'Deep divisions': Republicans are attacking their own as policy infighting mounts
Republicans are beginning to attack there own as a divide widens between those who prioritize conservative principle and those who want to put it aside to win, according to a new report.
The Washington Post reported Wednesday on a battle between Texas Republican women begging the party to stop talking about the reproductive rights restrictions pressed by the religious right, which the report argues is indicative of a broader divide.
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“What are we going to do?" Gilda Bayegan reportedly asked from the podium of the Texas Republican Convention. "Stone women next?”
“I don’t want to stand before God and say, ‘Listen, we had to deny these biblical principles so we could win the election,’” rebutted James Buntrock, a pastor and local GOP leader. “We have to stand for what’s right. I don’t care what it costs.”
In Wednesday's report, the Post predicts this conflict will be on full display during the Republican National Convention in Wisconsin next week when delegates will be asked to approve their party's platform.
The GOP Platform Committee this week secretly debated removing a 40-year position of support for a federal ban on reproductive freedom. Donald Trump's loyalists won the day.
While Bayegan reportedly said, “I’m up here begging you not to make it one of our priorities,” committee members did not agree, the Post reports.
"Do you believe that a child in the womb is a human being?” one demanded to know. Asked another, “Do you believe it matters what God believes, ... or do you think it just matters to win elections?”
Bouchard is not a fan of Trump, reportedly calling him a "pig with hair," but she thinks he has what it takes to win, the Post reports.
“I think he has his pulse on how most Americans feel about abortion,” Bouchard said. “I think he is listening to the majority of Republicans on this and not to the fringe.”
But top Republican leader and antiabortion advocate Rolando Garcia reportedly said, "I don’t think they won over anyone."