter, and George Voinovich.

Conservatives should seek alternatives to these three turncoats, especially John McCain.

In Defense Of Sen. Santorum

HRC’s [Human Rights Campaign’s] vociferous denouncements of Sen. Rick Santorum (R.-Pa.) for alleged discriminatory remarks about gays smacks of hypocrisy ["Santorum Defends Constitution," HUMAN EVENTS, April 28, page 1].

This same group that berates others for discriminating against gays itself actively discriminates-against ex-gays.

HRC is a national gay rights organization with a long history of undisguised prejudice against former homosexuals. Indeed, HRC even demanded that a contributor (AOL’s Mrs. Steve Case) reconsider her sizable donation to a children’s school merely because it had indirect ties to an ex-gay ministry.

This contempt of those who have resolved unwanted same-sex attractions perpetuates misunderstanding and harm against the ex-gay community. It also demonstrates a disregard for diversity and a refusal to respect a basic human right to dignity and self-determination.

If Human Rights Campaign truly cared about compassion and equal rights for all Americans, it would stop its campaign of hate against former homosexuals.

I agree with Sen. Santorum and think that the Catholic Church should back him up, after all that is what the Church teaches. He is indeed a brave man and I commend him for his stance in favor of the family.

Sen. Santorum was right on target. He has no reason to apologize-he only has reason to stick to his guns. Hopefully, the members of his party will equal his courage and forthrightness and support him.

Hey, let’s tell it like it is. Sen. Rick Santorum is being the target of liberal persecution because he spearheaded the Partial Birth Abortion Ban.