"Rudy Would Kill the GOP Pro-Life Movement"

On Tuesday, Doug Patton wrote an article in which he points out that if Rudy Giuliani is the Republican nominee, it would be the first time since 1976, when Ronald Reagan challenged Gerald Ford in the primaries, that the Republican presidential candidate would be pro-abortion. That, says Patton, "could spell the end of the pro-life movement within the Republican Party" -- the consequences of which would cause social-issues voters to stay home or, perhaps, even vote Democrat in some cases.

Patton quotes Mark 8:36:

For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

It's a good point: By nominating Giuliani, it would require selling-out principle, and if there's one thing the conservative movement has, it is principle. In a general election, there is no doubt that "settling" -- as long as the candidate is somewhat of a conservative, pro-life at the least -- is the way to go so that a liberal is not elected.

But in a primary election, one should look for the candidate they like, regardless of the "electability" of that person. In short: The primary season is not the time to compromise principles. Only when the general election arrives, and the choice is between a, say, 85% conservative, who was their third-favorite, and a 95% liberal, should one vote for someone who is not their top choice.

Some supporters of Giuliani have claimed that the only time a president can change anything on abortion is by appointing judges -- thus, they say, when Giuliani pledges to elect conservative judges, that is enough. But as Patton points out, a Giuliani-nomination likely means the right-to-life plank in the GOP platform would be removed.

Ever since that 1976 primary challenge of Reagan, the Republican Party, at their annual convention, has included the pro-life plank. At the '76 convention, Reagan supporters attempted to push many conservative planks: the anti-abortion one, one opposing the ERA, etc. "The mere fact that the ERA was open to question, and the pro-life plank added, was a victory for Phyllis Schlafly, a leader of the social conservatives," writes Craig Shirley in his terrific book about the Ford-Reagan campaign, Reagan's Revolution.

Patton concludes:

Yes, the war against Islamist fanaticism demands an alternative to Hillary Clinton. Yes, a Giuliani administration would be preferable in many important ways to a Clinton or an Obama administration. And yes, he is probably electable if we give him our nomination.

But at what cost?

P.S.: In the coming weeks, I'll discuss why Giuliani's pledge to appoint judges such as Antonin Scalia, Samuel Alito, and John Roberts is troubling for a number of reasons.