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Depending on whom you ask, Republicans who identify themselves as pro-choice are either the future of the GOP or marginalized dreamers whose vision has emerged stillborn. Three of the party's rising stars--California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani--are all outspoken advocates of a woman's right to choose. And the introduction to the party's new platform, which was ratified on Monday, includes a note of tolerance: it calls on Republicans to "accept and respect" each other's divergent views on social issues.
But opposition to abortion remains a firm tenet of the Republican ideology and the platform itself, and throughout his administration, President Bush has crusaded to limit abortion rights and extend legal protection for the unborn.
The GOP's largest pro-choice advocacy group, the Republican Majority for Choice (RMC), was a chief proponent of the new language in the platform preamble and regards the change as a small step in the right direction. Far from viewing itself as a renegade faction, the RMC touts a recent American Viewpoint poll that found that 73 percent of Republicans claim to be pro-choice. The organization says it is an outspoken minority that has overwhelmed those voices and established the party's agenda.
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This week, GOP stalwarts Libby Pataki, wife of the New York governor; Bloomberg and former Bush administration official Christie Todd Whitman hosted what they said was the largest-ever gathering of pro-choice Republicans, raising $1 million for their cause. RMC executive director Kellie Rose Ferguson took time out from the back-slapping and exhortation to speak with NEWSWEEK's Karen Fragala. Excerpts:
NEWSWEEK: What effect has President Bush's conservative social agenda had on moderate Republicans?
Kellie Rose Ferguson: I think that being so anti-choice has been a turnoff for a lot of moderate Republicans. A lot of moderate Republicans voted for the president in the last cycle because we believed [him] when he said he was a compassionate conservative, we believed [him] when he said overturning Roe v. Wade would not be a central part of his agenda. The policies that we've seen over the last four years unfortunately do not carry that out. Are we nervous about judicial appointments? Absolutely. Are we willing to throw up our hands and say, "We're not going to continue to lobby the president or put forth ideas on areas of women's reproductive health?" We'll be there lobbying all the way. We never give up hope that he can come back more toward the center, and I think the convention itself is definitely portraying the moderate wing of our party a lot more, and so we're hoping that the talk that you're hearing during this convention will turn into policy as soon as the election is over.
How would you respond to traditionalists who say that if it isn't pro-life, it isn't Republican?
The pro-choice position is certainly the Republican position. Our core beliefs are limited government, personal responsibility and individual freedom. That's the Republican base. The party has strayed a bit from that, and we're doing everything we can to bring it back.
Do you envision a shift in the next few years toward a more libertarian stance in the Republican Party regarding social issues?
We certainly hope so. The party leadership is understanding that moderates are a key voting bloc and that to win elections, you need to turn out the moderate base, specifically in key states. We respect the president's personal views on these issues, but we don't think his personal views should be turned into policy issues for the country.
Is there a fear that if the Republican Party were to embrace a pro-choice stance there be a danger of alienating far-right Christian conservatives who have long been key constituents of the party?
Polling shows that 73 percent of Republicans and over 80 percent of Americans support a woman's right to choose. Again, we're not pushing this to be a central core part of a party platform. What we're saying is, "You can be pro-choice and you can be anti-choice and still be members of the Republican Party--vital key members of the Republican Party. Without the pro-choice members, we wouldn't have the majority in Congress, and I think both sides need to recognize that. Where a moderate Republican can win, we should be supporting the moderate Republican, no matter what your belief is on a lot of these social issues. We would love to see the day when women's reproductive health is so safe that we no longer have to be in business. But unfortunately, there are so many attacks on the right to choose from so many different sides that we've had to start up a lobbying arm; we've got chapters around the country, and now we have a political action committee to support pro-choice candidates and moderate candidates who set the policy.
If in fact 73 percent of Republicans believe that the right to choose should be a woman's decision, why then wasn't more progress made on the your group's goal of removing pro-life language from the Republican platform?
We recognized early on that the moderate wing is not involved in the day-to-day process of the Republican Party, and that's what it takes to be elected a delegate. We need, as an organization and as a moderate majority, to mobilize more of our members to be involved at the local level. We'll admit that the anti-choice side has done a very good job of mobilizing their base. After Nov. 2, I think there's going to be a major fight for the heart and soul of the Republican Party. We are the majority, all the polls show it--we just need to get people more involved.
What steps is the RMC prepared to take over the next four years to affect change in the Republican Party?
We really do see a huge opportunity in 2008. We want to keep the Republican majority by adding more pro-choice Republicans, and over the next four years, mobilize our base on a couple of different levels. One, obviously, the electing of pro-choice Republicans in 2006 and certainly in the 2008 election. Two, to try to increase the [number of] folks involved in the state and local political machines for the Republican Party, because eventually that's how you get to the convention. And three, to do the advocacy work to ensure that a pro-choice Republican can really be at the presidential or vice-presidential level and that the party base would be there to support them.
Is there a potential that the Republican Party could splinter into polarizing factions based on the abortion issue?
I think you've seen some of that already, and our hope is to mend what has already happened by not only having this language in the platform but actually turning that into policy. There are so many issues as Republicans that we all agree on. In 2008, we'd love to be able to get behind a candidate that supports choice and have anti-choice members get behind the candidate that supports choice because he's the right man for the job. Because on all the other issues where we all agree, he's representing the Republican Party.
Rudolph Giuliani has hinted that he is considering a run for president in 2008. Despite his pro-choice, pro-gay-rights, pro-gun-control stance, he is extremely popular among Republican voters. Do you think he could be the one to unite the party down the road?
I think he already has. He's a strong leader who supports individual freedom on a myriad of social issues, and he's done a very good job at rallying the party around the issues where most of us agree. I don't think it's necessary for a leader of the Republican Party to be anti-choice to be elected president. I think that someone that believes in these issues and states clearly what his position is and stands by his convictions and then moves on to the issues where we all agree, can certainly be at the top of the ticket for our party in 2008.
John Kerry has been criticized for swinging too far to the right on certain issues--would you ever consider backing Kerry or a Democratic candidate with centrist views?
In a word, no. We are a Republican organization. Our membership is made up of Republican men and women from across the country who believe in fiscally conservative issues. As I said, on a majority of issues, we completely support the party and support the president. We honestly believe that the pro-choice position is the Republican position. The Republican Party principles are based on individual liberty, freedom, personal responsibility and limited government intrusion. We're just trying to get the party back to those original roots. We're not about to leave the party, we're certainly not about to endorse a Democrat for president or at any other level. We really think that the future of the country, the economy is better off in Republican hands. We just need to get our party over these hurtles on social issues.
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