Ponnuru: Life Still Important

Writing at Politico, Ramesh Ponnuru argues that candidates who are pro-life on abortion are still benefiting at the polls this year:

The Republican primaries suggest that while, of course, economic issues are at the top of most people’s minds, conservative voters still care a great deal about social issues.

It seems clear that social-issue positions were crucial to the outcome of several high-profile races. Abortion was crucial to Joe Miller’s narrow victory over Sen. Lisa Murkowski in Alaska. He is pro-life and she is pro-choice — facts that moved the man who served under her father as lieutenant governor to endorse Miller. A pro-life ballot initiative boosted his turnout.

Carly Fiorina’s pro-life position helped her parry primary challengers to her right and left in California. Social conservatives, who might have preferred Chuck DeVore, backed her to fend off the pro-choice Tom Campbell.

Christine O’Donnell is famously socially conservative. Can anyone maintain with a straight face that she would have beaten Mike Castle if she had been pro-choice or he had been pro-life? One reason establishment candidates like Kelly Ayotte and Dan Coats beat back Tea Party challengers is that they are social conservatives.

The presidential wing of the party seems to be moving right rather than left on social issues. The top candidates at the moment are Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Newt Gingrich, Tim Pawlenty and Mitch Daniels. All oppose abortion, embryo-destructive research and same-sex marriage.

Read it all here.

Voters are a complex mix of issues. The Tea Party has not destroyed the electoral power of social conservatism. On the contrary, we're re-energized like never before, and our voices will be heard and votes counted in 2010 and 2012.