# Will the Republicans keep beating the abortion drum after this year's election? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 7, 2012, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-republicans-keep-beating-the-abortion-drum-after-this-years-election/640214 "2012-11-07T14:01:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-republicans-keep-beating-the-abortion-drum-after-this-years-election/640214/1 "2012-11-07T14:01:44Z")
The GOP lost two Senates seats that should have been easy wins for them, in large part because their candidates got hamstrung by their own anti-abortion rhetoric. It seems that the Republicans are slowly realizing that this a losing issue, much like Democrats did with gun control back in the '90s. It’s something that a small part of their base is fervent about, but that most everyone by and large isn’t making a lot of noise over. And more and more often when the Republicans do try to make a big deal of it, they end up shooting themselves in the foot. Not that I think the GOP will of a sudden become pro-choice. I think they’ll still give lip service to the pro-lifers for many years to come. But, I can no longer see too many serious candidates expending a lot of political capital on this. So, what do you think about where they go with the issue from here on out? ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-republicans-keep-beating-the-abortion-drum-after-this-years-election/640214/2 "2012-11-07T14:07:53Z")
They crawl back under the rock they came out of from for now. They know the abortion issue isn’t going to go their way and that it is unpopular. They will continue to harass women and doctors at clinics but not much more. The only reason it came up was because it was an election issue that would fire up part of their base. You know the base, the base of republicans that don’t want government involved in our personnel lives but have no problems wanting the government to tell women what to do with their bodies. They’ll be back in four years. ---
**Author:** ![Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omg_a_Black_Conservative)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-republicans-keep-beating-the-abortion-drum-after-this-years-election/640214/3 "2012-11-07T14:08:23Z")
Republicans did not bring up the abortion issue; Democrats did. Again. And again. And again. Something which I have noted here over and over. The two groups Republicans do worse among-- Blacks and Hispanics-- are far closer to the GOP than to the Democrats on the abortion issue. Contrary to what you want to say, it’s not a “losing issue”, especially since one of those candidate lost to a pro-life candidate. It’s just one of those issues used this year to fire up a keep constituency of Obama’s base. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-republicans-keep-beating-the-abortion-drum-after-this-years-election/640214/4 "2012-11-07T14:11:37Z")
pro-life and pro-batshit are two different things. Were anti-choice candidates routinely defeated or just those that added a bit of crazy to the mix? ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-republicans-keep-beating-the-abortion-drum-after-this-years-election/640214/5 "2012-11-07T14:12:15Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > Republicans did not bring up the abortion issue; Democrats did. Again. And again. And again. > > Something which I have noted here over and over. The two groups Republicans do worse among-- Blacks and Hispanics-- are far closer to the GOP than to the Democrats on the abortion issue. Contrary to what you want to say, it’s not a “losing issue”, especially since one of those candidate lost to a pro-life candidate. It’s just one of those issues used this year to fire up a keep constituency of Obama’s base. Well, tell me again, what was the party that kept bringing up rape over and over again? ---
**Author:** ![Ca3799](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9f8e36/32.png) [@Ca3799](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ca3799)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-republicans-keep-beating-the-abortion-drum-after-this-years-election/640214/6 "2012-11-07T14:15:44Z")
Of course, **Omg a Black Conservative** is completely wrong about who keeps bringing up the topic of abortion… as usual. Conservatives keep calling for smaller government and 'getting government out of our lives" yet consistently try to pass laws interfering with a woman, her doctor and her family’s decisions. I’ve been an OB-GYN nurse for 20 years now. My specialty is preserving problem pregnancies, but too often it’s not possible to do so. It’s none of your business what a family, in whatever shape or form that family takes, chooses to do with their pregnancies. When women can’t control their fertility, they can’t control their lives and most women who use birth control are married. ---
**Author:** ![Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omg_a_Black_Conservative)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-republicans-keep-beating-the-abortion-drum-after-this-years-election/640214/7 "2012-11-07T14:16:47Z")
> [@joebuck20](#): > > Well, tell me again, what was the party that kept bringing up rape over and over again? The Democrats. Both Akin and Murdoch was asked they opinions of abortion and the case in rape and they answered it. From there liberals ran with it. Even in the general election, you didn’t see any (there was probably one somewhere, maybe) Romney ads about abortion. In Florida alone, I saw three different ads from the Obama campaign on this issue. ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-republicans-keep-beating-the-abortion-drum-after-this-years-election/640214/8 "2012-11-07T14:20:33Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > Republicans did not bring up the abortion issue; Democrats did. Again. And again. And again. Really? Like when they tried to pass a bill restricting federal funding for abortion only to cases of “forcible rape”? Or when they enacted a [record number of abortion bills](http://www.guttmacher.org/media/inthenews/2012/01/05/endofyear.html)? Or how [32 states have enacted laws restricting abortion since 2010](http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_162-57500585/since-2010-32-states-have-restricted-abortions/)? Yeah, those Democrats. They just won’t stop fucking talking about it. ---
**Author:** ![Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omg_a_Black_Conservative)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-republicans-keep-beating-the-abortion-drum-after-this-years-election/640214/9 "2012-11-07T14:25:44Z")
> [@ladyfoxfyre](#): > > Really? Like when they tried to pass a bill restricting federal funding for abortion only to cases of “forcible rape”? Or when they enacted a [record number of abortion bills](http://www.guttmacher.org/media/inthenews/2012/01/05/endofyear.html)? Or how [32 states have enacted laws restricting abortion since 2010](http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_162-57500585/since-2010-32-states-have-restricted-abortions/)? > > Yeah, those Democrats. They just won’t stop fucking talking about it. Perhaps you should go back and read. You’ll be hard pressed to find where Republicans went out of their way to talk about abortion in this year’s presidential election. They did not. Romney, especially, tried focusing on the economy-- constantly trying to deflect away from the abortion issue-- while Democrats ran Abortionpalooza. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-republicans-keep-beating-the-abortion-drum-after-this-years-election/640214/10 "2012-11-07T14:32:28Z")
Well, yes. I think I understand what you’re saying. The Republican party has been trying hard to avoid talking too much about the more reprehensible bits of their platform and legislative records, but those darn Democrats keep asking about it. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-republicans-keep-beating-the-abortion-drum-after-this-years-election/640214/11 "2012-11-07T14:32:50Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > Perhaps you should go back and read. You’ll be hard pressed to find where Republicans went out of their way to talk about abortion in this year’s presidential election. They did not. Romney, especially, tried focusing on the economy-- constantly trying to deflect away from the abortion issue-- while Democrats ran Abortionpalooza. If this were remotely true, which I assure you that it is very much not, you have to ask yourself why the issue of abortion had such power with the electorate. But I will reiterate that you must simply re-evaluate your decision making process, because in all the ways you were totally, completely and entirely wrong heading into the election yesterday, you appear to continue to be doing the same this morning. Rarely is the question asked, “Is our conservatives learning?” ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-republicans-keep-beating-the-abortion-drum-after-this-years-election/640214/12 "2012-11-07T14:34:16Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > Perhaps you should go back and read. You’ll be hard pressed to find where Republicans went out of their way to talk about abortion in this year’s presidential election. They did not. Romney, especially, tried focusing on the economy-- constantly trying to deflect away from the abortion issue-- while Democrats ran Abortionpalooza. You do realize the Presidential election was not the only election happening last night, right? So what you’re saying is, yes, Republicans have enacted a record number of abortion laws in the past two years, but they’re really hoping to keep it quiet and not mention it in public very much. Even though it is an important issue to many people, and the continued erosion of abortion rights are concerning to many. Ooookay. ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-republicans-keep-beating-the-abortion-drum-after-this-years-election/640214/13 "2012-11-07T14:39:28Z")
I think the Republicans need to back off on social issues generally, but abortion is not one of them. In the case of an issue like gay marriage, for example, it’s a largely symbolic issue, and opposition to it is just based on a desire that the country as a whole officially endorse (what social conservatives believe to be) proper values. Even people who believe this need to accept at some point that the country as a whole is not on board, and give up on trying to remake the country in their image. But abortion is something else. If you believe that abortion is morally wrong, it’s a moral issue that involves a very real victim. You can’t just say let all these victims suffer, we need votes. That said, if the votes are truly not there, and the electorate is truly opposed to abortion restrictions, then anti-abortion candidates just won’t be successful. But I don’t think this is actually the case. It’s my impression that public support for restrictions on abortion has actually trended higher in recent years. What happened in this cycle is that the Democrats successfully used the “rape” issue as a wedge. It was a very successful ploy. Republicans who oppose abortions in cases of rape are going to have to carefully think through how they will respond to this sort of gambit. But I don’t think this will involve renouncing the anti-abortion position. ---
**Author:** ![Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omg_a_Black_Conservative)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-republicans-keep-beating-the-abortion-drum-after-this-years-election/640214/14 "2012-11-07T14:41:08Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > If this were remotely true, which I assure you that it is very much not, you have to ask yourself why the issue of abortion had such power with the electorate. > > But I will reiterate that you must simply re-evaluate your decision making process, because in all the ways you were totally, completely and entirely wrong heading into the election yesterday, you appear to continue to be doing the same this morning. Rarely is the question asked, “Is our conservatives learning?” You seem to be laboring under the assumption that “because X votes for Y, then X must agree with Y on issue Z”. That’s quite an untrue assumption, even one I don’t think the smartest of you would make. But I have been wrong in the past 😉 > [@ladyfoxfyre](#): > > So what you’re saying is, yes, Republicans have enacted a record number of abortion laws in the past two years, but they’re really hoping to keep it quiet and not mention it in public very much. Even though it is an important issue to many people, and the continued erosion of abortion rights are concerning to many. Ooookay. See above. If you really think that then I’m not sure what to tell you. If, for example, Blacks vote for the Democratic party but are more anti-abortion than the Democratic party as a whole, that means that there is some issue they consider important outside of abortion which causes them to vote for a party who they fundamentally disagree with on some issue. But that’s how the political system works. Democrats were simply able to use the whole “rape” thing as a wedge issue this election to either fire up their base or “steal” some votes from the other side. Sucks, but it is what it is. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_stamos_left_ear/32/3198_2.png) [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Stamos_Left_Ear)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-republicans-keep-beating-the-abortion-drum-after-this-years-election/640214/15 "2012-11-07T14:52:49Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > Republicans did not bring up the abortion issue; Democrats did. Again. And again. And again. Seriously, you are either delusional or posting outlandish things just to get a reaction. I would love to just post [the chart on this page](http://www.guttmacher.org/statecenter/updates/2011/statetrends22011.html). It shows how, after Republicans swept into state office and the House in the 2010 midterms, the amount of abortion restrictions suddenly shot up to high heaven. From the text on the page: > [@](#): > > In the first half of the year, states enacted 115 new provisions related to reproductive health and rights. Fully 68% of these new laws seek to restrict access to abortion services, a sharp increase from last year, when 26% of new laws restricted abortion. > > The 80 abortion restrictions enacted this year is more than double the previous record of 34 abortion restrictions enacted in 2005, and more than triple the 23 enacted in 2010. All of these new provisions were enacted in just 19 states. So not only are Republicans bringing the subject up, they bring it up through policy. While they claimed to be all about “jobs, jobs, jobs,” they instead set records for restricting the choice of women. You don’t want Republicans to be accused of making it an issue? Tell them to stop making it an issue. But sticking your head in the sand and saying it’s not an issue won’t cut it. See the chart. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_stamos_left_ear/32/3198_2.png) [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Stamos_Left_Ear)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-republicans-keep-beating-the-abortion-drum-after-this-years-election/640214/16 "2012-11-07T14:56:04Z")
I see that \*\*ladyfoxfyre \*\* already listed the citations. Very good. I see that **Omg a Black Conservative** is claiming it shouldn’t be an issue at the national level? Here are two multiple choice questions: 1. Which candidate said he would do away with Roe V. Wade? 2. What position appoints justices to the Supreme Court? It is completely an issue at the national level. As well as the state level. It’s disingenuous to suggest otherwise. Unless you’re just posting outlandish things to get attention. ---
**Author:** ![destineal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f9b8f/32.png) [@destineal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/destineal)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-republicans-keep-beating-the-abortion-drum-after-this-years-election/640214/17 "2012-11-07T15:00:45Z")
I seem to remember the issue coming up quite a bit in the Republican primaries. Was this also the Democrats? ---
**Author:** ![EverwonderWhy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EverwonderWhy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EverwonderWhy)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-republicans-keep-beating-the-abortion-drum-after-this-years-election/640214/18 "2012-11-07T15:02:33Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > Perhaps you should go back and read. You’ll be hard pressed to find where Republicans went out of their way to talk about abortion in this year’s presidential election. They did not. Romney, especially, tried focusing on the economy-- constantly trying to deflect away from the abortion issue-- while Democrats ran Abortionpalooza. I am sure Republicans don’t want to talk about the record number of abortion bills that were drafted by their party. They would much rather have no one talk about it and let them legislate all kinds of ridiculous and offensive bills without having a public conversation. Expecting Democrats sit quiet and not bring it to the attention of the larger public is ludicrous. The public should be informed when their rights are being infringed on. Painting women who use contraceptives as “immoral” or contraceptives use as some kind frivolous extravagance isn’t really a winning position either. Like has already been stated, the majority of married women use prescription contraceptives. The relationship between reproductive rights and a woman’s economic independence is indisputable. As a former Republican, I thought my reproductive rights were safe and just political talking points, not anymore. Republicans will continue to lose fiscal conservatives/social libertarians, IMO, if they continue on this extreme path and now there is substantial evidence - record number of abortion bills, attempts to exclude contraceptives from private health care coverage and defunding of Title X(established by a Republican administration, btw, to illustrate just how extreme the party have become) - they are no longer just giving lip-service to the religious right. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-republicans-keep-beating-the-abortion-drum-after-this-years-election/640214/19 "2012-11-07T15:04:00Z")
> [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](#): > > Seriously, you are either delusional or posting outlandish things just to get a reaction. > > I would love to just post [the chart on this page](http://www.guttmacher.org/statecenter/updates/2011/statetrends22011.html). It shows how, after Republicans swept into state office and the House in the 2010 midterms, the amount of abortion restrictions suddenly shot up to high heaven. > > From the text on the page: > > So not only are Republicans bringing the subject up, they bring it up through policy. While they claimed to be all about “jobs, jobs, jobs,” they instead set records for restricting the choice of women. > > You don’t want Republicans to be accused of making it an issue? Tell them to stop making it an issue. But sticking your head in the sand and saying it’s not an issue won’t cut it. See the chart. That chart doesn’t properly account for the changing levels of Carbon-14 in the atmosphere by year. It’s untrustworthy. Some climate scientist told me so. ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-republicans-keep-beating-the-abortion-drum-after-this-years-election/640214/20 "2012-11-07T15:04:17Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > See above. If you really think that then I’m not sure what to tell you. If, for example, Blacks vote for the Democratic party but are more anti-abortion than the Democratic party as a whole, that means that there is some issue they consider important outside of abortion which causes them to vote for a party who they fundamentally disagree with on some issue. But that’s how the political system works. Democrats were simply able to use the whole “rape” thing as a wedge issue this election to either fire up their base or “steal” some votes from the other side. Sucks, but it is what it is. So you’re simultaneously arguing that abortion is not enough of a deciding issue to dissuade whole demographics from voting Democrat, and also an important enough issue to literally steal votes from the other side. Yes, I am sure now that you do not know what to tell me, regardless of what I think. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-republicans-keep-beating-the-abortion-drum-after-this-years-election/640214.md?page=2)