Bill Brady, the Republican candidate for governor, is pro-life but told a group of Springfield senior citizens on Tuesday that there is not much he can do about abortion if he is elected.
“Yes, I am pro-life,” the state senator from Bloomington told a luncheon of about 40 people at Temple Israel on West Governor Street. “But really, if you look at the makeup of the letter of the law, there’s very little that the governor can do.” […]
He did pledge to implement a state law requiring parental notification before a minor can get an abortion.
“I think a parent should be notified anytime their minor child receives a medical procedure. We can implement that. But other than that, there’s not much a governor can do,” Brady said.
Brady has been hammered by the Democratic Governors Association and others for his pro-life views, so this was a good way to make himself appear to be less scary. And even if there is a total GOP takeover this fall, both the House and Senate Republican leaders are pro-choice. So, he’s got a point.
But Brady’s attempt at moderating the rhetoric didn’t sit well with William Beckman, the executive director of the Illinois Right to Life Committee…
“I think he’s probably, to some degree, minimizing the impact the governor can have,” Beckman said. “Unfortunately, in the state of Illinois, it seems the so-called political advisers seem to be of the mindset that you have to put these kinds of issues under the rug.”
True believers always want their candidates to be as forceful as humanly possible on their issues. But whether it’s the Left wing blasting Obama for being too accomodating with the Republicans or pro-lifers dinging Brady for not being belligerent enough, it’s usually bad politics to follow their advice. What Brady showed with his answers yesterday is that he wants to be the leader of the entire state, not just his base. That’s a good thing.
Republican candidate for Illinois governor Bill Brady says he thinks there’s a “lack of sensitivity” regarding the building of a mosque near the site of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York City.
Brady on Tuesday wouldn’t give an opinion on whether he supports or opposes the mosque site near Ground Zero. He said he hopes “sensitive minds will deal with this in a sensible way.”
Thoughts? And, please, we had a big knock-down drag-out over this mosque thing already this week. There’s no need to rehash it today.
* Illinois Policy Institute Turnaround Tour comes to Decatur seeking solutions to state’s budget woes: About 75 people turned out at the Decatur Conference Center and Hotel on Tuesday for the kickoff of the Illinois Policy Institute’s Turnaround Tour.
