By Carol Long
NRL PAC Director
George McGovern.
Birch Bayh. Frank Church.
Remember those names? They were among the seemingly invincible pro-abortion
senators who went down to defeat in 1980, the year that National Right to
Life Political Action Committee (NRL PAC) was organized.
That was also the year many new pro-life senators were elected, including
Don Nickles (Ok.), Dan Quayle (In.), John East (NC), Jeremiah Denton (Al.),
Al D'Amato (NY), and Charles Grassley (Iowa). It was in 1980 that pro-life
champion Rep. Chris Smith (NJ) was first elected and it was the same year
that the country's first pro-life president, Ronald Reagan, was elected.
The new National Right to Life PAC and the already seasoned Committee for
a Pro-Life Congress, a PAC run by Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life,
organized millions of pro-lifers around the country to set up an election
day many will long remember.
Although 1980 was a banner year, it was actually just a continuation of
pro-life electoral gains begun shortly after Roe v. Wade little noticed
by the press. In 1974, the first year of elections following the appalling
court decision, pro-lifers were heavily involved in helping Kansas Sen.
Bob Dole win re-election in a tight race over Congressman William Roy, a
doctor who performed abortions.
A Democratic primary in Minnesota found pro-life Democrat Jim Oberstar upsetting
the pro-abortion party-endorsed candidate. Oberstar went on to win the congressional
seat and has been the lead Democrat co-sponsoring a Human Life Amendment.
1974 also saw the election of pro-life champion Henry Hyde (Il.). It was
just two years later that the pro-life movement won its first big victory
in Congress by passing the Hyde Amendment, which stopped almost all federal
funding for abortions.
Over the next two years pro-lifers continued to organize and strategize,
gaining political wisdom. Major victories in 1978 set the stage for the
big 1980 successes.
In 1978 another five pro-abortion Senators were replaced with pro-life Senators.
Those victories occurred in New Hampshire, Colorado, Iowa, and twice in
Minnesota.
In 1980, a remarkable 11 Senate seats switched from the pro-abortion
column to the pro-life column. Due to the success of its pro-life candidates,
the Republican Party took control of the Senate for the first time since
1952. In most of those races, the margin of victory for the pro-life candidate
was within the range of the "pro-life increment."
(The pro-life increment is determined by taking the percentage of people
who voted for a candidate because the candidate was pro-life minus the percentage
of people who voted for a candidate because the candidate was pro-abortion.)
Throughout the 1980s, the elections swung back and forth with pro-lifers
not suffering large numbers of setbacks but not taking great strides forward
either. Polling showed that while pro-life candidates continued to benefit
from a pro-life increment, this was not always enough to overcome deficits
pro-life candidates might suffer on other issues.
In 1988, President Reagan turned the reins of the country over to his successor,
pro-life President George Bush. Vote totals gave Bush a 54%-46% victory
over pro-abortion Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis. An ABC News
exit poll showed that the pro-life increment was continuing to influence
elections.
The data showed that 33% of the voters said that abortion was "very
important" in deciding who to vote for. The majority of these voters
voted for pro-life George Bush. The net difference for Bush - - the pro-life
increment - - was 5%, which could very well have swung the election in his
favor.
Following the Supreme Court's 1989 Webster decision, pro-life candidates
continued to "hold their own." However, because of two well-publicized
races in which pro-abortion candidates defeated candidates who "waffled"
on abortion, the pro-abortion forces and the media successfully created
in some quarters the false perception that pro-life candidates in general
were losing. It became evident, however, that it is candidates who waffle
on abortion or abandon their pro-life position who lose.
In 1992, with the election of pro-abortion president Bill Clinton, the media
and many political pundits happily declared the pro-life movement to be
dead. In truth, the pro-life increment was still working to the benefit
of George Bush.
Polls showed that of the 16% of the voters who said abortion was one of
the two issues that mattered most in deciding their vote, 68% voted for
Bush compared to only 25% who voted for Clinton which resulted in a net
plus of almost 7% for Bush. Exit polling showed that concern for the economy
fueled Clinton's victory.
Far from dead, the pro-life movement came roaring back in 1994. The Republican
Party regained control of the Senate for the first time since 1986 and took
control of the House of Representatives for the first time since 1954. That
party's success most likely would not have happened if it hadn't been for
its strong opposition to abortion and the fact that most Republican candidates
took a strong pro-life position.
Fully 26% of the people who voted in November 1994 said abortion affected
their vote, with 18% voting for pro-life candidates and only 9% voting for
pro-abortion candidates - - a net increment of 9% for pro-life candidates.
Moreover, no pro-life governor or member of Congress, of either party,
was defeated by a pro-abortion challenger.
Following the 1994 election, almost 80% of the Republican members of Congress
were pro-life while about 20% of Democrat members were pro-life. National
Right to Life PAC helped 213 congressional candidates, and celebrated the
election of 157 of them, a success rate of 74%.
Pro-life support of right to life candidates in the 1996 elections helped
pro-life Republicans to maintain control of Congress. A post-election Wirthlin
Poll that asked voters if abortion affected the way they voted in the elections
found that 19% voted for candidates who opposed abortion compared to only
8% who voted for candidates who favored abortion. NRL PAC helped 172 candidates
in the general election and saw 64% of them win their congressional seats.
Another 1996 Wirthlin Worldwide Poll asked voters, "Which one or two
issues mattered most to you in deciding who to vote for for President and
Congress?" Twelve percent of the voters cited abortion as one of the
two most important issues. Of these, 45% voted for pro-life Bob Dole while
35% voted for pro-abortion Bill Clinton. A Los Angeles Times exit
poll found that 14% of Dole's voters cited abortion as one of the two most
important issues in deciding their vote to only 7% of Clinton's voters.
Pro-lifers can be proud of the work they have done over the past 25 years
to elect candidates who support legal protection for unborn children. The
pro-life movement's ultimate goal of providing that legal protection for
unborn children will be met as its members continue to become active in
the democratic process known as "politics," nominating and electing
candidates who believe in the sanctity of human life.
For the children's sake, pro-lifers must continue to make their voices heard
in the political arena.