One of the problems that hinder progress in government is the intentional misuse of quotes from the opposition. It is one thing to criticize the comments made by a politician on any subject matter. It is quite any to distort those comments for political advantage.
The practice not only involves the use of deception on a personal level, which is unhealthy, but it is also unproductive to fostering an environment of healthy debate needed to arrive at good legislation. This is true without regard to political parties. The most recent use of deceptively misrepresenting a politicians words come from the political left. West Virginia Assemblyman Brian Kurcaba is decidedly pro-life.
He believes profoundly in the sanctity of human life. As such, his take is that life is good and the individual living is a good thing regardless of the circumstances surrounding that person’s conception. In context, he said that the sexually violent act of rape is an evil, but the life arising from that act is beautiful. The left has spun his words to mean that he was validating the act of rape itself in cases where pregnancy results.
Assemblyman Kurcaba was saying no such thing. Again, his views on human life are that it is always a beautiful thing. He believes the two truths can co-exist that rape is evil, but life is beautiful. That said, the real motivation for the intentional misrepresentation of Kurcaba’s words is that he supported a more stringent anti-abortion law as to when late-term abortions could be performed. The bill would not allow women whose pregnancies were the result of any sexual offense to seek a late term abortion. The bill was vetoed by the state’s Democrat governor.