Posted on 11/07/2014 5:47:15 AM PST by wagglebee
Pro-life activists and voters proved pivotal in Republican victories in Congress and in several states. So far, however, their efforts are not being rewarded in public statements by GOP leaders.
According to Open Secrets, pro-life campaign contributions totalled approximately $1.4 million in 2013 and 2014. Additionally, Women Speak Out PAC -- whose members include the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List -- worked 14 campaign offices in three battleground states. In a press release, SBA and Women Speak Out president Marjorie Dannenfelser said that "759 field representatives...reached more than 875,000 pro-life voters who typically do not vote in midterm elections."
Between the PAC and SBA list, $5 million dollars were spent on five Senate races in Arkansas, North Carolina, Iowa, Kansas, and Louisiana. Four of those five races ended in GOP victories, with Louisiana's Senate race going to a runoff on December 6. It is expected to be close, with a slight Republican advantage.
Dannenfelser immediately called upon Republicans to pass the "Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act" through both chambers of Congress. The bill, which would ban most late-term abortions, has received a pledge of support by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-KY. McConnell had previously vowed that Republicans would pass the legislation through the Senate if Republicans controlled the chamber.
However, in a press conference on Wednesday, McConnell's prepared remarks did not include mention of any pro-life bill.
House Speaker John Boehner, R-OH, also focused a statement and a press briefing in the days after the election on the economy, taxes, debt, regulations, and education, as well as other economic issues.
A co-authored op-ed by Boehner and McConnell that was published on Wednesday night did not discuss life issues, focusing instead of taxes, debt, national security, and repealing the Affordable Care Act.
Likewise, hours after Republicans took the Senate, Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Reince Priebus said in a statement that "Republicans have been given the opportunity to lead the country in a better direction, and the Republican House and Senate are ready to listen to the American people."
"We hope President Obama will too," said Preibus. "It's time to get to work on creating jobs, expanding American energy development, pursuing real healthcare reform, reducing spending, reining in the federal government, and keeping America safe."
On Election Day, an email from Priebus to the Republican National Committee's full list of supporters said that "Americans are tired of the President and his misguided agenda." That agenda, according to Priebus, includes "Obamacare and the rising cost of health care," deficit spending, "affordable energy," and "threats like ISIS and Ebola," among other issues. Priebus said that a vote for Republicans is a vote to "end the gridlock and finally get our legislation moving again," especially with regards to "over 40 jobs bills..."
Nowhere in the email were abortion or same-sex "marriage" mentioned.
Abortion was tangentially referenced when Priebus said that "the Republican-led House of Representatives has passed over 350 bills, including over 40 jobs bills, that the Democrat-controlled Senate will not even put up for a vote." The House has passed two pro-life bills.
According to RNC spokesperson Raffi Williams, the email reflected the beliefs of faith leaders. "Our Faith Director, Chad Connelly, has been traveling the country meeting with and talking to pastors and people of faith for the past two years. During these meetings the issue that has come up the most is the lack of leadership in the White House and Senate that has allowed our economy to falter and our standing in the world to diminish," Williams said.
"We are proud of our pro-life, pro-family stance as a party," said Williams, "and that is why the Chairman included them publicly in the Principles for American Renewal." In the Principles, the RNC says that "Our country should value the traditions of family, life, religious liberty, and hard work."
Priebus has spent much of 2014 informing life and family voters that the GOP supports their issues. In March, he told LifeSiteNews that attending the March for Life was "a little bit of a wake-up call for me as a chairman."
According to Priebus, the appreciation of pro-life leaders for his attendance of the March, as well as the attendance of other RNC delegates, reminded him that "maybe we need to start reminding people about the core positions of our party more, so that we can grow in places where we're strong.”
Also in March, he said that the GOP is "a party that believes marriage ought to be between one man and one woman," though he qualified the statement by telling reporter Betsy Woodruff that he is "not walking on down the street" stating the party's position.
"If someone wants to ask me, like you did, I didn't dance” around the issue, Priebus told Woodruff. “I answered the question head-on, I'm very clear, and that's what you should expect out of the party.”
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So what should we expect? After all what we elected was Republicans!
Consider that getting diverted by such issues, important as they may be, getting the movement back towards the Constitution will solve many of these issues without needing to dilute the efforts. Getting rid of abortion on demand does far less to move us towards Freedom (by destroying the Party that fosters such evil) than moving towards Freedom will do to getting rid of abortion on demand.
Baloney. Even if they did NOTHING, it would be better than the active actions against pro-life and social conservatives which this administration has been fostering.
However, the fact that many social conservatives were elected means that something will occur.
Judicial appointments are just one of the many things which this election decisively sidetracks for the rest of Obama’s presidency.
I don’t mind people who disagree with me, as long as they don’t actively try to destroy me.
Meanwhile, work on the state level to write bills that don't get overturned by the out-of-control judiciary.
“So what should we expect? After all what we elected was Republicans!”
Exactly. We didn’t elect a bunch of crusaders, just the un-Democrats.
I don't have a problem with this. Let's address the current battle before us instead of posturing for one that is not currently in sight. Besides, the only possible battles involve cutting off federal funding for abortions, which should be included as a small part of massive wholesale cuts in all departments. And then there's the matter of federal judges. In that regard, the spoken issue should be those judges who believe in limiting the power of the judiciary as our Founding Father intended. Period. Do that, and the valuation of life will increase.
Conservative values should include the valuation of life - not the other way around. Implement conservatism, and empower the people to decide at the local and state level how their governments will restrict abortion.
The GOP establishment has no intention of doing anything real to stop abortion, even though the primary obligation of their oaths of office is to provide equal protection for individual innocent human life.
They may well pass the pro-life industry’s immoral, unconstitutional “Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act,” but all that does is to codify injustice and give license to kill all the children, as long as they are killed on schedule.
IMHO, you speak the truth!
here we go again.....just because pro life sentiments are not mentioned in every breath doesnt mean folks arent PTO LIFE!
We won..celebrate and quit your dang whining!
Did the thousands of babies that will be slaughtered TODAY “win”? How about the millions who will die by the next federal election?
You go ahead and celebrate. But in the face of the reality of the mass slaughter that continues, I can’t do that.
Actually, it typically does.
They claim to be pro-life to get votes and then do NOTHING about abortion once elected.
We won..celebrate and quit your dang whining!
Really?
Since we won, less than seventy-two hours ago, MORE THAN 10,000 INNOCENT AMERICANS HAVE BEEN KILLED IN ABORTUARIES. An INNOCENT AMERICAN BABY IS ABORTED EVERY 24 SECONDS.
Please tell us, specifically, why we should be celebrating this fact?
I think it’s a good idea not to mention abortion or the farce of gay “marriage”. Congress can do nothing decisive without the Supreme Court, and symbolic actions do not save the lives of unborn children. Similarly, gay “marriage” is being imposed by the courts, and Congress cannot stop that. The social issues require that the Court be staffed with decent people who see their job as interpreting the Constitution as written, not as rewriting that document. We need the White House to deal with those issues, so it’s not happening until January 20, 2017.
I am thoroughly disgusted with murdering babies for profit and with pretending that marriage means whatever Newspeak says it means. I just don’t see an opportunity for Congress to make things significantly better (particularly with a certain veto from the corrupt thug occupying our White House).
I wasn't aware of an oath of office to obey lawless judges.
Last time I checked, the constitutional oath to support the Constitution.
Which absolutely requires equal protection for the life of every innocent person, in every jurisdiction.
“The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution...”
— Article VI, the United States Constitution
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