(LibertySons.org) – In a surprise move, the Republican National Committee (RNC) has abruptly ended its official policy of supporting a federal abortion ban. It’s also dropped its opposition to gay marriage. It looks like an attempt to align its platform with GOP nominee Donald Trump’s more socially liberal beliefs ahead of the upcoming convention.
RNC Softens Its Positions
On July 8, the Trump campaign asked the RNC to adopt a new, radically cut-down policy platform that closely matches Trump’s own politics. Although strongly committed to repairing the US, Trump is socially much more liberal than many Republicans. For example, while he supported the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade, he doesn’t believe the federal government should impose a national ban on abortion; he just thinks it’s a decision states should make for themselves. He’s also relaxed about same-sex marriage, although he opposes radical gender theory. He disagrees with various other traditional GOP policies.
The Republican Party hadn’t updated its policy platform since 2016, and the 58-page document included a statement that “the Fourteenth Amendment’s protections apply to children before birth.” On the subject of gay marriage, it called on the Supreme Court to reverse the 2015 Obergefell v Hodges ruling that legalized same-sex unions nationally. Trump’s staff proposed a much shorter 16-page platform that radically softens the party’s stance on both issues. On abortion, it just says that states have the right to legislate on the issue – and it doesn’t mention gay marriage at all. On Tuesday, the RNC voted 84-14 to adopt the new platform.
The new, less traditional policies will please Trump and his campaign team –- the revised platform reads almost like one of the nominee’s own speeches. Not everyone in the GOP is happy about it, though. Senators Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) both urged the party not to make the change. Several pro-life groups also opposed it, although the new document’s confirmation that states can bring in abortion bans seems to have defused them. It’s also likely that pro-life advocates who don’t approve of Trump’s more liberal views still see him as a much better option than the Democrats, who don’t seem to want any real controls on abortion at all.
In addition to the attention-grabbing social issues, the RNC has also changed its positions on trade tariffs (which it now supports) and statehood for Puerto Rico (which it now doesn’t). It’s a clear sign that the never-Trump faction in the Republican Party has now completely lost the argument.
~Here’s to Our Liberty!
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