Pro-Abortion Sen. Joe Biden Makes 2008 Presidential Bid Official

National   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Jan 31, 2007   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Pro-Abortion Sen. Joe Biden Makes 2008 Presidential Bid Official Email this article
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
January 31
, 2007

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — Pro-abortion Sen. Joe Biden has made his desire to seek the Democratic nomination for president in 2008 official. Biden, who also supports forcing taxpayers to fund embryonic stem cell research, started his bid with shots across the bow of the leading Democratic candidates.

Talking about pro-abortion Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, Biden said they are playing politics with the Iraq War, and didn’t discuss other top issues until they said they were considering running for president.

“Let me put it this way,” Biden told the New York Observer. “You didn’t hear any one of them get in this debate at all until they announced for President.”

Biden also attacked pro-abortion former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, saying he isn’t substantial enough to capture the nomination and take the presidency away from Republicans.

“Democrats nominated the perfect blow-dried candidates in 2000 and 2004,” he said, “and they couldn’t connect.”

"I don’t think John Edwards knows what the heck he is talking about," Biden said.

Biden apparently feels the need to come out strong against the top contenders because he trails them by substantial margins in the leading primary states.

Edwards has a 10 percentage point advantage among Iowa Democrats, according to a new Zogby Poll. The survey also finds Obama leading in New Hampshire with Clinton a close second. Biden has only three percent in both states.

Biden ran for president 20 years ago but his candidacy fizzled when revelations surfaced that a campaign speech had been plagiarized. He can obtain a different kind of press during 2007 as the incoming chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where he plans to hold hearings on Iraq and other issues.

Biden has traditionally scored low marks from the National Right to Life Committee on pro-life legislation, and has a zero percent pro-life voting record in 2006.

He voted to force taxpayers to fund embryonic stem cell research, to spend tax dollars supporting organizations that perform or promote abortions in other nations, and voted twice against parental notification before a teenager can have an abortion.

Biden recorded a 0% pro-life voting mark in 2005 and a 17% rating from 2003-2004. He has consistently voted in favor of using taxpayer funds to pay for abortions in various circumstances.

Though he voted in favor of the ban on partial-birth abortions, Biden backed an amendment endorsing the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized unlimited abortions.

The presidency will be up for grabs in 2008 and both Democrats and Republicans will be jockeying for position as the top contender for their party’s nomination.

Other Democratic candidates include Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. They are all pro-abortion and pro-embryonic stem cell research.