THE LIST is long and impressive: Secretary of State Colin Powell, Environmental Protection Agency Director Christie Todd Whitman, Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter, New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, New York Gov. George Pataki, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, to name just a few. These prominent politicians from all over the country have one thing in common: They are all pro-choice Republicans.
What about the other political party, the one that stands for tolerance and inclusiveness? Much to their political peril, the Democrats have all but shut out pro-lifers from their party.
By silencing opponents of abortion in its own party, the Democrats risk alienating millions of voters who still grapple with this complex moral issue.
The country still has yet to come to a consensus on the issue of abortion. The most recent Gallup poll has the issue as a dead heat, with the both sides garnering the support of 46 percent of Americans. Gallup polls over the past five years have shown a small lead for the pro-choice side: Anywhere from 41 to 46 percent of Americans consider themselves pro-life, while 46 to 50 percent consider themselves pro-choice.
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It's surprising to see that the Republicans are more open about abortion than Democrats, considering many conservatives' fervor on this issue. There is a campaign in the GOP now to eliminate the party's pro-life platform, a move supported by former First Lady Barbara Bush. Her daughter-in-law, current First Lady Laura Bush, has stated that she supported Roe v. Wade.
Several influential pro-life Republicans, including Arizona Sen. John McCain and Virginia's own Gov. James S. Gilmore III, have come out against repealing Roe v. Wade.
However, the overall number of people who identified themselves as pro-choice was higher in 1997 than it was in 2000. These changes are not the result of public opinion, but rather of a party adapting itself to include opposing views of a contentious subject.
Take the example of the late Gov. Robert Casey (D-PA). From 1987 to 1995, he created jobs by putting millions of dollars into job training programs, and became the first governor to appoint a black woman to a state supreme court.
Casey embraced most classical Democratic principles, but he was also pro-life. With that minor departure from the Democratic party platform, women's rights groups made Casey a pariah. He was not allowed to speak at the 1992 or 1996 Democratic National Conventions, despite being one of the most prominent and successful Democrats at the time.
However, the Democrats did see fit to honor Kathy Taylor, a Pennsylvania Republican at their 1992 convention. As a political enemy of the governor, she opposed most of Casey's social programs and held traditionally Republican views on most issues. She was being honored at the Democratic convention for one reason: She was pro-choice.
Pro-choice advocates have all but silenced opposition within the Democratic party. There currently are only two pro-life Democrats in the Senate, and nine in the House. The most prominent pro-life Democrat in Congress, Louisiana Sen. John Breaux, was offered a position in the Bush cabinet.
The 46 percent of Americans who currently identify themselves as pro-life likely are not happy with the current state of the Democratic party. And as they alienate more and more voters with their exclusivity, the Democrats won't be happy either.
The heavily Protestant Bible Belt, once considered a stronghold for Democrats, is now a sure-win for Republicans. In the 2000 election, the Democrats lost every southern state, including Gore's home state of Tennessee. Altogether, Bush garnered over 100 electoral votes from states east of the Mississippi and south of the Potomac River.
Also, the Catholic church has been vehement in its opposition of abortion. In 1994, 52 percent of Catholics supported Republicans in Congressional races, the highest percentage in over half a century. There are high concentrations of Catholic voters in Democratic-leaning states such as New York, Illinois and California.
In the 1992 presidential election, 69 percent of Republican defectors were pro-choice. The Republican party has wised up, and is starting to live up to its reputation as the "Big Tent" party.
It is far past time for the Democratic party to do the same. There are those who want to dictate the Democratic party's admission policy based on one issue.
McCain once said of the Republicans, "Tolerance of dissent is the hallmark of a mature party." With such a difficult ethical matter as abortion, there should be enough room in the "inclusive" Democratic party to allow differing views on the subject.
(Brian Cook is a Cavalier Daily associate editor. He can be reached at bcook@cavalierdaily.com.)
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