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Statement by
Carol Tobias We are extremely pleased and delighted with the re-election of George W. Bush as President of the United States. Pro-lifers always work hard, but their efforts to give this wonderful president another four years in office were exceptional. We are also looking forward to working with many new pro-life members of Congress. Overall, National Right to Life PAC was involved in more than 40 closely-contested House and Senate races and won 70% of the races in which it was involved. Pro-abortion forces poured in unprecedented amounts of money. If anything can be said with absolute certainty, it is that without the active and energetic involvement of pro-lifers all over the country, pro-life forces would have suffered devastating losses. U.S. SENATE Of the nine new members of the Senate, seven are pro-life. The new pro-life Senators are Mel Martinez of Florida, Johnny Isakson of Georgia, David Vitter of Louisiana, Richard Burr of North Carolina, Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, Jim DeMint of South Carolina, and John Thune of South Dakota. Mel Martinez and Jim DeMint defeated EMILY’s List candidates. Richard Burr defeated pro-abortion Erskine Bowles, former chief of staff to President Clinton and, of course, John Thune defeated pro-abortion Minority Leader Tom Daschle. U.S. HOUSE Of 38 new members in the House of Representatives, 20 are pro-life and we expect three other new members to vote with us most of the time, giving us, in all practical effect, a 57% share of the new members. Notable is the defeat of four pro-abortion members of Congress– Max Sandlin, Nick Lampson, and Martin Frost– all of Texas, and Baron Hill of Indiana. We regret the loss of two pro-life members, Max Burns of Georgia and Phil Crane of Illinois. PRO-LIFE MOVEMENT PROVIDES INCREMENT We have known for many years that being pro-life helps a candidate in his or her race. In a typical national race, pro-lifers can deliver at least a 3% to 4% net advantage to the pro-life candidate. This was borne out again this year. A Wirthlin Worldwide post-election poll, taken November 2, found that 42% of the people said that abortion affected their vote. Twenty-five percent said they voted for pro-life candidates while 13% voted for pro-abortion candidates. This comes out to a 12% increment for pro-life candidates. Asked in another manner, 8% of the voters said that abortion was the most important issue in deciding who to vote for-- 6% voted for George W. Bush while 2% voted for John Kerry. This was a net increment of 4% for President Bush. In a close election, this 4% advantage made the difference between winning and losing. We are, of course, very proud of the record and activities of National Right to Life PAC. A Wirthlin poll, conducted on November 2, found that 22% of all voters nationwide could recall hearing or seeing advertising, or receiving information, from National Right to Life PAC. Once again, the energy and enthusiasm of thousands of pro-lifers all over the country have prevailed. Wonderful and selfless people have given of their time, money, and talents to help save innocent, unborn children, placing their concern for these children above all other issues. Their dedication and sincerity continue to triumph. |