Gay marriage and abortion, divisive issues within the Republican party, have flared again at the RNC’s meeting here, with Nevada’s delegation firing back at criticism of its April decision to remove anti-abortion and anti-gay language from its state platform.
Angered by an email from Oklahoma Republican National Committee member Carolyn McLarty that questioned its loyalty to the national party, the Nevada delegation sent a stinging rebuke to the 168-member national committee.
“The removal of two social issues from our platform does not mean that ‘we’ as individual people are ‘for’ gay marriage or ‘for’ abortion,” the email said. “The removal of these planks recognizes the inappropriateness of the existence of these planks in our platform in the first place.”
“We disagree with Committeewoman McLarty where she said ‘They are symptoms of the infiltration of the Republican Party by those who really want to destroy it,’ ” it said.
The delegation also took issue with Mrs. McLarty, an evangelical Protestant and staunch opponent of abortion, calling its action an “attack on God and family.”
“We are insulted by this accusation. Most of our delegates have deep spiritual beliefs,” the Nevada email said.
Grass-roots Republicans themselves are divided over whether abortion should be banned nationally by a constitutional amendment or whether it’s a matter of states’ discretion.
Some respected veteran RNC members were not pleased with the Nevada action on abortion – in part because there is widespread agreement among RNC members that the Democratic party is the party sympathetic to abortion and the GOP has differentiated itself as the “pro-life” party – and because many RNC members are dedicated opponents of what they regard as “murder of the unborn.”
“The Nevada RNC member reported to her fellow RNC western region committee members the platform was ‘shortened “to benefit voters and candidates,’” Arizona RNC member Bruce Ash told The Washington Times.
“I raise the question of whether the Nevada GOP was exercising wise judgment by doing so as well as why these were the best to select,” Mr. Ash said.
But many Republicans agree the GOP must preserve its coalition of voters with dispiarate views.
“The National Committee should stay out of disputes between the state parties,” former RNC General Counsel David Norcross said.
“That conclusion has nothing to do with the merits nor should it,” Mr. Norcross added. “The Nevada delegation said actions were far from ‘disgraceful’ or ‘insidious,’ and we find her judgment of our delegation wholly inappropriate.”
“The position of the Nevada Republican Party does not impact Oklahoma and neither the Committeewoman nor the RNC have any governance over the will of the Nevada delegation when it comes to the content of the Nevada state platform.”
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SOURCE: The Washington Times
Ralph Z. Hallow
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