McCain, Huckabee, Thompson: "battling for the staunch anti-abortion vote" in Jan 19th S.C. Primary

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Huckabee Mines South Carolina's Anti-Choice Supporters

By Allison Stevens, Women's eNews. Posted January 14, 2008.

http://www.alternet.org/reproductivejustice/73595/

(WOMENSENEWS)--As the contest for the Republican presidential nomination turns toward South Carolina, religious conservatives are torn between three staunch opponents of abortion: the anti-choice establishment choice Fred Thompson, comeback candidate John McCain and grassroots evangelical favorite, Mike Huckabee. Except for former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, all the Republican presidential candidates oppose abortion.

The National Right to Life Committee in Washington, D.C., gave its endorsement last year to Thompson--the former senator from Tennessee who appeared more viable when he entered the race last September--and many state affiliates followed suit.

Grassroots activists and voters in South Carolina, which holds a critical primary election on Jan. 19 in the heart of the Bible Belt, are bucking the establishment choice in light of surprise developments on the campaign trail.

Once considered unelectable, Huckabee, the Arkansas Baptist minister who got his start in politics lobbying for an anti-abortion law and pulled an upset victory in last week's Iowa caucuses, is now vying with McCain, who triumphed in the Jan. 8 New Hampshire primary, for frontrunner status in South Carolina. McCain leads the GOP primary electorate in South Carolina with 27 percent of the vote, three points higher than Huckabee, according to a Jan. 9 poll of 785 likely Republican primary voters conducted by Rasmussen Reports. Thompson placed fourth with 12 percent of the vote, four points behind Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. However, Huckabee continues to hold a slight edge in national surveys, according to Rasmussen Reports. But he faces stiff competition from McCain, Romney and Giuliani in Michigan's Jan. 15 primary, Nevada's Jan. 19 primary, and Florida's Jan. 29 primary.

[rodeodance]

1. Repugs--smart move for SC (as much as I hate to say it).

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

2. I hope they go way out on the anti choice limb in an effort to attract that vote.

I'm waiting for one of them to advocate punishing the woman/girl and/or talk about banning contraception, in order to pander to this niche of SC R voters.

This is good news, in a weird way, if this focused pandering causes one of them to blurt out their personal plan for the worst kind of Handmaid's Tale scenario.

MKJ

[Staph]

3. I need to get some more sleep.

I read the subject line as "battling for the staunch anti-abortion vote in Jan 19th C. Primary". Nineteenth century is just about right!