Trump derangement syndrome is a bipartisan affliction. It’s one thing to dislike an individual politician so much that supporting them is impossible. It’s another thing to shift one’s stance on the most sensitive topics as a result of that aversion. Such is the case with the abortion issue and some well-known names on the Right.
When the question is whether it should be legal for women in America to select their unborn children for death because they are “unwanted” or “inconvenient,” the conservative response must be unwavering.
A main tenet of conservatism is a belief that the unborn should be afforded the same protections as those existing on this side of the womb. Unfortunately, that has not been the case in the “land of the free” for almost 50 years. As Justice Samuel Alito writes in the recently leaked Supreme Court draft, “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start.” It is a good thing that Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey may be overturned. Sending the issue back to the states is a step in the right direction.
Opposing this move because of Trump-appointed justices or out of some desire to be accepted by the non-Trump Left is as unprincipled as it gets. Columnist Jennifer Rubin, commentator Bill Kristol, and candidate Evan McMullin have all taken strong pro-life positions in the past. But that staunchness has evaporated.
Rubin used to be the “conservative columnist” for the Washington Post. Her evolution in recent years has been stark. In 2007, Rubin wrote of Mitt Romney’s flip-flopping on abortion, pointing out how he was once strongly pro-choice. She questioned his pro-life motivations. Now, Rubin herself shrieks all over Twitter and in her writing, claiming, “We’ve gone full theocracy because Rs manipulated court slots.” Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) said Rubin has “laser-focused analysis of the ‘partisan, radical majority’ on the Court.” Rubin warns of Roe going away, urging women to organize and vote. The same woman who now believes abortion is women’s healthcare tweeted in 2012 that “elective abortions have nothing to do with ‘women’s health.'” Convenient.
Commentator Bill Kristol wrote an article in 1998 titled, “Roe Must Go.” Now, as editor-at-large at the Bulwark, Kristol questions the very beliefs he once held. He even went so far as to tweet, “I’m less confident than I was a quarter-century ago of the case for a full-blown ‘conservative reformation in politics, in morals, and in beliefs.’ If that inclines me towards the position of Chief Justice Roberts rather than Justice Alito in the present case, so be it.” Questioning a “full-blown reformation” is one thing. Publicly stating that Roe should not be overturned is another, and it is not conservatism. Kristol’s deviation from principles has been apparent, and it all seems to have developed from a dislike of former President Donald Trump.
Evan McMullin, who ran for president in 2016 and is now running as an independent against Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), has now publicly stated he doesn’t believe Roe should be overturned. In an interview with Mehdi Hassan of MSNBC, he even stated that doing so would “create a public health crisis.” But in 2016, McMullin challenged voters to support him, tweeting, “Why can’t @RealDonaldTrump actually say the words “I want Roe v Wade overturned?” McMullin’s interest in Democratic support in his current race to beat an incumbent must be great motivation. Whatever the main cause, his principles have been cast aside.
In response, pro-lifers have called Rubin, Kristol, and McMullin “shameless” and grifters, among other things. It’s nothing short of tribalism when rejecting a politician is considered the greatest and highest good. Such is the case in this era that remains dominated by Trump. The recent appointees to the Supreme Court are in no way tainted because Trump appointed them. And the conservative embrace of the sanctity of life is still the obvious, ethical choice compared to the long-standing immorality of abortion. There is simply no other option.
Rubin, Kristol, McMullin, and others represent a brand that is moored not to principle but power and petty grievance. Generally, this behavior causes some friction. But when the issue is the basic right to life of the unborn, it stands out for what it truly is: cowardice.
Kimberly Ross (@SouthernKeeks) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog and a columnist at Arc Digital.
