URGENT information about Congressional candidates follows, some of whom insist on calling themselves "pro-life" when they're not by any reasonable definition.
Scott Tipton and Ryan Frazier called out as falsely trying to get pro-life votes.
Personhood means support for the God-given Right to Life from the beginning of a human's natural biological development until natural death -- NO exceptions! It is CRTL's only real standard for judging a candidate's qualifications, though we do challenge candidates on several questions which relate closely to Personhood but which may be considered separate issues. Support for Colorado's Amendment 62, on the November ballot, is an easy way to check if a candidate supports Personhood.
Every major candidate running for State or Federal office here in Colorado has been approached at least once, often two or three times, by e-mail, in person, and/or by certified mail. If they haven't responded to our survey we must assume they are trying to hide views which do not agree with ours. If they wish to change their mind and respond, they are welcome to do so, and we will post their responses quickly.
Three critical Congressional races with primaries between candidates who disagree on abortion are identified first (2nd, 3rd & 7th):
7th Congressional District
Republican Ryan Frazier claims to be "100% pro-life" BUT HE IS NOT! Frazier has been telling pro-life voters that he is "100% pro-life" but these words conceal the fact that he is on record as a "social moderate" whose own words tell us he isn't interested in using legislative power to stop abortions. He does not support Amendment 62, to the best of our knowledge. He supports certain limits on abortion, such as de-funding Planned Parenthood, but is willing to go no further.
Frazier has not responded to CRTL's repeated attempts to reach him (including by certified letter), and we expect he would score badly on CRTL's candidate questionnaire even if he did respond.
Frazier told Westword, "I am not a fan of abortion, but I struggle with whether it is the appropriate role of the government to place itself there." That's like struggling with the role of government to ban slavery. The Aurora Sentinel said, "Frazier's shown a more liberal bent in his approach on social issues, however, voicing support for same-sex couples and expressing a measured stance on government regulation of abortion."
The statements on his website and in person are cleverly worded to sound like he's on our side, but many of these same things were said by John Kerry and other pro-abortion Republicans and Democrats. You may also find this pro-life blogger's information helpful: Philokalia Republic.
Republican Lang Sias has said he is pro-life, and we have come to believe this is substantially true, even though we have not received his candidate survey or been able to reach him to confirm the extent of his stands. Because of this, we cannot refer to him as a "pro-life" candidate because we cannot confirm this. But we also have no evidence to the contrary, unlike with his opponent. Please encourage Sias to return his survey, or at least to contact CRTL. If you know whether he has taken a stand on Personhood Amendment 62, we would appreciate knowing.
Democrat Ed Perlmutter is pro-abortion.
3rd Congressional District
Republican Scott Tipton has not responded to our CRTL candidate survey, and has avoided or ignored multiple requests for details on what he claims are pro-life beliefs. He's been approached in person, made promises to respond to the survey, and been approached by e-mail twice. He also did not respond to inquiries from CRTL in 2008.
For three years now, Scott Tipton has avoided going on the record with any pro-life views, either through us or via the news media (that we can find) other than his mere word. Scott Tipton's website confirms he supports abortion in cases of rape & incest, expecting the innocent child to pay for the crimes of another. Scott Tipton does not meet the standard of being legitimately pro-life.
Republican Bob McConnell has responded to CRTL's survey, and he answered 6 out of 7 questions correctly (enough that we trust his heart is sincerely in sympathy with CRTL's positions). His only reservation was on the matter of supporting "regulatory" laws (which CRTL believes actually undermine the concept of Personhood, even though many pro-lifers believe regulations "save some babies"). Bob McConnell supports Amendment 62, the Personhood Amendment.
This is a long-term discussion, and CRTL will continue to discuss this issue with McConnell. On this particular matter, we believe strongly in a candidate's good intentions.
Democrat John Salazar supports abortion.
2nd Congressional District
Republican candidate Stephen Bailey is pro-abortion. He does not support a God-given Right to Life, and believes abortion should not be restricted in any form, except to ban public funding and partial birth abortion.
Republican candidate Bob Brancato responded to our survey, and supports Personhood (signed the petition). His responses are essentially 5 out of 7 correct. He still supports exceptions for rape and incest, and supports regulations. The rape and incest exceptions greatly concern us, for the same reasons noted above for Scott Tipton. But these responses are promising for a candidate we've not had time to dialogue with, and Brancato has been willing to talk with CRTL -- we have hopes that he will come around on this vital issue. We'll keep working on him -- we believe his heart is in the right place.
Democrat Jared Polis is known to strongly support abortion.
More information later today on other races.
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