Almost alone among the Republican candidates for president, Donald Trump has refused to meet with a coalition of state-based pro-family groups to discuss his policies that conflict with a vital part of the conservative coalition.
A coalition of 26 groups published an open letter online today taking Trump to task for not meeting with them and for not answering questions about his past record on life and family issues.
“Tough Questions for Donald Trump” begins:
We, the undersigned, represent millions of pro-family Americans who are dedicated to a nation where God is honored, religious freedom flourishes, families thrive and life is cherished. As a national alliance with nearly 40 state-based organizations, we have invited you to participate in our Presidential Teleconference Series to share your views on the issues important to values voters. We have interviewed most of the leading candidates, but after several attempts, we have not yet been able to schedule such a call with you. Therefore, we direct the following questions to you on policy issues important to our constituents.
The coalition, including CitizenLink, the Family Action Council Committee of Arkansas, the Family Institute of Connecticut Action and Florida Family Action, wants to know how Trump went from “pro-choice in every respect,” including support for partial birth abortion, to now claiming he is “pro-life.”
The coalition scoffs at Trump’s explanation “that a baby who was nearly aborted ended up being a ‘superstar’.” They say they are confused because Trump also said if the baby had turned out to be “loser” his abortion stance wouldn’t have changed. The coalition’s letter calls this a “utilitarian view of the sanctity of human life.”
The coalition asked how “you square your new position on pro-life with your statements in 2015 supporting continued taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion seller?”
They want to know how Trump can be trusted on appointing up to four Supreme Court Justices after saying his sister, who overturned the New Jersey Partial-birth Abortion Ban,” would make a good Supreme Court Justice.
One gay activist has called Trump “one of the best, if not the best, pro-gay Republican candidates to ever run for the presidency.” So, the group wants to know where he stands on religious freedom versus rights for gays.
They go after Trump’s casino business that has caused “increased crime, bankruptcies, broken marriages and suicides.” They want to know how women are supposed to view his candidacy, since his Trump Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City boasts “36,000 square feet of adult entertainment,” including a strip club.
Besides social conservative concerns, the group questions Trump’s commitment to fiscal conservatism, since he has supported “a huge tax increase and government bailouts” along with his past support for a single payer health care system, which they call “perhaps most concerning of all.”
One of the key signers is Peter Wolfgang who runs the Family Institute of Connecticut Action. Wolfgang worries that a Trump-led GOP will no longer be a home for him and others like him.
The twenty-six groups have been highly effective in recent years in getting 200+ pro-life laws passed around the country.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.