Denial of Reality

“Republicans are not really pro-life; they talk that way to get votes but in reality Reagan and Bush have not done anything for the unborn.”
This argument is commonplace among Catholic Democrats. It is not true.

Surely there are some insincere conservative politicians who use this cause to gain votes just as the herd of Democrats stampeded into the pro-choice camp when that became the liberal fashion. It is also true that there is a vibrant pro-choice contingent under the Republican umbrella. Would that the Democrats had a comparably influential pro-life movement!

But consider W. Bush’s record on the unborn: He has done everything he could to protect innocent, unborn life. First and foremost, he appointed two pro-life justices to the Supreme Court. Those two decisions alone validated my two votes for him. He stood tall and clear when embryonic stem cell research blew up. He implemented the Mexico City policy and every other administrative option available to reduce abortions. There is nothing else he could have done on that front.

Those who really care about abortion, on both sides, know this well. Abortion militants saw him as their worst enemy and are ecstatic about Obama; pro-lifers saw him as their best friend and are distressed at the moment.

Talking with a liberal who argues that Bush did nothing for the unborn is like arguing with someone who denies the Holocaust or that there are any homosexuals in Iran or that Bush invaded Iraq. It is frustrating because in the face of such a blatant denial of reality there is no reference to truth and no basis for conversation.

This denial and compulsion to slander Bush and Co. is rooted in negative irrationalities of resentment and guilt. The hatred of Bush and all he represents is so fierce that there is no ability to recognize his good achievements. The unacknowledged guilt is inevitable for a Catholic who has voted for an abortion agenda and needs to rationalize an unsettled conscience.

The Bush legacy is vulnerable to criticism on many fronts: torture, war, economy, environment, and health care. but his record on unborn life is impeccable. He was our most pro-life President and he will always be a hero on that account. I miss him already!