April 15, 2008 - 10:05am
Conservative group endorses Marks for Congress
By Matt FriedmanThe Somerset County wing of a conservative PAC has endorsed Scotch Plains Mayor Martin Marks for Congress in the seventh district.
The Republicans for Conservative Leadership (RFCL) said that they endorsed Marks because he’s pro-life, pro-second amendment, and because of his positions on national security and limited government.
“When you weed through the Republican field full of Liberals and Political Scions the only real conservative candidate who can win
the primary and the general election is Marks, said RFCL member Stan Serafin in a press release.
But if Serafin is referring to Marks rival Kate Whitman as the “political scion,” it should be noted that the statewide group’s vice-chair, conservative activist/blogger Michael Illions, is a Whitman supporter.
Illions said that this is just the position of the Somerset County wing of the group, and that he had no say in the endorsement.
“I was not consulted or offered a vote to accept or deny the endorsements,” he said. “I still stand by my endorsement at Kate Whitman entirely.”
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first of several
Marks will likley get several more organization endorsements in the coming weeks. These are the groups that are highly motivated to get their people to the polls in June. Likely a low tunrout election with the presidential primary behind us. Anything is possible here. Don't count on Lance or Whitman as automatics. With the two of them in the race, Marks has a shot in the primary. The general election may be a different story for a right winger.
Fiscal Record
While Marks has positioned him as a social conservative, I've heard that his fiscal record in Scotch Plains has been anything but conservative.
Lance and Whitman are both pro-life too. The difference between them and Marks is on their varying positiions regarding abortion. Marks is 100% anti-abortion. Noticed how the RFCL won't say that. But, Stender will.
Kate Whitman pro-life???
Read Christie, Jr.'s web site and tell me she's pro-life with a straight face. She supports a woman's "right to choose", which is a euphamistic way of saying killing unborn children when she decides it's OK.
Moreover, GOPobserver, your "varying degrees" argument is ludicrous. I guess unborn children whose lives are terminated for reasons Kate deems acceptable are LESS DEAD than those killed under circumstances she finds distasteful. It looks like Kate and her cyber-shills are just like mom when it comes to the great moral issues of the day.
Martin Two
And "Pro-Life" means keeping women from using contraceptives and then forcing them to carry any pregnancies to term at the risk of their own health.
Pro-Life is not about "Life" but about controlling women, taking away their ability to choose WHEN to have kids. Pro-Lifers want to block access to pre-sex contraceptives, post-sex contraceptives, abortofacients even before implantation and abortions afterwards.
When the "pro-life" movement starts supporting contraception and serious sex education that say more than "don't do it or I blew it" then it may be pro-life.
But you're ultimate goal isn't reducing or eliminating abortions. It's controlling women's lives and bodies.
Whitman
Kate Whitman is not pro-life. She has clearly defined her position on the trail as believing in a woman's right to choose. She has also clearly defined herself as being anti-partial birth abortion, pro-parental notification, and being against public funding of abortion. I support Kate but I also believe in keeping the facts straight.
I guess I touched a nerve, FormAnon
What in the name of Jane Roe was that nasty little bit of invective about, buddy. Reach over to the medicine cabinet and take out the Ritalin. Yeah, it's the bottle on the left side by the aspirin ... there you go.
In fact, I support using condoms and other forms of contraceptives that do not kill a child once it has been conceived. I also support age appropriate sex education designed to inform a young person regarding the nature and potential consequences of sexual activity, be it pregnancy or transmission of an STD. While these practices may well violate a particular church's teachings, they in no way compromise the sanctity of the unborn.
As for my ultimate goal, far be it from me to tell a woman what to do with her body. However, it is my moral duty to lift my voice to protect those who cannot defend themselves, be they unborn children in the womb, Sudanese women and children being mercilessly slaughtered by armed thugs, or children who are foreclosed from receiving even basic medical care in the richest nation on earth.
I freely admit that it is well beyond my jurisdiction to determine at which exact point a being is fully vested with its humanity and thus entitled to exercise the right to life. After much study -- both philospohical and scientific -- I conclude that conception represents the unique point at which the process of life begins. Until the Great Creator Himself parses this thorny issue on Meet the Press, I will err on the side of protecting life rather than destroying it.
And, in the event you are actually God Himself (you seem to possess an inordinate certaintly regarding matters of life and death), please let the Jets win a Super Bowl before I meet you face to face in the great beyond. I know it's asking an aweful lot, but you are in the business of miracles.
Marks is a statist
Statists tend to favor a great deal of government control over individual behavior. That clearly defines Marks. He wishes to use the power of government to control women's bodies, to control churchs in the definition of the sacrament of marriage, while actually being a big tax increaser. Please remember that conservative means limiting the role of government across the board.
See who you are aligned with, M2
maybe you will support contraception, but the Pro-Life movement does not. My anger is with them, and their consiered effort to remove contraception and sex ed from the public.
I fully respect anti-abortion sentiment, as I can understand it even if I do not agree with it. That's why I am "pro-choice" and not "pro-abortion."
But the "pro-life" movement is predicated on the things I wrote above, and they are not after the same things you say you are.
As for the Jets, even if I were God Himself that wouldn't be possible. He is almighty, but it's the Jets.
FA, it seems that you and I
FA, it seems that you and I share similar frustrations with the more "control-oriented" elements of the pro-life movement. Sometimes these more strident elements hijack a movement, be it on the right or the left, and diminish the overall positive impact.
Regrettably, we also draw similar conclusions about the Jets. As draft time approaches, I tend to prepare for the worst. When I hear the words, "with the __ pick in the NFL draft, the New York Jets select ...", all I can do is swallow hard, duck and cover.
A point of confusion
The guy who posted above practically copied my handle. Please don't confuse him with me. I also think the assertion that Kate Whitman is pro-life is absurd. About the best that can be said is that she is a bit less extreme in her pro-abortion position than her mother on items such as partial-birth abortion, etc.
Marks Conservative???
Thats a joke.. his ONLY credential for claiming a conservative banner is that he is pro-life like Ferguson (think back to the 06 cycle, Stender beat that issue)
Marks has RAISED taxes in Scotch Plains... is proposing a RAISE in taxes for Small Business... how is that Conservative??
Kate Whitman is sensible and inline with voters of the 7th and Stender can't hit her for "killing babies"
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