Hey, GOP: The "Silent Majority" is the Pro-Choice Majority
- by: Rebecca Young
- recipient: Ed Gillespie, Chairman, Republican National Committee
But we're no longer silent!
Here's an interesting fact: neither Dick Cheney nor George W. Bush mentioned the word "abortion" in their convention speeches. Bush did allude to the issue in his speech, but never actually uttered the word. Could they be realizing that their far-right, anti-choice agenda is not supported by the majority of Americans?
Don't be fooled. Sure, the Republican Party paraded all of their moderate stars in the limelight during this year's convention, and made sure that the President and V.P. never actually said the word "abortion." But behind the scenes, the hard-right anti-choice zealots are still firmly in control of the Republican Party.
Take their newly adopted platform: it calls for a constitutional ban on abortion, opposes "school-based clinics that provide referrals, counseling, and related services for contraception and abortion," and opposes funding for international family planning organizations that have any involvement with abortion services or referrals. There's nothing moderate or mainstream about this platform.
An American Viewpoint survey in May, 2004, found that 73% of Republicans are pro-choice. The Republican Party needs to wake up to the fact that Americans of all political parties support choice, personal freedom, and the right to privacy. Sign this petiton to let the Republican leadership know that you are part of the pro-choice majority in America!
Dear Chairman Gillespie,
I am pro-choice, and I stand with the majority of Americans in my belief that women, not the government, should have control over their reproductive choices.
I was struck by your decision to highlight Republican Party moderates and pro-choice party members at your national convention. This decision reflects a growing realization within the Republican Party that much of the Party's social policy agenda is too far to the right for the majority of Americans. Yet your party platform continues to adhere to a far-right conservative social agenda, and calls for a constitutional ban on abortion.
[Your personal comments here.]
The majority of Americans believe that women should decide, with the help of their doctors, their partners, and their faith, whether or not to have an abortion. The Republican Party prides itself on standing up for personal liberties and rejecting excessive government interference into the private lives of citizens. I call on you to listen to the majority within your party and within this country, and leave private medical decisions up to women, not to government.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
