Shifting Coalitions and the Pro-Life Witness
What most observers are missing about the GOP's softened pro-life language
In my latest column for World, I write about the new, watered-down language on abortion and what many observers are missing:
Much has been written about the shifting of the Republican Party into a more defensive posture on abortion, even on the part of some who were once stalwart pro-life voices. Though the political realities since the fall of Roe are complicated, we should still urge our elected officials to do all they can to enshrine the sanctity of life into law.
But there is a reason Republican politicians are being so pragmatic on the issue. Scared by the loss of abortion ballot initiatives in reliably red states like Kansas, Kentucky, and Ohio as well as the less-than-stellar performance by the GOP in the 2022 midterm elections, political professionals running the 2024 campaign are poring over polls and trying to thread a difficult needle.
Political parties are, by necessity, a coalition of coalitions. This has always been the case in American history. Every few years, the voting maps shift. In this current moment, the Republican Party has, due to the political talent of former President Donald Trump, won over large segments of disaffected, unchurched, non-college-educated, working-class voters who either sat out elections or voted for Democrats. This has led to surprising GOP gains in Midwestern and Rust Belt states.
These voters form the core of Trump’s voting base. These are the folks who show up at rallies and enthusiastically voted for him in the primaries. Unchurched, non-college-educated, working-class voters and churched evangelicals and Christians are often lumped together, both by pundits and self-appointed prophets who confuse faithful church ladies with rallygoers who wave “Let’s go Brandon” signs. There is alignment between these two voting blocs when it comes to casting ballots in November, but there is some divergence on important issues— such as the issue of abortion.
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My book Agents of Grace is available from Zondervan.