A recent RNC resolution encouraging Republican Candidates to stand for life, and pushed by APP board member Ellen Barrosse has gained overwhelming media attention in the last week, appearing in CNN, The Hill, and the Wall Street Journal, among others. Below are some excerpts from the widespread coverage:
The resolution declares the party “will support Republican pro-life candidates who fight back against Democratic deceptive “war on women” rhetoric by pointing out the extreme positions on abortion held by Democratic opponents.”
It also says the party “will not support the strategy of Republican pro-life candidates who stay silent in the face of such deceptive rhetoric.”
And it “urges all Republican pro-life candidates, consultants, and other national Republican Political Action Committees to reject a strategy of silence on the abortion issue, when candidates are attacked with “war on women” rhetoric.”
Committeewoman Ellen Barrosse told The Hill on Wednesday the resolution was inspired by the past two presidential elections and the Virginia gubernatorial elections, where Democrats charged Republican candidates with waging a “war on women” that Republicans admit hurt them in the end.
“The stakeholders at the RNC recognize that staying silent in the face of those horrific accusations is a losing strategy,” she said.
Barrosse said she wrote the resolution, in part, because GOP candidates like presidential nominee Mitt Romney and Virginia gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli failed to defend themselves against a barrage of “war on women” attacks unleashed by Democrats in 2012 and 2013.
She said Republicans who oppose abortion have an obligation to confront the hot button issue during their campaigns, rather than hope it disappears.
“Not talking about it has not worked well for us,” Barrosse told CNN in an interview. “Not responding has not worked well for us. It’s a conversation the party has to have.”
The Republican National Committee passed a resolution this morning urging party members to speak up about abortion and denounce Democrats’ efforts to paint them as anti-woman. The resolution, drafted by Delaware National Committeewoman Ellen Barrosse, reads: “The Republican National Committee urges all Republican pro-life candidates, consultants, and other national Republican Political Action Committees to reject a strategy of silence on the abortion issue when candidates are attacked with ‘war on women’ rhetoric.” In an interview with CNN, Barrosse said not talking about abortion or the Democrats’ claims of an RNC “war on women” has not worked well for the party. “It’s a conversation the party has to have,” she said.
The RNC, meeting here in Washington for three days, is expected to pass the resolution on Friday. Conservative Republican activists have complained that GOP candidates failed to fight back when attacked on their antiabortion views. The most recent example they cite is former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R), who lost his state’s gubernatorial election in November to the socially liberal Terry McAuliffe (D).
The RNC resolution’s introduction comes on the 41st anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade ruling, which legalized abortion nationwide and which sparked a culture war that rages to this day. RNC Chairman Reince Priebus and House majority leader Eric Cantor (R) of Virginia both planned to attend the annual antiabortion March for Life on Wednesday.
More than a dozen conservative delegates are championing a resolution calling on the party to adopt a stronger and more overt antiabortion stance. The resolution, which is expected to go to a vote Friday, calls on the party to fight back against Democratic efforts to portray Republican candidates as engaging in a “war on women” by favoring abortion restrictions.
Ellen Barrosse, chief sponsor of the resolution and the party’s national committeewoman from Delaware, said she is trying “to stir a conversation within the Republican Party on how best to define our stand on the life issue.” Ms. Barrosse represents the portion of the party that rejects some Republicans’ call to avoid social issues, such as abortion and gay marriage, in the interest of attracting more voters.
Abortion is generally sticky territory for Republicans, and their staunch opposition has prompted Democrats to paint the party as out of touch with women. Accusations of a GOP “war on women”—as well as Missouri Republican Senate Candidate Todd Akin’s campaign-dooming “legitimate rape” comments in 2012—have made many Republicans uneasy about addressing the issue at all.
The coalition of RNC members aims to change that narrative.
The resolution, first provided to CNN and confirmed by National Journal, calls on GOP candidates to stop avoiding the issue and embrace their antiabortion stance.
“The resolution is about how to talk about our pro-life agenda,” says Kirsten Kukowsi, an RNC spokeswoman. “After spending last cycle watching Democrats make false claims on the so-called ‘war on women,’ this is an acknowledgement that we need to take back the messaging and positively promote our pro-life agenda.”
The RNC intends to counter what it calls the “extreme positions on abortion held by Democratic opponents.”
There’s Republican reinforcement for the March for Life at the National Mall on Wednesday, offering a boost for pro-lifers and potential push back against liberal rhetoric claiming the GOP is waging a “war against women.” Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus delayed the start of the organization’s winter meeting so members could attend the march. And of interest: delegates will consider a new resolution demanding that the organization should not support a “strategy of silence” when it comes to Republican candidates and life issues.
“Candidates who stay silent on pro-life issues do not identify with key voters, fail to alert voters to Democrats’ extreme pro-abortion stances, and have lost their elections,” the resolution states. “Staying silent fails because this strategy allows Democrats to define the Republican brand and prevents the Republican Party from taking advantage of widely supported pro-life positions: to attract traditional and new values voters.”
Indeed, Democrats are often very deft at both skewing the brand and influencing the national media.
“Some Republican candidates have adopted a strategy of deflection and silence when attacked with ‘War on Women’ rhetoric, and we’ve now seen that silence is a losing strategy,” says delegate Ellen Barrosse, who authored the resolution and is a board member of American Principles in Action, a nonprofit group.
“If Republican candidates want to connect with key voters, such as women, Hispanics, and young people. They need to fight back on the life issue when attacked,” she adds.
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