O.C. COLUMN RIGHT / GIL FERGUSON : Abortion Issue Should Not Be Dividing GOP : Democrats don’t agree on the issue, but they aren’t involved in internal party fratricide.

Some Republicans, with obvious media encouragement, appear bent on damaging, if not permanently splitting the Republican Party over the issue of abortion.

In contrast to their followers, those leading this fratricidal attack apparently know that it can only benefit the Democrat Party and media elitists. Why are some Republicans doing this to their own party?

Abortion should not be a partisan issue. It crosses all segments of our society, neither rich, poor, black, white, Jew nor Christian are of one mind on it. Nor are they at war with themselves over it.

The abortion issue is so complex that the public switches back and forth depending on the specific situation. Why, then, are some people intent on making it such a divisive issue in Republican elections?

Our platform contains a pro-life plank. One could point to it as the burr that drives some pro-choice Republicans to rebellion. That seems logical.

However, the Democrat’s platform contains the opposite--a pro-choice plank. Democrats are just as divided over this issue but aren’t involved in the same kind of internal party fratricide. Why?

On the morning of Nov. 6, 1989, in Newport Beach, a group of Democrats, pro-choice Republicans, elected officials and potential candidates met and formed Pro-Choice Orange County. They named Democrat activist Linda Schwarz as chairwoman and launched a movement whose announced purpose was to defeat pro-life conservative Republican incumbents.

That resulted in a lot of bluster, media attention and recruitment of pro-choice “moderates” which made for several contested primary races in 1990 and 1992. All, however, were easily turned back by the conservative incumbents.

The Democrats need “an issue,” but their own liberalism has been trashed by the public. Although the recession and the President’s own lackluster performance have helped them, Democrats know that a Republican Party split by the emotional issue of abortion is their political lifesaver. They aim to shore up their severely weakened and threatened majorities in Congress and key state legislatures.

Their strategy to maintain power involves working with pro-abortion activists and radical feminists, such as NOW, in the forefront, to split the Republican vote and hence enable Democrats to win seats wherever possible. Or, in strong Republican districts to see to it that a “moderate” is elected who will later vote with the Democrat leadership on key issues.

This year’s (June) primary election for several of Orange County’s congressional and state Assembly seats was the focus for their best effort to date in seeking to split our party and oust conservative Republicans who are pro-life.

The pro-choice Republican women candidates were given a windfall approaching seven figures by Democrat-oriented feminist groups and organized labor (especially public employee unions).

This included almost $200,000 dumped by a single front group into two local Republican primaries so late as to guarantee that the source would be hidden from most voters. The front group, innocuously dubbed “Committee of Working Californians for an Effective Legislature,” was formed secretly three months before the election by the legal counsel for the California Democratic Party.

Despite the “big bucks” and the skulduggery, and even though most of the media took great joy in highlighting and boosting the challengers’ campaigns against the conservative incumbents, all were unceremoniously rejected by Republican voters once again.

So, what does this all mean?

Nothing drives home the message better than the glaring exception made by the radical feminists and the abortion-on-demand lobby for state Sen. David Roberti, a pro-life Democrat. They chose to back Roberti in a recent special election against Carol Rowen, a pro-choice Republican. NOW and pro-choice groups know which team they’re on, and who the “bad guys” are.

It’s time all Republicans learned that lesson and quit allowing themselves to be divided over the issue of abortion.