The Tea Party and the Remaking of Republican Conservatism: on Abortion

Christine O`Donnell: Endorsed by Family Research Council & anti-abortion groups

Tea Party: Regulate abortion clinics more; oppose right to abortion

Tea Party support for regulation of childbearing is certainly not limited to [that one VA group]. Whereas a 58% majority of all Americans approve of the decision of the Supreme Court to establish a "Constitutional right for women to obtain legal abortions in this country," only 40% of Tea Partiers approve of that court decision and 53% consider it a "bad thing."

Tea Party: Moral opposition to abortion, but not a focal issue

One Virginia leader sent us a message the morning after we witnessed a Tea Party meeting in which strong views were expressed on pro-life issues. She wrote, "Tea Party organizations typically do not take a position on social issues such as abortion and gay rights. The conservatism that unites us is governmental and fiscal, not social. While it is rare to have discussion of social issues come up at our meetings, it will on occasion."

Actually, in our observation, it is not so rare for socially conservative moral arguments to come up in Tea Party meetings. In practice, social conservatives make up a vocal majority of many Tea Parties.