An article that ran Monday in the Associated Press (“Growing evangelical clout shaping debate”) laments the “growing clout” of social and religious conservatives in Iowa, a state traditionally very important in presidential races because its caucuses are held first.
In the push for “cultural issues,” which is code for issues such as abortion, Iowans are not only bucking the supposedly national trend of politicians avoiding issues such as abortion, they fully expect for presidential hopefuls to address the issue, as the AP story makes clear.
Said one person who was quoted in the story: “Anybody who calls a truce when the abortion clinics are running 24/7 is not a true pro-lifer…That’s giving up the battle.”
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels infamously told Andrew Ferguson of The Weekly Standard that “the next president would have to call a truce on the so-called social issues,” arguing that in order to build a large enough coalition to defeat President Obama in 2012, issues like abortion should be disregarded (www.weeklystandard.com/articles/ride-along-mitch).
Daniels, who is said to be considering a run for the White House, obviously missed the message that even the pro-abortion movement has accepted: the youth are pro-life and the majority of America is pro-life.
One can imagine a truce being called– by the losing party. Pro-lifers know well that being against abortion and in favor of protecting innocent human life is a proven ingredient in a politician’s recipe for success.
There are decades worth of evidence to support this conclusion. Take a moment to read, “The Pro-Life Advantage for Candidates Continues” to see just how powerful the issue itself, combined with our work to spread the word about candidate’s records, can be (www.nrlpac.org/pdf/PAC%20Polling%202008.pdf).
And the pro-life advantage aside, disregarding the plight of abortion as a grave violation of human rights is no direction in which to lead the American people, and they well know it. The pro-life issue is continually changing hearts and minds.
No thanks, Gov. Daniels. The battle for life has turned in our favor.
