The New Republic

John Podhoretz, writing about Rudy Giuliani's intransigence on abortion, is just thrilled that the GOP's "big tent" is so welcoming to pro-choicers, while "anti-abortion views have been systematically purged from the Democratic party." Has J-Pod forgotten that the Senate majority leader is pro-life? What about Senator Bob Casey Jr., whom the party establishment worked hard to recruit and elect last year? (And never mind that the big tent would collapse on a Senate, House, or gubernatorial candidacy mounted by a gay candidate.)

At any rate, for every Richard Gephardt who abandons pro-life views to run for the Democratic nomination, there's a Mitt Romney who abandons pro-choice views to run for the Republican nomination (and a George Pataki who never enters the race because he knows he can't win). That Rudy hasn't done so isn't a sign that the GOP welcomes his opinions; it's a sign that he's willing to handicap himself on their behalf. Good for him--but bad for his chances.

Update: Obviously the rules are different for issue-advocacy groups, but for a laugh, read this revealingly paranoid document written by the National Right-to-Life Committee during the 2000 primary campaign of John McCain, who has a 0 percent rating from NARAL Pro-Choice America.

--Adam B. Kushner

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