Guest Blog: Rallying Conservatives around Freedom and Choice
The language of the true American Conservative is a simple one, easily understood by many, but currently drowned out within the Republican Party. Most Republicans are quick to defend our personal freedoms regarding the second amendment, or freedom of association in business. However, many Republicans who believe in the personal freedom of a women’s choice within our Party either remain silent; or, for the few vocal ones, are disparaged as a “RINO” (Republican in Name Only). A woman’s choice is one of the most personal of freedoms one can express as free individual. In fact, the right to choose was seen as an intrinsic aspect of personal freedom by one of the pioneers of American Conservativism, Barry Goldwater. If we wish to capitalize on the American people’s desire and innately held belief of freedom, we Republicans must adjust our message to one of consistency with regard to this issue. Denying women the right to choose what she does with the most personal piece of property she will ever possess- her body- is government intrusion on a massive scale. As Conservatives, we must seek to retake this message of personal freedom and self-determination; and in the public sphere, this begins with Republicans ending their attacks on a women’s right to choose.
The opaqueness of the Republican party’s current stances on personal freedoms’ complicates our desire to paint ourselves as the party of freedom and opportunity juxtaposed to the heavy handed government control desired by the current progressive movement. We must rally around these conservative ideals and monopolize this idea of American freedom. This begins with ending the opposition of women’s right to choose as a major piece of the Republican Party’s platform,
Steve Hawrylik is a RMC member and a member of the New York Young Republicans. Steve graduated from Boston College in 2003, and now lives and works in New York City as a Commodities Trader. If you want to contact Steve, click here.
Agreed – imagine if Saddam Hussein’s mother had the right to choose.
Nikolas Gher
February 3, 2010
Great post Steve and so very true. The Republican Party should stand for freedom of choice, and opportunity!
Coretta Scott
February 3, 2010
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Fellow YR Steve Hawrylik Guest Writer for RMC Blog
February 3, 2010
Finally someone who stands up for what is right! We need more spokespersons like Steve if our party is going to have a chance!
michael barry
February 3, 2010
Steve has elegantly posted how the GOP has lost it’s way as it sold itself to the far right and now can’t seem to find the will to grab it back. It will take each and every one of us voting in every election we are eligible to vote in to ensure that real republicans are elected and that once elected they do their part to return our party to it’s proper place as the champions of individual freedom and privacy in all personal matters.
I salute you Steve and thank you.
Suzie
February 3, 2010
Any costs for women below 300% of the poverty rate must be shared by the public sector. The poverty rate must be adjusted annually rather than occasionally and represent costs that low income families must absorb rather than discretionary items.
When women and girls know that their health can be protected at a cost they can afford, then one huge anxiety has been lifted from their shoulders and they can use that energy for positive purposes,
like following the American Dream, or their small piece of it.
Carol Daniels
February 4, 2010
Well done Steve. My problem is my anger at what has happened to my GOP. I go back to my days working for Ike. I was totally committed to the Goldwater campaign but was pleased to see a win for the U.S. Senate from California the following election.
The Social Conservatives have destroyed the main core of individual freedoms and have destroyed the Republican Party. RMC is our last best chance at getting our freedoms back within the Party.
We have one hell of a fight to return to the arm of the party that people will vote for.
Sandy Price
February 5, 2010
This blogger sounds like my friend Tron.
arullo
February 5, 2010
No, I am not Tron but there are thousands of us who are mad at what has happened to our Party! I, for one, tried to warn people and the RNC that this social influence would be the loser of the party. I may the oldest blogger here and I am the most angry…..
Sandy Price
February 5, 2010
The argument for abortion to be illegal is that the fetus/zygote/sperm + egg is a human being and therefore to purposely destroy “that” is to commit murder. It has nothing to do with a woman’s right to do with her body as she wishes. It has to do with a parent’s right to kill their child. It’s a pretty rock solid argument-
A) sperm + egg is a person
B) killing a person is illegal
C) therefore killing a sperm + egg is illegal.
There are basically two ways to refute this argument.
1) to undeniably prove that sperm + egg does not equal a person— which I find difficult to prove because with our advances in technology, premature babies are going to be born earlier and earlier until the point where we can just make one completely out of a turkey baster, a petri dish and an easy bake oven. Unless you want to go the route of “a person is not a person until the umbilical cord is cut”—in which case you should be able to give birth to a full term baby and stab it in the heart because it was still just a parasite feeding of its host.
2) prove that killing people should be legal… have fun trying to prove that
My overall point is that the pro-life argument has nothing to do with freedoms, unless you believe you have the freedom to commit murder. The pro-life argument stems from the belief that life begins at conception and should be treated as a human being from that point forward. Whether you agree with that or not is up to you, but in order to prove that argument wrong, you must prove that one of their premises is wrong- not their conclusion
Rob Therkelsen
February 7, 2010
Correct me if I’m wrong, but if the GOP were to end it’s general disapproval of abortion, would there be not be less choice for voters?
Also, this move would almost certainly permanently fracture the party.
William P
February 8, 2010
The Theocons and the religious right/Jerry Falwell’s “moral majority” have performed the most successful hijacking since D.B. Cooper.
Nice blog post Stevie.
Satyam Shah
February 9, 2010
Actually the murder of a child by the mother is not a federal offense. It goes to the state. This state choice is within the 10th Amendment. What we did before Roe vs Wade was head for the border or hop a plane for France. I could sit down an give anyone 100 reasons for a woman to abort a fetus. I have done so on the internet but have gained the title of the “Whore of Babylon.” My mother was married for several years and found herself pregnant just as she signed a contract to tour Spain with another pianist. She made a quick trip to her doctor and it was over in minutes. Why should she have to give up a one time concert series; when she came home and a year later I was born. She has studied the piano for 20 years and would not give up this experience. I’ve worked for actresses who finally got their television series contract which read she could not get pregnant as long as the series was on the air. Hell yes, several headed to Studio doctor. Most people have no idea what working for 20 years to hone a talent and then find they are pregnant. I have no patience for these small-minded people. You have no right to judge any woman for her choices and decisions.
Sandy
Sandy Price
February 9, 2010
Abortion should be a state issue, not a federal—FINE.
I can give a hundred reasons why a person should shoot another person in the face with a shotgun, but I can give one why that person shouldn’t… it is wrong.
The pro-life argument stems from the belief that a fetus is a human being and should not be destroyed, as that is equivalent to murder. A woman has a right to do with her body whatever the hell she wants…UNLESS it hurts another person, in the case of abortion, that other person (according to pro-lifers) is a very small group of cells.
RMC has edited this comment. We welcome all reasonable, rational, and polite debate. However, ad hominem (personal) attacks will not be tolerated on RMC’s blog, and cut said “arguments” out of this comment. Repeated attempts to make said comments will result in a ban on users.
Finally, let me say this- I have every right to judge anyone for their choices and their decisions, IT’S AMERICA.
All I was trying to point out was that these “small-minded people” (judging people is fun:) believe that a fetus is a person and that person should not be murdered. The debate over abortion is a debate over when a person’s life begins, and at what point should that person have rights. Steve’s point was that the Republican Party stands for freedom and choice. The reason pro-lifers can go against these ideals when it comes to a woman’s right to choose is simple- no one, under any circumstances has the right to commit murder.
Anyway, as far as practical matters go abortion is never gonna be against the law, GWB was in office, with a Republican congress, and a pro-life supreme court. That was the best chance anyone is gonna see for a long, long time. Abortion is kept alive as a political fight simply so that the far right can take a swing at anyone to the left of them
Rob Therkelsen
February 10, 2010
As a former “republican” (now independent), I am encouraged to see some reasonable thinking out there. I do have conversations with many “conservatives” (though I believe true fiscal conservatives are as rare as the Dodo), and many see the abortion debate as semantics. The conservative party could garner much more moderate/wide support by ending this cheap trick of hyping up peoples emotion about something they don’t understand. There is ore solid ground for conservatism.
By the way I am molecular biologist, I sure do know who Abraham and Jacob were, and I do not think that “biological philosophy” has a place in public forum- nor should such details dictate to our government. Much, much more important things to be done, we’ve completely lost perspective.
J
February 10, 2010