The effect of Tea Party in Michigan may have been to give us the least rightwing of the Republican primary candidates.
Charles Right to Life unlikely to back Snyder Group won't accept his support of embryonic stem cell research Karen Bouffard / Detroit News Lansing Bureau Lansing -- Right to Life of Michigan -- which helped boost Republican John Engler into the governor's seat three times in the 1990s -- will likely not endorse GOP nominee Rick Snyder in his November bid, officials said Thursday. Right to Life, which opposes abortion and embryonic stem cell research, is traditionally a much-sought after endorsement for GOP candidates. Its backing can give a boost through mailings, advertising and pressing its more than half a million supporters to vote for one candidate over another. "If he maintains his position on embryonic research, I doubt (he will be endorsed)," said Larry Galmish, Political Action Committee chairman for Michigan Right to Life. Snyder was the only one of the five GOP gubernatorial candidates in the primary to support embryonic stem cell research. He opposes abortion but would allow it in cases of rape or incest. Galmish said the organization will try to convince Snyder to reverse his position before the Right to Life board of directors decides the issue in September. Snyder campaign spokesman Jake Suski said the Ann Arbor businessman won't change his position. "Rick Snyder supports stem cell research -- he's made that clear," Suski said. "(Snyder) will not take any PAC or special interest money and isn't seeking endorsement." Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee, supports abortion rights and favors stem cell research. Right to Life backed Attorney General Mike Cox for governor in the primary. Impact on voter turnout With voters more focused on jobs and the economy, some strategists say anti-abortion supporters may sit out the November election because they don't have a candidate they agree with in the governor's race. "It seems that Snyder's strategy was to camp out in the middle, and now that he's won the nomination he will have to consolidate the Republican base," said Democratic strategist Jill Alper, with the Dewey Square Group. "It's a bedrock issue for hardcore Republicans, and it's a quandary for him potentially. They could not vote, or skip the race. "This could impact overall turnout, and in that regard it might be helpful to Democratic candidates. It could impact Republican candidates across the board if hard-right voters weren't turning out." Republican voter Edmund Crawford of Kalkaska said he's against abortion but wouldn't rule out a candidate who agrees with stem cell research. "Stem cell research has its good points and its bad points," said Crawford, 78. "I don't look at it in the same way as I look at abortion." Bringing visibility Right to Life rarely makes direct contributions to candidate campaigns, but can bring significant visibility to candidates it endorses, Galmish said. The group has about 620,000 supporters, including 150,000 member-donors, he added. "Our approach is to allow them to do mailings with our lists, and we include our endorsed candidates in our newsletters and fliers right before the elections," Galmish said, adding Right to Life also sometimes does radio ads and telephone calls on behalf of endorsed candidates. Doug Koopman, a political science professor at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, doesn't believe Right to Life can significantly affect the race. West Michigan anti-abortion voters were solidly behind U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra of Holland in the primary and were unhappy Right to Life endorsed Cox, who in the past admitted he'd been unfaithful to his wife. Anti-abortion forces will vote for who they want come November, Koopman said. Snyder can solidify his base by picking a lieutenant governor from West Michigan who is against abortion, he added. He said if any impact is felt, it will be on legislative and congressional races. "If Right to Life got in heavily for the governor nominee you might get more straight ticket voting," Koopman said, adding that a number of anti-abortion Democrats on the West Michigan ballots could look attractive to anti-abortion Republicans who don't vote straight ticket. Galmish said Right to Life will divert its resources into other races, focusing on supporting 7th Congressional District candidate Tim Walberg, and 9th Congressional District candidate Andrew Rocky Raczkowski. A number of legislative races are also on the group's radar. "We have an opportunity to win a number of other ones and we'll be looking at those, too," Galmish said. "We'll look more closely at the state House and Senate races, very definitely." kbouff...@detnews.com (517) 371-3660 >From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20100806/POLITICS02/8060387/Right-to-Life-unlikely-to-back-Snyder#ixzz0vpRYW7qo _______________________________________________ Marxism-Thaxis mailing list Marxism-Thaxis@lists.econ.utah.edu To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis
