I was still reeling from the slam of the gavel closing out an unprecedented Republican Platform Committee meeting on Monday when a colleague said to me, “I believe there was a spirit of intimidation in that room.” Nothing could have summed up my feelings more succinctly.
Upon entering the building, all platform delegates and guests were required to place their cell phones and smart watches in a locked faraday bag. The campaign and RNC claimed it was for confidentiality reasons. Conservatives know how brutal the liberal media can be, especially in an election year when most news outlets prefer to do the Left’s bidding. However, this was an extreme divergence from years past when people in the states could at least watch some of the business of the committee on C-SPAN to see how well their delegates represented their state.
That was the kicker, though. There wasn’t much business to watch. Usually, delegates have been given the platform and their subcommittee assignments the night before meetings began. This gave them time to read through every page and craft amendments to submit the next morning. Beginning in the 1980s, Eagle Forum founder and nine-time platform delegate Phyllis Schlafly arranged a dinner for conservative delegates to exchange ideas, learn the parliamentary rules, and coalesce around strong pro-family amendments. First and foremost, she was determined to train delegates to stand up against intimidation by those who sought to weaken the platform on life.
This year, the delegates arrived Monday morning empty-handed. They still had not seen the platform language nor received their subcommittee assignments. After listening to a few opening remarks, delegates were handed paper copies of the platform with a number assigned to each delegate. That specific number was only noted above the text of the section on “life” — presumably to identify anyone who may leak a picture of it outside of the room. The delegates tried their best to read every line of the document despite the long list of guest speakers who boomed in their ears.
In the committee room, I sat with pro-life individuals who were prepared to help delegates submit and defend strong amendments to clarify the GOP’s commitment to protect all life, born and unborn. The 2016 Republican National Platform said it best:
“The Constitution’s guarantee that no one can ‘be deprived of life, liberty or property’ deliberately echoes the Declaration of Independence’s proclamation that ‘all’ are ‘endowed by their Creator’ with the inalienable right to life. Accordingly, we assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental right to life which cannot be infringed. We support a human life amendment to the Constitution and legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment’s protections apply to children before birth.”
The 2016 platform, re-adopted in its entirety in 2020 due to the pandemic, stated Republican opposition to public funding of abortion and groups that carry it out or promote it, health care that carries out abortion, the selling of fetal body parts, sex-selective and disability-related abortion, forcing medical professionals to participate in abortion, as well as infanticide, human cloning, and euthanasia.
Many of us sported buttons that said, “Republicans Are Pro-Life,” so it was easy to pick us out. Once the campaign staff noticed that I was taking notes and checking my copy of the rules, they assigned a staff member to sit beside me, attempt to read my notes, lean in to listen to my conversations, and follow me out of the room when getting coffee or using the restroom. Dozens of campaign staffers trolled the aisles to monitor both guests and platform delegates.
When it was time to get down to business, several delegates were eager to make points of inquiry or offer amendments. However, the first vote was to disallow the use of any devices by delegates and their guests. As the vote was underway, a campaign staffer briskly walked through the committee room with a large green poster that read, “VOTE YES.” After the motion passed, a delegate asked why campaign staff were allowed to use their devices and take pictures of delegates who opposed the restriction. Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn (R) who was presiding over the meeting simply said, “They are working.”
One specific delegate was tapped to offer the remaining motions: to limit debate to one minute per delegate, to adopt the platform as is, and to end debate. During this time, several delegates expressed the need for amendments, but every inquiry was shut down due to it being an “inappropriate time” or their minute had expired. Knowing the odds were stacked against delegates who wished to amend the document, Blackburn was asked to read the rules on submitting a minority report. After some back and forth, Executive Director of the Platform Randy Evans stepped to the microphone and in a belittling tone barked, “We all know you are in the minority.” Although he gave a summary, the rules were never read.
Debate of the adoption of the unamended platform draft lasted less than 15 minutes. Delegates were still standing in line to speak when the motion was made to end debate. Once again, the neon green “VOTE YES” sign made its appearance and 84 members obeyed.
The supposed “pro-life language” in the 2024 platform reads as follows:
“We proudly stand for families and Life. We believe that the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States guarantees that no person can be denied Life or Liberty without Due Process, and that the States are, therefore, free to pass Laws protecting those Rights. After 51 years, because of us, that power has been given to the States and to a vote of the People. We will oppose Late Term Abortion, while supporting mothers and policies that advance Prenatal Care, access to Birth Control, and IVF (fertility treatments).”
This is a sharp contrast from the language Phyllis Schlafly fought to protect year after year. The reference to the 14th Amendment is meaningless without clarification that any “person” includes the unborn. What babies in the womb lack today is not due process but equal protection rights. The campaign repeatedly told the delegates that they had drafted a shorter platform so that it would be clear, concise, and understandable by all the voters. But the language is so vague it creates more questions than ever. In addition, stating that Republicans “oppose Late Term Abortion” seems to indicate that we are okay with abortions occurring during the first two trimesters of pregnancy. A party in opposition to only late-term abortions is a pro-choice party.
The majority of Republicans are pro-life and know that voters respect those who stand on principle. Being seen as “flip-flopping” will not help our nominee get elected but may instead cause voters to stay home.
Although it’s disheartening that grassroots delegates had no opportunity to shape the platform to reflect their views, I am encouraged by pro-life individuals who have a renewed passion to win hearts and minds no matter what this version of the platform contains. We refuse to be intimidated into giving up our commitment to the fundamental right to life of the unborn. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7).
Tabitha Walter is the executive director for Eagle Forum and observed the Republican Platform Committee Meeting in-person as a guest.
