I disagree. Many union card holding, tax and morally conservative democrats switched parties over the abortion issue. They have not changed their positions on anything. They are just anti-abortion.
It is part of the quirky nature of our two party system. Gary Bauer is a good example of this. He is actually pretty well on the left economically. Talk about abortion, homosexuality, though... and it is a different matter.
Does the republican party want to keep this big tent though is the question. Do you have to be both pro small government and pro-life to run for office? Or can ya just be one of the two. If this was European parliamentary style democracy... the issue would be moot as the ties that bind people to the democrats and republicans would be loosened.
Yes, but life isn't a platform of the Democrat Party, it is for the republicans, that's why the Reagan Dems switch over.
If the republicans drop the life issue, as I think Paul wants us to do, we would not have those Democrats voting for us and many Repubs. would leave the party for the Conservative and Constitutional parties.
I think that if you want to run as a Republican you should be pro life as the party dictates. Doug Forrester may have won if he hadn't waffled on the life issue. He also refused to fill out the questionnaire for the NRA and lost that endorsement too.