By Michael Bryan
I've been hugely entertained by the GOP primary between Flake and Cardon, but really I haven't seen much difference between them. Differences do exist, of course, and many Republicans can tell you all about them. Democrats generally won't be able to see a lick of difference.
But there is one subject on which there is a key difference between these two Republicans: abortion.
Mr. Flake and Mr. Cardon are clearly both opposed to abortion. But in today's GOP, Mr. Flake is 'soft' on abortion, and Mr. Cardon is a 'real' Republican.
The GOP has been moving sharply rightward on abortion lately. Opposing abortions even in the circumstance of rape or incest is now a very mainstream GOP position. Increasingly, the GOP orthodoxy is to force a victim of rape or incest to bear the child of the man who violated her.
This issue is basis of the clearest difference between these two rock-ribbed paleo-conservatives. Mr. Flake does not favor forcing the victims of rape or incest to bear the child, Mr. Cardon does.
Who says the Center For Arizona Policy isn't good for anything? I would not have realized just how many GOP candidates for Federal office this year side with Mr. Cardon in forcing victims of rape and incest to carry the progeny of thier attackers to term without their candidate questionaire.
GOP politicians who favor forcing women to bear the children of rape and incent include: Jon Paton in CD1, Martha McSally in CD2, Gabriela Saucedo Mercer and Jaime Vasquez in CD3, Paul Gosar (who even seems to oppose abortion even to save the life of the mother) and Ron Gould in CD4, Kirk Adams and Matt Salmon in CD5, David Schweikert in CD6 (I guess Benny is soft on abortion), Trent Franks in CD8, and Leah Campos Schandlbauer, Travis Grantham, Vernon Parker, Wendy J. Rogers, and Martin Sepulveda in CD9.
In fact, in most Congressional districts, Republicans don't have a choice about choice: they only have candidates who support forcing women to carry rape and incest pregnancies to term.
Indeed, most GOP candidates for State Legislature also support forcing victims of rape and incest to term as well, even in presumably competitive districts. I encourage any Republican who doesn't support such an extreme position to take a close look at the questionaire of your local candidates. You might be surprised.
Recent Comments