Why can't republicans acknowledge the fact that they've lost on abortion?

[Dr Oz Lost Party!]

Why won't they move past the issue? It won't win them any supporters.

[Virginiá]

Why won't they move past the issue? It won't win them any supporters.

We're talking about an issue where many of these pro-life peoples believe abortion to be murder of actual babies. That kind of issue is not something you just admit defeat on if you are sincere in your beliefs. That's why Republicans won't give it up, or rather, pro-life people won't keep pushing the party.

[DrScholl]

They aren't going to drop issues that help distract from economic policy that really isn't good for many of their voters. There are many places where voters vote Republican mostly on social issues.

[TPIG]

     First, it stems from the belief that the right to life (especially for the most vulnerable in society) doesn't go away just because popular opinion wants it to. Second, I disagree with the idea that Republicans have lost on this issue. The public is pretty evenly split with 49% labeling themselves as pro-choice and 46% as pro-life as of this year (According to the most recent Gallup polling). Finally, any voters gained by a softened GOP stance on abortion would be offset by the loss of conservative Christian voters who view abortion as a litmus test before voting for any candidate.

[100% pro-life no matter what]

     First, it stems from the belief that the right to life (especially for the most vulnerable in society) doesn't go away because just popular opinion wants it to. Second, I disagree with the idea that Republicans have lost on this issue. The public is pretty evenly split with 49% labeling themselves as pro-choice and 46% as pro-life as of this year (According to the most recent Gallup polling). Finally, any voters gained by a softened GOP stance on abortion would be offset by the loss of conservative Christian voters who view abortion as a litmus test before voting for any candidate.

Plus the fact that if Kennedy retires, we can get SCOTUS to overturn Roe v. Wade (possibly even finding a constitutional right to life)

[Classic Conservative]

But the issue isn't over...

[Hindsight was 2020]

     First, it stems from the belief that the right to life (especially for the most vulnerable in society) doesn't go away because just popular opinion wants it to. Second, I disagree with the idea that Republicans have lost on this issue. The public is pretty evenly split with 49% labeling themselves as pro-choice and 46% as pro-life as of this year (According to the most recent Gallup polling). Finally, any voters gained by a softened GOP stance on abortion would be offset by the loss of conservative Christian voters who view abortion as a litmus test before voting for any candidate.

Plus the fact that if Kennedy retires, we can get SCOTUS to overturn Roe v. Wade (possibly even finding a constitutional right to life)

Never happening

[Chunk Yogurt for President!]

Sadly they will within the next few decades.

[100% pro-life no matter what]

Sadly they will within the next few decades.

They never will because probably 20% of the GOP vote is comprised of single-issue pro-life voters who wouldn't be willing to support a pro-choice GOP and would rather throw away their vote to some third party than feel like they are signing off on murder.

[The Other Castro]

If someone truly believes that abortion is akin to murder, how can you expect that person to treat the issue as just a win or lose political debate and surrender? That isn't something you give up on given those beliefs.

[Matty]

There are a lot of pro-life democrats.

The issue isn't over by any means. Americans may support the roe v wade decision, but they also DO NOT WANT late term abortion to be legal.

It's an issue that has been remarkably divisive and 50/50 for decades. It will never cease to be an issue.

[AN63093]

Lost?

I don't really have a dog in the hunt on this issue (I'm pretty indifferent with abortion), so I couldn't care less either way.. but this isn't an issue like gay marriage, where there has been a dramatic change in national opinion.  On that issue, at the national level the GOP has already moved to the point where it's basically like "I think marriage personally should be between a man/woman, but leave it to the states, or the law is already settled on it, so whatever.. etc etc."  Not since Bush has any presidential candidate pushed it- on the contrary, it's transparently obvious the GOP tries to avoid talking about it as much as possible.

Abortion is a little different; the polling on it has been fairly stable, and it probably isn't harming the GOP right now from a political strategic standpoint.  In other words, the people who feel most strongly about being pro-choice are probably not voting R anyway, whereas if the GOP dropped the issue, they would lose a lot of single-issue pro-life voters.

Gay marriage is an example of an issue where it has gotten to the point that being boisterously opposed would cost the GOP more than it would gain, but I don't think the same can be said about abortion.  Maybe it will in 10-20 years, we'll see.

[JA]

This thread has zero substance to it. You seem to have created this solely to be provocative and gloat, falsely believing that your views have been triumphant due to the perceived intellectual and moral superiority of your liberal values in our modern culture.

[Frodo]

Why should they?  Granted, younger generations are more prochoice than their elders, but it's the elders who vote more reliably, and are far more passionate in their opposition.  And they are one Supreme Court seat away from overturning Roe vs. Wade (and perhaps Griswold vs. Connecticut by extension).  

[Kingpoleon]

Because the majority of Americans support a ban after sixteen to thirty weeks, depending on the polls one cites?

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

Why is a troll account like this still allowed to post here?

[Xing]

Even if you really believe that there's nowhere for them to go from here (debatable), if the Republican Party were to concede defeat on this issue, they'd be done electorally, at least for a while.

[pbrower2a]

Why won't they move past the issue? It won't win them any supporters.

Many believe in a vindictive God Who treats any offense to His Authority with eternal damnation. To avoid such damnation people must suffer greatly in This World so that they can avoid ending up in Hell for sins. To them, abortion is murder. (As a side, evolution is either blasphemy or heresy deserving an eternal stay among the worst of all souls). 

The link between belief in a God Who acts more like a gangster or a fascist tyrant than like a good and decent person  and right-wing politics should be obvious. Hard Right politics has submission to authorities beyond question as a cornerstone. Take away the fear, and the whole basis for Hard Right politics disintegrates.

[Coraxion]

This thread has zero substance to it. You seem to have created this solely to be provocative and gloat, falsely believing that your views have been triumphant due to the perceived intellectual and moral superiority of your liberal values in our modern culture.

So... you're anti-choice?

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

Hmm, why don't republicans give up on one of their bases biggest issues that shores up support in their most important target groups, and instead head into elections with their terminally unpopular economic policies? Surely a mystery!

This thread has zero substance to it. You seem to have created this solely to be provocative and gloat, falsely believing that your views have been triumphant due to the perceived intellectual and moral superiority of your liberal values in our modern culture.

So... you're anti-choice?

Sounds more like anti-smug to me.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Because it's not about politics, it's about money.

Specifically, it's about a an anti-abortion (aka. pro-forced birth) fundraising industry that makes money hand over fist from suckersconservatives.

[Dan the Roman]

Because there is a spectrum on the issue. As noted, there is not a simple position except for a minority on either side. Most people support some degree of regulation. Even if it is only about the use of federal funds.

Secondly, there is a wider principled constitutional issue. I am not someone bothered by legal abortion. I am deeply bothered by Roe, which I think has been incredibly destructive to American jurisprudence, the court system, and politics. There are many who share those concerns, including RBG before joining the court. While "process" liberalism has become unpopular on the Left as of late, it does matter to many people, and I would argue is in fact the Achilles heel of the Left on social issues. Not that a large majority necessarily opposes them on the merits of a given policy(see transgender issues for instance), but that the combination of opponents, and those deeply disturbed by what seems the corruption of the government and judiciary for ideological crusades and score settling, does form a majority. Ironically, the greater the "political" security of abortion access, the easier it is for those concerned with process to join forces with opponents. That is what you are already seeing on LGBT issues, not so much that there is a backlash, but that the very success of the movement has allowed individuals who are supportive of LGBT rights in general to feel free to work with opponents on other issues.

[Mr. Reactionary]

60ish percent of Americans have a moderate opinion on abortion, so neither side has really won.

[JA]

This thread has zero substance to it. You seem to have created this solely to be provocative and gloat, falsely believing that your views have been triumphant due to the perceived intellectual and moral superiority of your liberal values in our modern culture.

So... you're anti-choice?

Sounds more like anti-smug to me.

^^ Correct. Personally, I'd like to see abortions be publicly funded for low income women and minors, and don't have any particular preference regarding restrictions on the procedure. So, I hardly think my views would count as "anti-choice."

[Attorney General, LGC Speaker, and Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

Uh, because they haven't lost:

- If a liberal SCOTUS justice dies before 2020, Roe can be overturned.

- The Hyde Amendment, Parental Notification and Late-Term restrictions are still very popular and even have significant support among Democrats outside of the party leadership.

- A 20 week ban generally polls at over 50% support.

- A lot of their voters really care about the issue.