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NRL News “Our
People Voted” As the other page one story written by Political Director Karen Cross makes clear, a night in which many staunch pro-lifers were defeated would have been far worse, had it not been for a heroic effort by grassroots pro-lifers. November 7’s results were a setback. But a bump in the road is not the same as a disaster, which was avoided because of an outpouring of pro-life work. At a minimum, 18 congressmen and one U.S. senator would not be preparing to be sworn in next January, were it not for the carefully crafted and brilliantly executed game plan authored by NRL PAC. And only time will tell whether the six or so incoming Democrats who campaigned as pro-life back up their words with actions. Jacki Ragan took time off from her regular job as director of NRLC’s State Organizational Development Department to work for the PAC. A tireless worker in her own right, Ragan said that across-the-board efforts by local pro-lifers were key in winning races that were decided by as little as a few hundred votes. When interviewed for this story, she had just gotten off the phone after confirming that the opponent of a pro-life candidate had conceded. The margin of victory? Less than 250 votes! “If ever there was an election when ‘every vote counted,’ this was it,” Ragan said. “Our people voted, which is the only possible explanation why a number of pro-life Republican candidates were able to overcome the confluence of factors that dearly cost so many others.” Ragan noted that in celebrating their gains, pro-abortionists glossed over that they did not win among single-issue abortion voters. “If you look at the polling, there was an almost two to one advantage for pro-life candidates over pro-abortion candidates among the pool of voters who considered abortion when voting,” she said. The best tests were the 18 contests in which NRL PAC went head to head with the swimming-in-money EMILY’s List, which supports only the most dyed-in-the-wool pro-abortion candidates. Although outspent by at least a 12–1 margin, NRL PAC won 14 of the 18 contests. Ragan explained that more than ever, a big part of NRL PAC’s job was to expose pro-abortion candidates who boldly pronounced that they were “pro-life.” “Pro-abortionists learned from the 2004 elections that their views are not mainstream America’s views,” she said. “For a brief moment, even Hillary Clinton made comments that almost sounded pro-life.” While NRL PAC was not always successful last month, “I can guarantee you had it not been for NRL PAC’s all-out truth campaign, pro-abortion Congressman Harold Ford (D) would now be the incoming senator from Tennessee rather than pro-life Bob Corker (R),” she said. “We blitzed the state, including key members of the media, with the unvarnished truth about Ford’s ten-year pro-abortion voting record in the House.” When asked how pro-lifers responded beginning the day after the November 7 elections, Ragan said, “It reminded me of 1992 when pro-abortion Bill Clinton defeated pro-life President George H.W. Bush.” She explained that back then she had decided it was important to come into work very early the next day, thinking that people would need to be consoled. “But just as was the case in 1992, pro-lifers called to cheer me up!” Ragan said. “It makes a real difference if people know they have done everything they could have done. Pro-lifers knew in their bones that they had done everything possible, and they were already telling me that they were looking forward to increasing the size of the Movement.” (See story, page back cover.) Asked to quantify what NRL PAC had done, she explained that it is policy never to lay out specifics. “We are already radically outspent,” she said. “We can’t be telegraphing what we do to pro-abortionists.” Suffice it to say, Ragan added, “There was an enormous outpouring of pro-life energy and resources that utilized every available route to inform the public.” |