SEASIDE -- In an unexpected and, at times, rancorous showdown, delegates to the Republicans' annual Dorchester Conference voted Saturday to recommend removing any mention of abortion from their state party platform. The issue pitted two longtime party stalwarts, former U.S. Sen. Bob Packwood and state party Chairman Kevin Mannix, in a face-to-face debate that left more than 350 delegates disagreeing over party unity, party growth, loyalty to respected leaders and possibly to their personal principles. Before voting on the proposal to remove abortion from the platform, an angered Mannix urged delegates to abstain as a way to show party unity....