Gilmore Promises To Blog from the White House If Elected President

Roxane and Jim Gilmore; Charmaine and Jack Yoest

April 2005 Governor Jim Gilmore promised to be the First Blogger-in-Chief, if sworn in as president. Gilmore addressed the weekly conservative blogger lunch today at the Heritage Foundation hoping to “talk over the heads of the standard press.”

Although Gilmore promised to start blogging; he did not promise to hire a blogger full time during the campaign. (I was hoping for a bit more pandering to this crowd, but it never was quite Gilmore’s style.)

Far from pandering, Gilmore continues his combative conservatism.

Which, these days, might just sell.

The former governor of the Commonwealth Virginia claims “a broad record of success” and states that “there is not a conservative in the race” besides him.

He might be right.

Except for being pro-choice thru the 13th week. So I ask him, “As governor you hired pro-lifers extensively in your staff, do you promise to do the same if elected president?”

Gilmore reminded us that no one has done better in “service to the pro-life community” and walked down his leadership list on pro-life initiatives:

1) A 24 hour waiting period for abortions,

2) Pushed stopping partial birth abortions,

3) Championed Hugh Finn.

Alert Readers will remember Hugh Finn sustained severe brain injuries from a car accident, and was comatose for 3 and a half years. After moving him to a Virginia nursing home, his wife Michele requested the removal of his feeding tube, but his parents and his six brothers filed suit to stop her.

Careful readers of this blog will recall the hyperventilating over “hyperalimentation” — feeding food and water through a tube — during the legal battle over Terri Schiavo’s case. In 1998, the Commonwealth of Virginia — and Governor Gilmore — confronted nearly exactly the same situation as that posed by Terri Schiavo for Florida and Governor Jeb Bush.

The Governor supported continuing Finn’s feeding tube, and the case went all the way to the Virginia Supreme Court which ruled in favor of Mrs. Finn.

Finn died eight days after the tube was removed.

Gilmore enjoys a pro-life record any pro-life candidate would envy.

Thank you (foot)notes:

Full Disclosure: Your Business Blogger is pro-life. And campaigned for Gilmore, voted for him and served as his Assistant Secretary for Health and Human Resources while the governor was in office. Watched the Governor up close on the Hugh Finn case. Gilmore got this right.

James Gilmore Is Running For President: Can A Pro-Choice Republican Win?

Read on some of Gilmore’s management style at Y2K and The Management of Hurricane Katrina’s Aftermath.

Gilmore may have been planning this for a while; see Americans for Freedom and Opportunity.

Also see Are Children at Risk in Red States?

Rob Bluey is the weekly host at The Heritage Foundation — be sure to read his report Jim Gilmore: The First Blogging President? at Redstate.com