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| A Publication of the Republican National Coalition for Life | SUMMER 2007 — No. 64 |
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Republican Convention Politics — 2008
Politics is very much like a game with two major teams, the Republicans and the Democrats in the arena, sometimes gaining and sometimes losing
ground as they strive to control the process by which we govern ourselves. But the game of politics is much more than a spectator sport, although too many
citizens treat it that way. In fact, every one of us can be an active player.
YOU CAN BE A PLAYER!
Most readers of the RNC for Life Report are or have been players in the political process for many years. It was the terrible injustice of the Roe v. Wade decision that caused millions of us to get involved in the Republican Party. In 1973, we began the long climb up the political hill, energized by the belief that our system afforded us a way to make a difference by electing lawmakers who would restore legal protection of the right to life. Our efforts culminated in 1980 with the election of Ronald Reagan as President. We believed we had reached the hilltop and an end to abortion appeared to be in sight. Instead, a multitude of circumstances, some of which were caused by our own movement, resulted in a slow but certain slide back down that hill, until in 2006, the pro-abortion Democrats took back control of Congress. Many grassroots pro-life Republican Party activists became complacent during the years in which a Republican president was in the White House and/or the Republicans controlled Congress. Some have become disillusioned as they watch Republicans in the House and Senate fail to apply the conservative and pro-life principles that we work so hard, year after year, to establish in our Party's Platforms at the state and national levels. They didn't vote in 2006. Today, with the Democrat victories in 2006 behind us and the potential for a Democrat winning the White House in 2008, we simply must rid ourselves of any tendency toward apathy. Soon the primaries and caucuses will be under way. Are you ready? Regardless of who ultimately becomes the Republican nominee, we must protect the pro-life plank in the Republican Party Platform. That is the prize that the proaborts are after and they see a greater opportunity to do away with it this time than at any time in the past. Are you ready to become a Delegate to your precinct, county, and state Republican Party conventions? Are you ready to introduce pro-life resolutions at those conventions? Are you ready to organize enough of your friends and family members to attend the conventions with you so that when the vote is taken, your side wins? Have you thought about becoming a National Delegate? There are about 2,500 voting Delegates to the National Convention and you can be among them. (For information on how it works in your state, send an e-mail message to rnclife@swbell.net or contact your State Republican Party headquarters.) The Republican National Convention will be held in St. Paul, MN on September 1-4, 2008. During the week prior to that, the Platform Committee will meet to draft a national Platform, and the pro-abortion wing of the Party will surely be there to do what they can to weaken or remove the pro-life plank from the Platform. The danger lies in the possibility that the Republican nominee may be a man who does not agree, either in whole or in part, with the pro-life plank. The abortion industry and its friends in the Republican Party would certainly have more influence than they have in the past. That is why it is so important that you participate in the convention process! On the other hand, a pro-life nominee with a firm commitment to the protection of the unborn would re-ignite the pro-life grassroots Party activists who have, in the past, delivered the margin of victory to Republicans. With the country almost evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats, the pro-life vote makes the difference. No matter what happens in the presidential election in 2008, we must retain the pro-life principles spelled out in the national Republican Platform. Those principles provide a standard we can continue to apply to our candidates and elected officials as we continue to pursue our pro-life policy goals. The mission of RNC/Life is to protect and defend the pro-life plank in the Republican Party Platform and to hold Republican elected officials accountable to its principles. Any effort to water-down or remove the pro-life language from the Platform will be met with the full force of grassroots opposition! Please bear in mind that the national Platform is not actually written by the Platform Committee. It is written in advance by paid professionals hired by the Republican National Committee. It is the job of the Platform Committee members to read it, and then offer amendments to either insert or remove language. They divide into subcommittees to do this work and later assemble in full committee to vote on the final amended version of the Platform. We need solid pro-lifers on the Platform Commitee. In order to serve on that committee, you must first be a Delegate. Now is the time for RNC/Life supporters to figure out how to become Delegates to the 2008 Convention. We will need your presence in St. Paul in greater numbers than before. How is it done? Contact us for information on how National Delegates are selected in your state by sending an e-mail to rnclife@swbell.net.
Rudy Giuliani is pro-abortion. He supports killing human embryos for research. He is an embarrassment to the Republican Party. Mitt Romney recently switched his life-long pro-abortion stance to one that he says is "pro-life," a position belied by his support for embryonic stem cell research. While he has said he opposes research using cells from embryos created for that purpose, he does not oppose research on embryos created for another purpose, such as those "left over" from in-vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures. (New York Times, February 11, 2005) At this writing, Fred Thompson has not officially entered the race. His record in the Senate shows that he voted for laws to regulate or restrict the practice of abortion. In a videotaped address to the 2007 National Right to Life Convention, he announced his opposition to embryonic stem cell research. But, his past history of lobbying for the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association and the fact that we can find no record of his position on abortion for babies conceived through rape or incest, give us cause for concern. In 1994, he told Christian Coalition that he did not believe abortion should be criminalized, and that the issue should be returned to the states where they should have "some leeway." Leeway to allow abortion to remain legal in some cases calls into question whether Mr. Thompson agrees with the Platform statement that the fundamental right to life cannot be infringed. John McCain supports embryonic stem cell research. His views are mixed on other aspects of the life issues. As the Fall approaches, his campaign is expected to evaporate due to lack of funds. Ron Paul, a physician, has a mixed record in Congress due to his Libertarian philosophy, which sometimes conflicts with pro-life legislation. He is not expected to have enough support to secure the nomination. Sam Brownback, Mike Huckabee, Duncan Hunter, and Tom Tancredo are all solid pro-lifers who are considered by informed observers to be "second-tier" candidates with campaigns that haven't, at least until now, caught fire. It is possible that one of them could emerge as a "top tier" candidate after the Iowa Caucus and the New Hampshire primary. If one of the three "top-tier" candidates wins the nomination, he will be either no better than Hillary Clinton on the life issues, or he will be someone who gives the pro-abortion forces within the Party hope that they can achieve at least some modification of the pro-life principles expressed in our Platform. Will the 2008 Republican National Convention retain our historic pledge to work for the pro-life principles in our Platform? The National Delegates will decide. The outcome is up to YOU!
"A Safer World and a More Hopeful America" Republican National Platform Adopted August 26, 2004 — New York, New York Promoting a Culture of Life "As a country, we must keep our pledge to the fi rst guarantee of the Declaration of Independence. That is why we say the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed. We support a human life amendment to the Constitution and we endorse legislation to make it clear that the Fourteenth Amendment's protections apply to unborn children. Our purpose is to have legislative and judicial protection of that right against those who perform abortions. We oppose using public revenues for abortion and will not fund organizations which advocate it. We support the appointment of judges who respect traditional family values and the sanctity of innocent human life." "We affirm the inherent dignity and worth of all people. We oppose the non-consensual withholding of care or treatment because of disability, age, or infirmity, just as we oppose euthanasia and assisted suicide, which especially endanger the poor and those on the margins of society." Never forget that you were once an embryo.
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