New Crop of GOP-Tea Party Senate Candidates Holds Radical View on Abortion: Believe Govt Should Enforce Births by Rape, Incest Victims

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

On her MSNBC show last night, Rachel Maddow reported that, with addition of Christine O’Donnell to the 2010 roster of U.S. Senate candidates, there are now five GOP-tea party candidates who oppose abortion, even in the cases of rape and incest.

The others are Sharron Angle of Nevada, Ken Buck of Colorado, Joe Miller of Alaska and Rand Paul of Kentucky.

Except for Buck, these radical GOP candidates were all endorsed by tea party leader Sarah Palin, who also shares this radical view — even though she once told an audience she considered aborting her fifth child, who was born with Down Syndrome.

Maddow also points to the inconsistency in this position and the tea party’s lip service to libertarian belief in limited government.

What these Republican candidates are talking about is the federal government not only monitoring every pregancy in the country to ensure it ends the way the government prefers, which is a live birth, but they’re also saying that the government should force rape victims — the government should force rape victims, under pain of criminal prosecution, to give birth to their rapist’s baby. The government must force that [outcome] any time someone becomes pregnant because of rape.

If you are 14-year-old girl who is raped by your uncle or your father, the government will force you, as a 14-year-old, to give birth to the child that is the product of incestuous rape.

Remember, this is the year of small-government conservatives. Getting government out of your life. Government just small enough to … [drown in a bathtub].

Not on Maddow’s list of radicals was Carly Fiorina, the disgraced HP CEO who is running against Sen. Barbara Boxer in California, and who was also endorsed by Palin. Fiorina could never get elected in California if she held the Palinistas’ radical view. While she supports the right to abort in cases of rape and incest, Fiorina has said she favors overturning abortion rights in all other instances. Meg Whitman, the Republican candidate for governor in California, holds a similar view. (California has not elected a solidly anti-choice candidate as governor or senator since Roe v. Wade became law in the 1970s.)

Transcript:

RACHEL MADDOW: And that brings us to what remains — I am stunned to say — what remains the great, unacknowledged, big, honking policy issue in this year’s elections nationwide. We’re now able to add another Republican nominee to the roster of truly radical anti-abortion crusading candidates in this year’s elections.

Now, just being anti-abortion is almost mandatory for Republican candidates across the board these days, as the party continues its purge of its moderates. But what we have this year is beyond just being anti-abortion. There are now at least five Republican Senate nominees — five — who not only think that the government should outlaw abortion nationwide, they think there should be no exceptions made for anybody who’s a victim of incest or who’s the victim of rape.

[Video of campaign event for Ken Buck, R-Colo., Senate candidate]

QUESTION: How do you feel about abortion? Are you for abortion, against abortion, in what instances would allow for abortion?

BUCK: I am pro-life, and I’ll answer the next question. I don’t believe in the exceptions for rape or incest.

[Sharron Angle, R-Nev., Senate candidate, radio interview, the Bill Mandera Show, 01/2010]

QUESTION: Is there any reason at all for an abortion?

ANGLE: Not in my book.

QUESTION: So, in other words, rape and incest would not be something…?

ANGLE: You know, I’m a Christian and I beleive that God has a plan and a purpose for each one of our lives and that he can intercede in all kinds of situations, so we need to have a little faith in many things.

MADDOW: I’m not sure what you’re supposed to have faith in — that you can get an illegal abortion if the government makes it … illegal? That God will help you in some way? I’m not sure what you’re supposed to have faith in — but that was Republican candidate Sharron Angle of Nevada and Ken Buck of Colorado, both putting themselves down in the “no exceptions” category when it comes to reproductive rights.

Then there’s Republican Senate candidate Rand Paul of Kentucky. Back in February, Rand Paul told the Kentucky Right to Life Association that he opposes abortion, even in the cases of rape and incest.

Earlier this month, Republican Senate candidate Joe Miller of Alaska was added to the list. Miller has described himself as “unequivocally pro-life,” including cases of rape and incest.

And now we have Republican Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell of Delaware. Her campaign confirming to us today that she opposes abortion in all cases, including rape and incest.

Until recently, the position that those five Republican Senate nominees have — until recently that was considered a fringe position — even in the anti-abortion movement, even super pro-life politicians, almost as a standard disclaimer would say that women who get pregnant because of a rape or pregnant because of incest should be allowed an exemption — even as they wanted to make all other abortions illegal.

That exemption is apparently now over. What these Republican candidates are talking about is the federal government not only monitoring every pregancy in the country to ensure it ends the way the government prefers, which is a live birth, but they’re also saying that the government should force rape victims — the government should force rape victims, under pain of criminal prosecution, to give birth to their rapist’s baby. The government must force that [outcome] any time someone becomes pregnant because of rape.

If you are 14-year-old girl who is raped by your uncle or your father, the government will force you, as a 14-year-old, to give birth to the child that is the product of incestuous rape.

Remember, this is the year of small-government conservatives. Getting government out of your life. Government just small enough to … [drown in a bathtub].

Yeah. This is obviously awkward for the whole libertarian character of this year’s conservative uprising — the supposed libertarian character, the whole freedom thing, right?

But it also represents a historic swing of the pendulum in terms of emphasis on these culture war issues. Yes, maybe women will be super-enthused about the idea of voting for female candidates, just because those candidates are female. Maybe.

Maybe all sorts of voters will do like they’ve done in the past and vote on abortion and other women’s issues, rather than on just which candidates are themselves women.

[Video of Alaska Gubernatorial Debate, November 2, 2006]

QUESTION: Suppose Sen. John Doe puts forth a constitutional amendment to outlaw abortion, even in the cases of rape or incest, and he asks you to attend the announcement and support him. Would you do it?

SARAH PALIN, tea party leader: I would. I would… Yes, a proposal like that, I would stand by it.

Connect:

2 thoughts on “New Crop of GOP-Tea Party Senate Candidates Holds Radical View on Abortion: Believe Govt Should Enforce Births by Rape, Incest Victims”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.