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« Travel Blogs Enter the Mainstream | Main | Hit Head On » September 26, 2006Sen. Henry Snubs Pro-Life Endorsement
Sen. Henry has been quick to highlight other endorsements. His campaign recently issued a press release touting his website's "full list of endorsements," yet his "full list" doesn't include the endorsement of the state's largest and most influentical pro-life organization. Sen. Henry immediately posted on his website that he garnered the NRA's endorsement as soon as his Republican rival, Bob Krumm, touted his own "A" Rating from the same organization. Yet Sen. Henry hasn't seen fit to proudly announce his endorsement by Tennessee Right to Life. Examine his endorsements page and you'll see that it is filled with endorsements from a host of Democrat-leaning groups, especially organized labor, public employees, and environmentalists. But no mention of the endorsement by Tennessee Right to Life. By contrast, Krumm's website includes not just his endorsements, but copies of all of the questionnaires he has filed out for various conservative, moderate and liberal interest groups. You can read them for yourself here, including his answers to Tennessee Right to Life, which show that Krumm is strongly pro-life. Why has Sen. Henry snubbed Tennessee Right to Life's endorsement? Is Sen. Henry afraid that beging too public about his endorsement by a pro-life group would anger the pro-abortion voters amongst the left-leaning groups that have endorsed him? Has Sen. Henry decided to focus on turning out the Democratic base for him in the November election? Is he abandoning Republicans and conservative Democrats who have kept him in office in the many long years since his district's political demographics shifted decidedly Republican? Whatever the reason, it is clear that Sen. Henry isn't proud to have been endorsed by the state's leading pro-life organization - and it is equally clear that pro-life moderates and conservatives in the 21st Senate District have good reason to wonder if Sen. Henry is abandoning their cause in his hunt for more votes from liberal special interests in a district that is increasingly conservative.
Posted in Campaign Season
Comments
With great affinity for the author, I have to take the opportunity to set the record straight on the question of the Tennessee Right to Life PAC endorsement of pro-life state Senator Douglas Henry. The simple fact is that our slate of candidates being endorsed by Tennessee Right to Life in the November election has not yet been formally announced to the public. Due to ongoing efforts to make final determinations in a couple of critical races across the state, and wanting to announce the endorsements as a whole, the public release of the list has been somewhat delayed. I would also offer that it doesn't take a great deal of imagination to recognize the difficulty of determining a final slate in the current political environment where--true or not---most every candidate claims to be '100% pro-life.' We expect to announce the list next week and, as you wrote, it will certainly include a strong endorsement for pro-life state Senator Douglas Henry based on his demonstrated record of leadership on matters affecting the protection of human life. It is also worth noting that many advocates across the political spectrum will support Senator Henry because he not only advocates the dignity of every person but has also worked tirelessly to insure that adequate resources are in place to care for vulnerable women, children and families across Tennessee. I understand your position of support for Mr. Krumm but in this case it's unfair to criticize the Henry campaign for not promoting an endorsement that has yet to be announced by the organization itself. If there's blame to be borne, it belongs at Tennessee Right to Life, not the campaign. Brian Harris, President If you haven't endorsed Sen. Henry yet, then why does it list him as the "endorsed candidate" in the race between Henry and Krumm for the 21st district state Senate seat? See this link. Posted by: Bill Hobbs at September 26, 2006 2:12 PMThanks for the opportunity to clarify the status of the Right to Life endorsements for the November general election. You are correct to note that some endorsements have been highlighted on the legislative section of our website, a service coordinated for us by a paid vendor. Because the process of getting the endorsements done for the federal and state legislative races is extensive, and because we are a non-profit organization with a small staff, we can't roll out every endorsement detail all at once much as we might like. Unfortunately in this case the vendor is quicker about getting the supplied information up and running than we have been in getting formal endorsement letters and press releases out to the candidates. Additionally, there are events, phone banks, mass mailings and email campaigns to be coordinated in conjunction with 'public' announcement of the endorsements. I can assure you that Senator Henry is not the only candidate waiting for 'formal' notice of his endorsement or the peripheral benefits which accompany it. Most observers know, however, that in the targeted races important to pro-life supporters, Tennessee Right to Life will get the job done in making clear exactly who our endorsed candidates are. Again, thanks for your consideration and interest in the process. Brian Posted by: Brian Harris at September 26, 2006 5:02 PMPost a comment
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I noticed something odd on state Sen. Doug Henry's campaign website: Sen. Henry apparently isn't proud that he has been endorsed by Tennessee Right to Life, the controversial pro-life group.
