William Marvel: A Profile in Coercion

Early last month, in a column headed "A Profile in Courage," Jerry Knirk defended state senate candidate Bill Marsh for his record as a legislator in the New Hampshire House. I know Jerry, and he's a pretty nice fellow despite the political differences that have developed between us in recent years. The same is probably true of Bill Marsh, whom I've never met, but the headline I chose for this column exemplifies how the same facts can lead people of divergent viewpoints to diametrically opposite conclusions.

The specific act Jerry seemed to defend was Marsh's vote in favor of a bill limiting abortions to the sixth week of pregnancy, which I find essentially an outright prohibition. As Jerry tells the story, Marsh is pro-choice, but went along with his Republican caucus as a political maneuver, to avoid offending party leadership. Jerry mentioned that Republicans who opposed their leaders often absented themselves on votes they found obnoxious, but Marsh voted on that one anyway.