Madam, in my family or my church, some might take positions or do things that I might not always agree with, but that does not mean that they should be excluded. By the same token I do things and take positions that others may dislike. However, we are united by far more than by what divides us. The same holds true of political parties. Causing division in a family or a church or a political party or movement on account of a disagreement on one issue is acceptable only in the rarest of circumstances.
Then blame the ones responsible, the GOP leadership.
"Causing division in a family or a church or a political party or movement on account of a disagreement on one issue is acceptable only in the rarest of circumstances."
And who decides what those circumstances are. Let's see, you memtioned "division in a church" and "rarest of circumstances" in the same sentence. Taking a little trek back into history we have:
The Great Schism of 1054, separating the Orthodox East from the Roman Catholic West.
Luther broke off from Catholicism, as did Calvin, Henry VIII, and establshed other religions. Then divisions really took off and we ended up with all sorts of Protestant churches, then Evangelical, and on and on. And of course the Catholic Church itself broke off from Judaism. And don't forget the breaking away from paganism. Sounds like an awful lot of division based on not agreeing with others in the same church "family." And I'm talking only about the Western world. Check out how many sects broke off from Asian religions also, in fact all religions.
Then, of course, in families we have divorces, incest, murder, not speaking to each other for years, shunning, etc.
In politics, there is constant division and breaking away from other parties. That's how the Whig Party ended and the Republican Party began. Need I go on. Your idealism is to be admired, but your lack of touch with the reality of the world needs a bit of improvement. When most people get to a particular issue (like the anti-abortionists) on which they cannot bend anymore on principle, they tend to make a stand, and then you get schism and new parties form when a group of like-minded individuals get unhappy enough. It is a natural human phenomena.
When I was very young and very foolish, I thought I was a Democrat. Luckily I wised up young (younger than when Ronald Reagan switched from Dem to Pub), and went 180 degrees in the other direction, as did many others of my age group. Holding true only holds true until you have absolutely had it, and then you change your position, church, political party, voting pattern, etc. I'm sure you will agree with the above, assuming you have some principles of your own which you will not bend on. Otherwise, those that always bend in the wind are what I call Independents, those that have few to no principles and will change them at whim. Or RINO's, especially in Congress.
In general, most single issues are not so great that they override all others, but occasionally one rears its head. Abortion was one of those issues, as is illegal immigration policy for some. You work within your Party as best you can until it appears intractable to your basic principle, and then you either don't vote for that Party, knowing that you might lose a next election, but are willing to do so in hopes that when things get even worse, you make your comeback, and everyone hails you as the principled hero you were at the time when they weren't. Of course, one can always be wrong on a principle, but I find it hard to find how one could be wrong about abortion, or wrong about losing one's country's national identity on the altar of multi-culturalism and political correctness. Many of the early Christians lost their lives for the principle of their belief in Jesus Christ, martyrs for their principle. So, at some point you make a stand, right or wrong, and stick to it. I think a lot of Freepers have come to this point on the illegal immigration issue, as they are farsighted, and see what's coming for our country if a stand isnt taken on this issue, come what may. There will be no recognizable country left. To do otherwise than take a stand would be cowardly.