One of the unfortunate consequences of the Todd Akin fiasco for Republicans has been the way the jaw-dropping stupidity of his comment about rape and pregnancy has been used to shine a spotlight on the party platform that will be adopted next week at their national convention in Tampa. Not surprisingly, the document contains a plank opposing abortion and does so in absolute terms without discussing any possible exceptions including for the life of the mother or rape. That is a position that many social conservatives hold but is probably not shared by most Republicans, even those who consider themselves pro-life. This plank will help liberals who will use it to bolster their fallacious claim that the GOP is fighting a “war on women” so as to distract voters from the failed record of President Obama. But the real misnomer here is not so much the disingenuous talking points of the Democrats as the assumption that a party platform has any real meaning in this day and age.
Like the national conventions themselves, platforms are a vestige of a bygone era when the candidates were actually chosen at these gatherings. In the past, platforms were a big deal with the committees tasked with writing the document holding public hearings and the debate and votes on the various planks were big news stories. They aren’t anymore–for a good reason. Though some people take a lot of trouble writing them, they are utterly meaningless. They are a convenient way to mollify party activists by giving them something to do that will be ignored even if their side wins in November. If the platform actually meant anything there might have been a fight about its language. The only people who pay attention to the platforms are researchers looking for ammunition to use against their opponents.
Liberals, like those who write the New York Times editorial page, who want to skewer the Republicans on abortion can harp about the language in the GOP platform because it has some symbolic importance. The Republican platform is very conservative just as the Democratic one is extremely liberal. But the idea that a party is somehow obligated or even likely to put the ideas in the document into practice is a fantasy. Presidents and congressional majorities have been ignoring party platforms for over a century. If they hadn’t, the U.S. Embassy in Israel would have been moved to Jerusalem decades ago. The 2012 Republican platform and its Democratic counterpart will be filed and forgotten as soon as the election is over, as has every one that went before it.
There have been memorable platform fights in the past. The 1968 Democratic Convention practically came to blows over the Vietnam War. But such disputes have always been a function of the bigger argument between rival presidential candidates whose backers would squabble over credentials and platform planks before getting down to deciding on a nominee. Since it has been 36 years since the last time when the identity of the nominee was still in doubt when a convention began (1976, when Gerald Ford edged out Ronald Reagan for the GOP nod), it has been almost as long since anybody bothered arguing much about a platform.
Today the conventions are merely scripted television shows rather than actual deliberative assemblies, a remnant of a once vibrant political tradition that is kept in place to provide a setting for a lengthy partisan infomercial. The platforms are denied even that dignity. While they may provide a talking point or two for partisans, anyone who spends much time arguing about them is wasting their time.
Now here's something that does not happen everyday. I am a Buchananite conservative and I actually agree with this article. Wow, there's hope for me and America yet.
Platforms Are Meaningless Echo of the Past n nBut isn't the GOP abortion Plank now known as the Akin Plank? nThat just isn't fair.
Here's my question for the serious pro-lifers,and I am sincerely looking for answers. n nAfter abortions are no longer legal,what will the process be regarding women who violate the law. Do we wait until they have actually committed an abortion before dealing with them,or do we become pre-emptive,and use the power of the state to prevent the abortion,whatever it takes?
I live in Missouri (not originally from here though), and like most of the country, I found Akin's statements stupid and offensive. However, the post actually highlights why his support is still fairly strong in this state: Namely, he is sincere about his platform (anti abortion) as opposed to being just a mouthpiece for the position in order to get votes. Having participated in local politics here, I think the people in the"show me" state recognize the meaninglessness of the platforms/conventions. The evangelicals and Catholics here are impressed with his passion about the issue even as they realize how incoherently and offensively he tried to articulate it.
Is the argument here that Republicans don’t actually mean what they say, or is it that the sane Republicans don’t have enough sway in their own party to modify a statement of the party’s general goals and principles?
"Vote for Romney and the Republicans! They don't mean any of it!" nIt seems even the Ryan Plan is being downplayed by the Etch-a-sketch candidacy. n nBTW, if you are pro-choice, calling attention to Akin's (and Paul Ryan's!) views on abortion is not just some despicable tactic to divert attention from "Obama's poor handling of the economy." The GOP hopes and expects that any possible replacement for e.g. Ruth Bader Ginsburg votes to overturn Roe vs. Wade. Republicans are being disingenious when claiming this election only should be a referendum on Obama's policies in general and the economy in particular.
Yeah, but platforms are not irrelevant. If "planks" are contrived to please specific constituencies, what about the views of those whose votes the party seeks who are displeased by the same planks? n nLike most GOP voters, I consider myself pro-life. Roe was decided wrongly and six million abortions a year is a horror. Still, abortions performed in cases of rape, incest and the life (not "health") of the woman comprise less than one percent of this tragic total. What's more, I am willing to bet that most of the Congressmen and other pols who support the no exceptions position would have a hell of a tough time putting that into practice if their own wives or daughters were pregnant due to rape –Akin included. n nThe plank in question is frankly an insult to millions of GOP voters and properly an albatross for party candidates to carry. Let them make their views known to the platform writers and the convention. The Republican Party is not a church. It's a political party. There is no reason why an anti-abortion plank cannot be general enough to embrace the attitudes of most of the party's voters.
If the platforms are so meaningless, then why have them? n nI am so tired of the big issue dividing America being abortion instead of the fiscal abyss. nThe social conservatives should be cast into their own party, just like the leftist nags should be handed the keys to Detroit for their new country. n nand no one wonders why 50% of American voters reject both parties – maybe we ARE reading those platforms?