ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, May 6, 1996 TAG: 9605060020
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
THE VIRGINIA Federation of Republican Women - one of the nation's largest women's political organizations, with about 2,700 members in the commonwealth - recently became the first such GOP group in the country to call for the removal of the anti-abortion plank from the Republicans' national platform.
And the reaction from officials at state GOP headquarters? It's of no moment. Doubtless, doesn't reflect the sentiment of a majority of Republican women in Virginia.
Oh well. At least they didn't say: Go back to licking envelopes for those fund-raising letters, ladies, and leave the serious business of electing Republicans to us.
The state GOP, increasingly in the grip of the rigid right, appears to be in denial regarding the abortion issue. The VFRW resolution - passed with no debate at that group's annual convention the other day - is not a fem-lib-pinko pro-abortion declaration in deviation from the mainstream. It's a reflection of political reality.
No one likes abortion. Everyone would like to see the number of abortions diminish. But public-opinion polls have consistently shown that big majorities of Americans don't want to return to the days before Roe vs. Wade, when abortion was illegal.
Indeed, surveys have shown that a majority of Republicans oppose outlawing abortions, as called for in the GOP platform. About 71 percent of Republicans opposed it in 1992, and a New York Times poll of GOP primary voters in October 1995 found that 76 percent wanted the anti-abortion plank removed from the national GOP platform.
The purpose of party platforms isn't merely to mirror popular views, of course, and the dictates of conscience deserve respect.
Nevertheless, party leaders should at least be aware of the risks of making abortion a litmus test for self-respecting membership in the party. The VFRW tends to be more moderate than many Virginia GOP activists. The activists can be dismissive if they want. But the VFRW is more in tune with the electorate.
In fact, the Republican women's resolution doesn't argue the pros and cons of abortion. It simply recognizes the diversity of opinion on the controversial subject. Given the divisiveness the issue has caused and can cause, and its potential to turn away people who otherwise might feel comfortable in the GOP, the VFRW says the plank should go.
Since Bob Dole, the Republicans' presumptive presidential nominee, has indicated he'd rather keep the abortion plank than risk the religious right's ire, it's doubtful how much weight such resolutions will carry at the national convention in August. Some Republicans, probably Dole included, fear that removing the plank would prompt a faction to split from the party and support an independent candidacy, perhaps of Pat Buchanan.
But Gov. Pete Wilson of California and others have said they'll push for the plank's removal. And, by August, Dole may be more concerned about alienating millions of pro-choice voters, especially women, than remaining true to the anti-abortion hard-liners active in his party.
Whatever happens nationally, the VFRW's action gives rise to hopes that moderation could yet make a comeback in the Virginia GOP.
LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines KEYWORDS: POLITICSby CNB