A Colorado Republican Gets It on Abortion
09/11/2005
Submitted by:
Margie A. Hoyt
Madelia
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The weekly Colorado Statesman is the unofficial official journal of Colorado politics. It’s not tied to the state government at all, yet it’s a must read for anybody interested in state politics.
The letter below is in the current issue.
Stan Davis
Lakewood, CO
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Dear Editor,
One Friday night recently, after a “vigorous” exchange with some very good friends, I had something of an epiphany on the subject discussed—abortion and the current state of the Republican Party.
It suddenly occurred to me that I am one of three (not two) camps in the Party with distinct views on this subject, a sub-group that I am going to name henceforth as the “Moderate Pro Life” wing of the GOP.
Who are we, and what’s happening here?
At the same time we have great concerns with the morality of abortion on demand, we also recognize the following:
* Roe v. Wade is “settled law” as described by current Supreme Court nominee John Roberts. We feel, therefore, that any attempt to pass a law in Congress overturning this decision would be not only disruptive but politically unfeasible.
* We feel that the state legislatures across the country would almost certainly, by an overwhelming margin, pass laws enabling abortion, even if the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. The Court’s original intrusion in this essentially political decision should have been left to the states and the political process.
* We are uncomfortable that thee are those in our Party for whom the subject of abortion is the only important issue, and who spend most of their political time and energy trying to turn back the clock on this “settled law” decision.
* We are particularly distressed that many of these “one-issue” Republicans also try as often as they can to ostracize and marginalize those within the Republican Party who are pro-choice—a position held by roughly one-half the adult population in the U.S., as a matter of fact.
* We are convinced that this issue is essentially polarizing and not resolvable. In effect, two rights—(1) personal freedom and (2) the rights of an unborn human being are juxtaposed. The position of any voter on this issue depends, then, on which of these valid rights I believed to be paramount by any given individual.
On this particular evening, it hit home just how angry and isolated many very find Republicans are when treated shabbily by others in our Party for their honestly derived pro-choice position.
As a Republican—now self-described as a “Moderate Pro-Life” Republican, and with many years of involvement in the Party—I feel the angry battle over this one issue must stop if we are to elect Republicans on the wide spectrum of beliefs we all agree on.
I count in my “wing” of the Party some pretty well known people, by the way: President George W. Bush, former President Ronald Reagan, Sen. John McCain, Gov. Bill Owens, and U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard from Colorado.
I also count in the “pro choice wing” of the Party some other pretty wonderful Republicans: Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, Sen. Arlen Specter, former Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, the late Barry Goldwater, and
current California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
I strongly submit that all these people are great Republicans to whom we are indebted for their great services to the Party and this country.
Let’s stop battling over an issue that is essentially non-political before we let our incredible Republican achievements in the past several decades dribble away.
Walter Isaacson, in his biography of Benjamin Franklin, said, “...compromise [is] not only a practical approach but a moral one. Tolerance, humility, and a respect for others require...it. For...more than two centuries this...has served the Constitution, and the Nation it formed, quite well.
And more from Franklin directly as he gently chides some long ago true “strong believers” in an ironic, apocryphal quote: “I don’t know how it happens, sister, but I meet with nobody but myself who is always right.”
Let’s “move on” and realize how much we have in common as Republicans. Let’s have a sense of humor and tolerance in our Party. We have so much we can accomplish in coming months and years!
Robert Bucher
Denver