Wilson Offers Abortion Truce to Christian Coalition

In the Republican Party’s ongoing struggle over abortion, the moderate governor of California walked into the heart of the opposition camp Saturday to essentially offer the terms for a stalemate.

It is significant by itself that the California chapter of the powerful Christian Coalition gave its first invitation ever to hear Gov. Pete Wilson speak. Both sides say it is evidence of a growing common ground on issues such as taxes, education and affirmative action.

But Wilson also began his remarks at the group’s statewide convention in Long Beach by raising their most fundamental disagreement--abortion. The governor, a leading Republican supporter of abortion rights, told about 250 of the most devoted members in the so-called religious right that their battles are hurting the GOP’s ability to win elections.

“Who among us is not appalled by the shocking 1.6 million abortions in America each year?” Wilson asked. “Who does not want to see that number dramatically reduced? Ironically, we share that desire, yet we talk past each other, locked in a costly and unproductive debate that has only given aid and comfort to our opponents while failing to achieve a truly significant reduction in abortion.

“Let us see,” the governor added, “while respecting our differences, whether we can agree on an approach that holds the promise of more effectively discouraging abortions without infringing on the right of every citizen to be free of government intrusiveness.”

Wilson suggested that the two sides of the abortion debate join in an approach that he described as “old-fashioned family values.” He said it means teaching premarital abstinence, encouraging marriage and responsible parenting and offering children a home that seeks to instill “a belief in the Lord and a belief in prayer.”

Wilson knowingly risked a sour reception by raising the GOP’s most anguishing internal debate with its most heartfelt activists. Instead, reaction to the governor was unexpectedly warm. His roughly 20-minute speech was interrupted 28 times by applause, including a standing ovation when he concluded.

Wilson was introduced with “privilege and pleasure” by national Christian Coalition President Don Hodel. The group’s California chairwoman, Sara DeVito Hardman, also thanked the governor for “taking time out of his busy schedule” to speak.

The scene was especially conciliatory because just last year Wilson squared off against many of the same Christian Coalition leaders at the Republican National Convention in San Diego.

Then, Wilson threatened to wage a damaging fight on the convention floor if the party did not remove a plank from its platform that called for a constitutional amendment to ban abortion. After two tense days, the governor dropped his effort when the party agreed to adopt a dissenting plank that Wilson coauthored.

“We fought him there,” said Hardman. “We will fight him when we don’t agree with him and we will work with him when we agree with him.”

Hardman said she believes Wilson has become more conservative in recent years. And that impression--along with the lame-duck governor’s appeal to a formerly politically hostile audience--fueled speculation that Wilson is gearing up for a second attempt at the White House in 2000.

Wilson laughed off that interpretation in a brief interview Saturday. But he has also said that he maintains an interest in the race.

Chuck Cunningham, national operations director for the Christian Coalition, said Wilson will never be fully embraced by the organization because abortion is the “primary motivating issue’ for many of the members. But he said Wilson’s appearance was an important show of respect for an influential group that is sometimes derided by moderate or liberal politicians.

“He wants to change his image--I think that’s why he came here,” Cunningham said. “He is seen as being from the left of the party and he wants to change that. He is talking about those issues where we agree and where we will work hard together.”

Wilson’s speech was framed repeatedly by biblical references. In explaining his opposition to affirmative action, the governor said, “We are all God’s children, equal in his sight. How then can a government impose inequality of opportunity?”

Much of the governor’s attention, however, was on education, an issue that Christian Coalition organizers have placed near the top of their priority list for the upcoming election year.

Wilson strongly endorsed a school choice policy that, he said, would allow poor children to attend public, private or church-based schools. He also highlighted his recent success in passing a plan to shrink overcrowded classrooms, a new reading initiative based on phonics instruction, and a statewide test so parents “know what their children are learning and what they are not learning.”