You know how we’re sometimes told that pro-lifers should keep pretty silent during elections. We’d get winks and nods from many Republicans but a lot of times they didn’t really go all in on the pro-life issue because they said it would hurt them in a general election.
Well, Donald Trump not only said that there had to be some legal consequence for women who abort but he also said clearly that he would defund Planned Parenthood, and then essentially described a late term abortion on national television. And guess what, he got elected.
To be clear, we don’t want our politicians talking about putting women behind bars for aborting their children. We don’t. Most pro-lifers want to help women in crisis pregnancies, not imprison them. But the fact of the matter is, he said one of the worst possible things you could possibly say. And he got elected. That moment was a Todd Akin moment on steroids and Trump still got elected.
This is how it usually goes:
1) Republican says something stupid.
2) Media and the left (redundancy alert) flip the freak out.
3) Republican apologizes profusely to every microphone he or she (but let’s face it, mostly he) can find.
4) Other Republicans scramble and denounce and renounce any affiliation with that Republican in hopes that the left won’t come after them next.
But Trump didn’t apologize. He pushed on. Saying what he said didn’t destroy him. He didn’t keep the story alive with apology after apology. I think it sets up a new way to handle the media. Never back down.
But back to my main point. Trump talked clearly (eventually) about defunding Planned Parenthood. And he won the presidency. Trump attacked Democrats for supporting late term abortion and said he was pro-life. AND HE WON.
Trump knew he had to court the pro-lifers because we would be wary of him as he was pro-choice for most of his life. So Trump actually named the judges he would nominate. Good solid pro-life judges. And he won.
There’s no reason for pro-lifers to hide in the backroom any longer. No more tepid support. No more winks and nods.
Senator Pat Toomey was very clear about defunding Planned Parenthood. His opponent ran ads showing him saying it. Believe me, I live in Pennsylvania. There was no way to survive October without knowing that Toomey wanted to defund Planned Parenthood. But quess what, he won in what was considered a blue state.
The pro-life cause is a winning issue. Pro-lifers should not be avoided in the halls of power. You can’t say any longer that this issue needs to be hidden. It doesn’t.
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