(Chuck Muth) – In a Channel 3 interview with television station mogul and former university system chancellor Jim Rogers, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Danny Tarkanian had this to say:
“When my dad was coaching basketball he used to say, ‘I want to do one or two things and do them great. And I love to play against a team that tries to do five or six things because you can’t do any of them very well.’ Government was created to do a select few things and we should do them great, such as with the state education system.”
That quote by a conservative candidate raises two troubling questions: Was Danny saying that government was created to provide a government-run education system, as opposed to empowering parents to make education decisions themselves? Or that Nevada’s current state education system is “great”?
Either way, that position cries for further explanation.
As does this….
In a fundraising email they’ve been sending around, the Tarkanian campaign has been raising questions about GOP opponent Sue Lowden’s position on abortion. But Danny’s position on that issue raises a rather serious question, as well.
On his campaign website, here’s what Danny says on his “Issues” page under “Life.”
“I believe life begins at conception and that we have a responsibility as human beings to protect that life if at all possible. That is why I oppose abortion, except where the mother’s life is threatened.”
That’s the ONLY exception?
If so, expect a question in the upcoming GOP primary race similar to that asked of Democrat presidential candidate Michael Dukakis back in 1988 about the death penalty: “Mr. Tarkanian, if your wife were raped and became pregnant, do you believe the government should be able to force her to have the child?”
I’d say a little follow-up is called for here, too.
I KNOW where Sharron Angle stands on those issues!
The education system in nevada sucks, and now is out of reach for most of the states kids to attend college because of the increased costs. Nevada loses!!!
One does have to wonder if Tark really thinks the Federal government should have a large role in education – and if you’re going to take a position that abortion is ok in some instances, then “life of the mother” just opens up a can of worms. Either be pro-life, or be pro-choice – you can’t be sorta-pro-life.
Come on guys, it’s pretty obvious what Danny said: the State has an obligation to provide high quality education. Not the Federal government. True he’s running for a federal position, but he clearly gave a state example of what government should do WELL, if it’s going to be involved. And it’s no secret that certain people are Pro Sue Loweden (or Danny Tarkanian, Sharon Angle, or Leonard Foster, etc.), which is why we have primaries. Whether you like the public school system or not, the great State of Nevada does have public education and should be doing a much better job. And the Federal goverment IS involved and doing a crappy job. Frankly, I think we ought to disband the Department of Education. They don’t educate a single child and education in America as a whole has not gone UP since it was founded.
As for the Abortion issue, even the Catholic Church has always been against abortion except in cases where the mother’s life is in danger. If you cannot save BOTH lives, and you choose to save the mother, it’s not Abortion per se, Because you are trying to save one life, with the unfortunate result that another may die. The alternative would be to let both die and that is unconscionable. And many mothers choose to tell the doctor “Save my baby,” such as happened when an old girlfiend of mine in college was born. The mother said “Save my baby,” but fortunately BOTH lived. Let’s not trivialize these kind of gut-wrenching decisions with armchair arguments.
As for the phoney rape argument, here’s MY 4-part answer :
1) No tragedy or crime can be undone by committing another tragedy and crime. If you believe a human life exists at conception, then it is an innocent baby that must be protected — the way it was conceived is not the baby’s fault.
2) There is often GREAT psychological and physical trauma caused by abortion that no one ever mentions. It is a shock to the woman’s system, and the memories of the abortion DO often resurface annually on the “anniversary” of the abortion. Compunding one psychological trauma on top of the other does not help the woman.
3) Wiping out the child will not take the memory of the rape away. Many women have given birth to the child with a feeling that at least something good came out of evil, even if they chose to give the baby up for adoption.
4) Finally, it’s the woman’s choice, a gut-wrenching, terrible choice. Rape is a crime, having a baby is not. I would be proud of my daughter if (God forbid) she chose to have a baby in such a circumstance and I would be supportive of her! I would NEVER say “Kill the baby because of what someone else did.” Think about the reality of that dangerous precedent! If we allow a human being to be killed simply because it is inconvenient or unwanted, what is to protect the rest of us? You’re not “forcing” a woman to have a baby, you’re preventing a baby from being killed inside the womb — where it should be the most safe.
As for the bastard rapist, however, I think they should end up missing a few body parts — at least one, anyway.
If everyone thinks he said something different, then the smartest thing to do is to clarify.
[...] Meanwhile, Chuck Muth wants to know what Danny Tarkanian, Lowden’s rival, means by this: “I believe life begins at conception and that we have a responsibility as human beings to protect that life if at all possible. That is why I oppose abortion, except where the mother’s life is threatened.” [...]
[...] Gun owners from around the state have weighed in with GONV and so has local and national media. We have heard from several camps about this and the buzz has been non-stop. (see here) [...]
How Mr. Tarkanian could answer what he’d do if his wife were raped:
Take her to the hospital. Standard hospital “rape kits” include materials to prevent the fertilization of the egg, making the entire question moot. It takes four days to fertilize an egg.