ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Thursday, May. 24, 2007

Republican candidates should not take values voters for granted
By Colleen Carroll Campbell

Conservatives concerned about social issues — the right to life of the unborn
and elderly, the preservation of marriage as the union of one man and one
woman, the appointment of judges who interpret the law rather than legislating
from the bench — are feeling like jilted lovers lately.

The Republican Party courted them passionately during the 2004 presidential
election when moral values ranked first among voter concerns in exit polls and
"values voters" helped cinch a second term for President Bush. Now these voters
are struggling to find a 2008 Republican presidential contender they can
embrace. And they are wondering if their party takes them for granted.

It is a strong temptation for the GOP. Republicans face little competition for
values voters from the Democratic presidential candidates who cite Ruth Bader
Ginsberg as a model for their next Supreme Court pick and roundly condemn a
partial-birth abortion ban supported by the majority of Americans.

Yet the Republican frontrunners — former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Arizona
Senator John McCain and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney — do not
inspire much enthusiasm among social conservatives.

Romney supports judicial restraint and a federal amendment to protect
traditional marriage, but the timing of his pro-life conversion has hurt his
credibility.

McCain has supported restrictions on abortion, but he also has supported
taxpayer funding for research that destroys human embryos, opposed a federal
marriage amendment and championed campaign finance reforms that curtailed
pro-life political influence.

Giuliani is by far the least attractive Republican candidate to values voters.
He has supported taxpayer funding for abortion, praised President Clinton's
veto of the partial-birth abortion ban, donated half a dozen times to abortion
provider Planned Parenthood and opposed a ban on gay marriage.

After several botched attempts to explain his abortion stance to the Republican
base, Giuliani finally settled on the
personally-opposed-but-publicly-supportive mantra favored by pro-choice
Democrats. He promised to appoint "strict constructionist" Supreme Court
judges, but his muddled view on Roe v. Wade — OK to repeal, OK not to repeal —
suggests that either he has not read the ruling or he does not understand what
"strict constructionist" means.

Giuliani did not help his cause last month when he answered an abortion
question by telling a Republican crowd that "Our party has to get beyond issues
like that." It was a startling statement from a man seeking primary votes in a
party that has not backed an abortion-rights supporter since Gerald Ford lost
to Jimmy Carter in 1976. Support for the right to life of the unborn has been a
staple of the Republican platform for nearly three decades. And it has been a
winning one: Pro-life Republicans have won five of the past seven presidential
elections with the crucial help of pro-life voters.

The GOP is a big-tent coalition and social issues are not the only ones that
matter to its base. But many Republicans see these issues as profoundly
consequential for our families and our future. They worry about raising their
children in a culture that regards some lives as more valuable than others,
treats marriage as just another private affair between consenting adults and
outsources its moral debates to activist judges.

Although many values voters are not particularly enamored with Republican
foreign or fiscal policy, they appreciate the party's emphasis on faith,
family, freedom and the right to life. If a Republican nominee shows contempt
for their concerns or arrogantly assumes that they will sacrifice their
principles for partisan politics, values voters may not defect to the
Democratic camp. But they could strike an equally mortal blow to a Republican
presidential bid on Election Day simply by staying home.

Colleen Carroll Campbell is an author, television host, and St. Louis-based
fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Her website is
www.colleen-campbell.com.