For years, the Democratic Party has relentlessly attacked Republicans who believe in the sanctity of human life. President Obama pushes for taxpayer funding of abortion, uses his Justice Department to challenge pro-life laws in the states, and blatantly impinges the rights of conscience for pro-life medical practitioners. Nancy Pelosi and Obama’s other supporters in Congress have applauded these efforts.
Some Republicans hesitate to fight on social issues. But in 2014, some of them went on offense by coalescing behind legislation to protect babies and women after 20 weeks of pregnancy — when science tells us unborn children can feel pain. Those willing to fight were rewarded, because most Americans have never bought into the extremist Democratic Party platform of abortion on-demand, for any reason, throughout all nine months of pregnancy, and at taxpayers’ expense.
Newly-elected Congressman Alex Mooney, R-W.V. (co-author of this op-ed), credits his decision to go on offense on this issue in his victory against Nick Casey, his well-funded Democratic opponent in a “toss-up” race. Casey filled out the West Virginia Right to Life election questionnaire and answered that he would not vote to prohibit abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy — a policy supported by a majority of Americans, including 59 percent of women and 56 percent of Independents. The legislation even splits Democrats, with 46 percent supporting this common sense limit.
Mooney used this issue to undermine his opponent’s claims to be a moderate, pro-life Democrat. After all, the “Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act,” prohibiting abortion after 20 weeks except to save the life of the mother, had just passed the West Virginia General Assembly with the support of 70 percent of Democratic legislators.
In late September 2014, Mooney’s campaign put significant resources behind an ad on this issue. It began with a beautiful little baby crawling across the TV screen, and asked what kind of man would oppose a prohibition on abortions five months into pregnancy, when the child could feel pain. The TV ad was complemented with a number of direct mail pieces to voters.
The Casey campaign struggled to respond to this surprising line of attack. Casey claimed in several interviews that he was pro-life, despite his signed questionnaire indicating the opposite. As the Mooney campaign continued to hammer home Casey’s radical position, the increasingly desperate opponent lost his cool. “I’m not dodging the question,” he said at one point in a radio interview. “There’s nothing for me to explain about that except it isn’t true. It’s like they said I was at Auschwitz. It isn’t true.”
After the release of this ad, Mooney’s campaign led in every poll until Election Day. He is convinced it played an integral part in his 4,912-vote victory.
The Susan B. Anthony List and its super PAC, Women Speak Out, took a similar tack, going on offense in five major Senate races. The group launched a multistate field operation of more than 700 pro-life canvassers to expose pro-abortion incumbents in North Carolina, Louisiana, and Arkansas, and a pro-abortion “independent” in Kansas.
Women Speak Out canvassers turned out pro-life voters who do not normally vote in mid-term election years through an unprecedented ground game. In each case, they had face-to-face conversations with voters about the Democratic candidate’s support for taxpayer funding of abortion in Obamacare, and his or her refusal to protect babies after five months of pregnancy. By Election Day, the team had knocked on 520,050 doors and made 536,742 live phone calls.
Pro-abortion Senate candidates felt the heat. Greg Orman, running for Senate in Kansas, literally ran away from a voter who asked him to clarify his position on abortion. In Louisiana, Senator Mary Landrieu, in an effort to muddy the waters on her abortion stance, went so far as to place a newspaper ad aimed towards Catholic voters. She wanted to enjoy the reputation of a pro-life Senator while opposing the most popular pro-life proposal in the nation, the Pain-Capable bill, which she called a “shame.”
Elections provide clarity. The one just passed showed that candidates who use specific legislative proposals to frame the life issue can gain an electoral advantage.
In the 2016 election and beyond, it would be a big mistake for pro-life candidates not to exploit the advantage their pro-life position confers. It is a position both morally just and politically smart. In this case, good policy makes for good politics.
Rep. Alex X. Mooney represents West Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District. Marjorie Dannenfelser is the President of the Susan B. Anthony List. Thinking of submitting an op-ed to the Washington Examiner? Be sure to read our guidelines on submissions for editorials, available at this link.
