Potential Vice Presidential Candidates Kaine, Ridge Address Abortion Issues On Sunday Shows

Main Category: Abortion
Article Date: 19 Aug 2008 - 3:00 PST

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Former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge (R) on Sunday said that he believes Republicans would accept an abortion-rights supporter as a vice presidential candidate but added that whomever Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) picks as his running mate should defer to McCain on the issue, the AP/Google.com reports. According to the AP/Google.com, Ridge, who supports abortion rights, is believed to be on McCain's "short list" for vice presidential running mate, even though McCain opposes abortion rights.

"I think that it would be up to ... John to decide whether he wants a pro-choice running mate; then we would have to see how the Republican Party would rally around it," Ridge said on "Fox News Sunday," adding, "At the end of the day, I think the Republican Party will be comfortable with whatever choice John makes." Ridge also said, "The last time I checked, the vice president is not an independent voice. He echoes the position of the president of the United States. ... I think it's the responsibility of the vice president. If you're unwilling or unable to do that, then I think you should defer to someone else" (Pickler, AP/Google.com, 8/17).

At the Christian Coalition of Florida's "God and Country Gala" on Saturday, Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R), who lost to McCain in the presidential primary, suggested that McCain could lose the enthusiasm of voters who oppose abortion rights if he selects a vice presidential running mate who supports abortion rights, the Tallahassee Democrat reports. McCain "needs to give the pro-life and the values voters a reason to be enthusiastic," Huckabee said, adding, "People who are not necessarily hard-core Republicans, but who vote Republican because of life and marriage, they may vote or they may not, but they may not bring anybody with them to the polls" (Cotterell, Tallahassee Democrat, 8/17). Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) on CNN's "Late Edition With Wolf Blitzer" Sunday said that a McCain presidency would be a "pro-life administration" whether or not Ridge is vice president, but added that his position is that McCain should pick a "pro-life" running mate.

Kaine Answers Abortion-Related Questions

Meanwhile, Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine (D), who has been mentioned as being on Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama's (Ill.) short list of running mates, fielded questions on abortion rights on NBC's "Meet the Press," the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports. Kaine, who is Roman Catholic, said, "My church teaches, and I do believe, that human rights begin early in life, at conception or shortly thereafter, and that is my personal belief," adding, "I don't believe the force of criminal law should compel others to necessarily follow that to the greatest degree."

Kaine also said that Obama believes "we shouldn't criminalize the health care decisions of doctors and women to fight abortion." Kaine added that he believes it is "very unlikely" Obama will ask him to run for vice president (Meola/Nolan, Richmond Times-Dispatch, 8/18).

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