Penni, I managed to dig up Quayle's comment from the original controversy on abortion:
<<I hope I never have to deal with it. But obviously I would counsel her and talk to her and support her on whatever
decision she made.
-- Vice President Dan Quayle responding to Larry King's question of how he would react if his
13-year-old daughter chose to have an abortion. (CNN, July 22, 1992) Marilyn Quayle later remarked
that her daughter would ''take the child to term.''>>
When I wrote that post, in my mind my point was more about hypocrisy than abortion itself. There is a real crisis in the Republican party, where the religious right is demanding firm adherence to its platform. I am not sure how Dan Quayle really feels about anything, because he has a hard time expressing himself eloquently sometimes. But this controversy happened, if I remember correctly, because the Republicans were officially anti-abortion, and against the right of teenagers to make private medical decisions about pregnancies without parental notification and consent.
Quayle is clearly saying what you said, which I certainly would agree is supportive of his daughter, and he also definitely seems to be leaving abortion in the mix as far as an option for her. Marilyn Quayle stepped in and corrected him, but at least out here in California the damage was done--he seemed really hypocritical. I have heard people say that it's really different when it's your daughter--somehow the thought of dropping out of school and never living the same promising life makes the decision harder than it is on purely theoretical grounds.
Bob Dole has complained publicly that no matter what you give the religious right it is not enough--they always want more. I personally think the Republican party is very close to a complete fracture, and Dr. James Dobson, in particular, is pushing as hard as he can.
Here is a brief article about the GOP and Dobson, if anyone is interested in reading it:
pathfinder.com
I don't really think Quayle was a complete idiot, either. I think he was right about having children out of wedlock (Bill Clinton also acknowledged he was right about that, incidentally). What I do think is that there is a relatively small group of conservative Christians who really do live straight-ahead, religiously pure lifestyles. I have no problem with them doing that, but I do object when they act in ways that deny the civil and human rights of others, which is frequent. I think it is sadly naive, though, if they really believe that the politicians who simply want to be elected are going to live that lifestyle. They are just mouthing the words of whatever platform the party has adapted, and they are mostly sinners who use situational ethics like Dan Quayle did when he made that comment about abortion. In other words, an anti-abortion stance when his own daughter is concerned does not come from his core beliefs--it is political, and therefore somewhat hypocritical, in my opinion.
Every state has a different law on parental consent on abortion at the present. My own opinion is that in most families, the parents do counsel their children. However, in the cases where the teenager is afraid to consult her parents, the statistics show that usually it is because of fear of punishment, and occurs in families where there is dysfunction, abuse, violence, and often incest where the father of the child may be a family member. So I do not support parental consent laws.
I have advised my daughter that if she should for some reason get pregnant, it is very important to come to us, and that we will support her and help her with the decision she makes. At the same time, I make it clear that we would help her rear a child, and talk about her aunt, who did have an abortion as a teenager and was deeply affected by it, particularly later, after she had gotten married and had two boys with the same father, and the concept of what a baby was became more real to her. I also encourage her to read about both sides, and noticed that she is interested in the topic and did a report in the eighth grade on abortion.
I found some more funny Dan Quayle quotes, which I am including in a non-malicious way, because I have a soft spot for him that I can't really quite figure out:
"One word sums up probably the responsibility of any vice president, and that one word is 'to be
prepared'."
-- Vice President Dan Quayle
"The Holocaust was an obscene period in our nation's history. I mean in this century's history. But we
all lived in this century. I didn't live in this century."
-- Vice President Dan Quayle (The New Yorker, October 10, 1988, p.102)
"I believe we are on an irreversible trend toward more freedom and democracy - but that could
change."
-- Vice President Dan Quayle
Mars is essentially in the same orbit... somewhat the same distance from the Sun, which is very
important. We have seen pictures where there are canals, we believe, and water. If there is water, that
means there is oxygen. If oxygen, that means we can breathe."
-- Vice President Dan Quayle
"Are they taking DDT?"
-- Vice President Dan Quayle asking doctors at a Manhattan AIDS clinic about their
treatments of choice. (NY Post, early May 92)
"Hawaii has always been a very pivotal role in the Pacific. It is IN the Pacific. It is a part of the United
States that is an island that is right here."
-- Vice President Dan Quayle, Hawaii, September 1989
"You all look like happy campers to me. Happy campers you are, happy campers you have been, and,
as far as I am concerned, happy campers you will always be."
-- Vice President Dan Quayle, to the American Samoans, whose capital Quayle
pronounces "Pogo Pogo"
"We expect them [Salvadoran officials] to work toward the elimination of human rights."
-- Vice President Dan Quayle
"I was recently on a tour of Latin America, and the only regret I have was that I didn't study Latin
harder in school so I could converse with those people"
-- Vice President Dan Quayle
"If we do not succeed, then we run the risk of failure."
-- Vice President Dan Quayle, to the Phoenix Republican Forum, March 1990
"It's rural America. It's where I came from. We always refer to ourselves as real America. Rural
America, real America, real, real, America."
-- Vice President Dan Quayle
"[I will never have] another Jimmy Carter grain embargo, Jimmy, Jimmy Carter, Jimmy Carter grain
embargo, Jimmy Carter grain embargo."
-- Vice President Dan Quayle during the Bentsen debate
"Target prices? How that works? I know quite a bit about farm policy. I come from Indiana, which is a
farm state. Deficiency payments - which are the key - that is what gets money into the farmer's hands.
We got loan, uh, rates, we got target, uh, prices, uh, I have worked very closely with my senior
colleague, (Indiana Sen.) Richard Lugar, making sure that the farmers of Indiana are taken care of."
-- Vice President Dan Quayle on being asked to define the term "target prices." Quayle's
press secretary then cut short the press conference, after two minutes and 30 seconds.
"We should develop anti-satellite weapons because we could not have prevailed without them in 'Red
Storm Rising'."
-- Vice President Dan Quayle
"The US has a vital interest in that area of the country."
-- Vice President Dan Quayle Referring to Latin America.
"Japan is an important ally of ours. Japan and the United States of the Western industrialized capacity,
60 percent of the GNP, two countries. That's a statement in and of itself."
-- Vice President Dan Quayle
"Getting [cruise missiles] more accurate so that we can have precise precision."
-- Vice President Dan Quayle referring to his legislative work dealing with cruise missiles
"I can identify with steelworkers. I can identify with workers that have had a difficult time."
-- Vice President Dan Quayle addressing workers at an Ohio steel plant,1988
"Certainly, I know what to do, and when I am Vice President -- and I will be -- there will be
contingency plans under different sets of situations and I tell you what, I'm not going to go out and hold
a news conference about it. I'm going to put it in a safe and keep it there! Does that answer your
question?"
-- Vice President Dan Quayle when asked what he would do if he assumed the
Presidency (1988)
"Lookit, I've done it their way this far and now it's my turn. I'm my own handler. Any questions? Ask
me ... There's not going to be any more handler stories because I'm the handler ... I'm Doctor Spin."
-- Vice President Dan Quayle responding to press reports that his aides have to, in effect,
"handle" him.
"Let me just tell you how thrilling it really is, and how, what a challenge it is, because in 1988 the
question is whether we're going forward to tomorrow or whether we're going to go past to the -- to the
back!"
-- Vice President Dan Quayle
"We don't want to go back to tomorrow, we want to go forward."
-- Vice President Dan Quayle
"I have made good judgements in the Past. I have made good judgements in the Future."
-- Vice President Dan Quayle
"The future will be better tomorrow."
-- Vice President Dan Quayle
"We'll let the sunshine in and shine on us, because today we're happy and tomorrow we'll be even
happier."
-- Vice President Dan Quayle
"We're going to have the best-educated American people in the world."
-- Vice President Dan Quayle
"This election is about who's going to be the next President of the United States!"
-- Vice President Dan Quayle
"I stand by all the misstatements that I've made."
-- Vice President Dan Quayle
"It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it."
-- Vice President Dan Quayle
"We have a firm commitment to NATO, we are a part of NATO. We have a firm commitment to
Europe. We are a part of Europe."
-- Vice President Dan Quayle
"I could take this home, Marilyn. This is something teenage boys might find of interest.
--Vice President Dan Quayle, when purchasing a South African Indian Doll that, when
lifted, displays an erection.
"I am not part of the problem. I am a Republican."
-- Vice President Dan Quayle
"The other day [the President] said, I know you've had some rough times, and I want to do something
that will show the nation what faith that I have in you, in your maturity and sense of responsibility. (He
paused, then said) Would you like a puppy?"
-- Vice President Dan Quayle (LA Times 5/21/89)
"I spend a great deal of time with the President. We have a very close, personal,loyal relationship. I'm
not, as they say, a potted plant in these meetings."
-- Vice President Dan Quayle defending himself (Tampa Tribune-Times 1/7/90)
"I'm glad you asked me that. This gives me the perfect opportunity to talk about the problems with this
Congress..."
-- Vice President Dan Quayle responding to reporter's questions about his use of Air
force 2 to go on golf trips at the cost of $26,000/hour
"I love California, I practically grew up in Phoenix."
-- Vice President Dan Quayle
"My friends, no matter how rough the road may be, we can and we will, never, never surrender to
what is right."
-- Vice President Dan Quayle, in a speech to the Christian Coalition
"I deserve respect for the things I did not do."
-- Vice President Dan Quayle
"My position is that I understand from a medical situation, immediately after a rape is reported, that a
woman normally, in fact, can go to the hospital and have a D and C. At that time... that is before the
forming of a life. That is not anything to do with abortion."
-- Vice President Dan Quayle explaining that Dilatation and Curettage, a form of abortion
which occurs after fertilization, is not really abortion. (the Washington post, 11/03/88)
"This president is going to lead us out of this recovery."
-- Vice President Dan Quayle at a campaign stop in California and and then at CA State
University, Fresno (The Quayle Quarterly, Spring/Summer 1992)
"Quite frankly, teachers are the only profession that teach our children."
-- Vice President Dan Quayle
"We are ready for any unforseen event that may or may not occur"
-- Vice President Dan Quayle
"For NASA, space is still a high priority."
-- Vice President Dan Quayle
"Verbosity leads to unclear, inarticulate things."
-- Vice President Dan Quayle
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