Making More Room in the Tent

The late GOP Chairman Lee Atwater once described the Republican Party as a “big tent.” There’s room in that tent, he averred, for Republicans with differing views. There’s room, he indicated, for Republicans who support a woman’s right to an abortion as well as for those who oppose abortion on demand.

But Atwater’s rhetorical tent has, under George Bush, begun to feel more like a straitjacket for many Republicans on the issue of abortion. The President’s limited support for abortion rights prior to 1980 has transformed into extremist opposition.

In recent months, Bush’s dogmatism on this issue has noticeably alienated many Republicans. Many moderate GOP members of Congress, and even some conservatives, tried to lift the President’s widely unpopular gag rule on abortion counseling, the Administration’s moratorium on research using human fetal tissue and its unwarranted import ban on the abortifacient RU-486, a drug that may also help treat breast cancer.

Many pro-choice Republican women, in particular, are angry about what they regard as the White House’s lack of respect and interest concerning their views. In order to make some room--or at least some noise--inside their party’s tent, they have organized WISH, Women in the Senate and House, which aims to elect pro-choice GOP women.

WISH is still small, but the group reports little difficulty raising money because it is tapping a clearly felt need within the GOP. The President should pay close attention and let fresh air into the GOP tent.