Colorado Pro-Life Group Says State Republican Party Must Oppose Abortion
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
June 18, 2008
Denver, CO (LifeNews.com) — A Colorado pro-life group is upset with the state Republican Party leadership and says it needs to work with pro-life voters in the state if it wants its candidates to win in November. Colorado Right To Life says the state GOP shut the group out of having a table at the recent state convention.
CRTL vice president Leslie Hanks told LifeNews.com that Dick Wadhams, the state Republican Party chairman, banned the pro-life group from having a table at the most recent convention.
At the same time the party apparently allowed an organization that supports abortion to have a presence.
Wadhams allowed the so-called Republican Majority for Choice to distribute literature opposing the personhood amendment that will appear on the November ballot. The information includes quotes from Wadhams opposing it.
"Colorado Right To Life is warning Dick Wadhams that by shunning their pro-life conservative base they’re headed for another election catastrophe in November," Joe Riccobono, CRTL president, told LifeNews.com.
The group said Republicans voted on numerous proposals at the convention and approved 40 resolutions with the exception of one promoting abortion.
Delegates overwhelmingly passed pro-life resolutions including a vote of 78 percent of the delegates affirming that "life begins at conception."
"The state’s top Republican is out of touch with his own party’s base, where 4 out of 5 Republicans at the convention voted to defend life beginning at fertilization," Hanks added.
The group also took Wadhams to task for comments on a political web site saying that social issues aren’t important.
"Wadhams sells out … pro-life voters in favor of pro-abortion lobbyists," said Hanks. "Social issues have motivated Republicans in every presidential cycle since 1980."
Wadhams talked with the Denver Post about the criticisms and said the Colorado GOP "has good relations with legitimate pro-life organizations" and he said "I do not believe it (Colorado Right to Life) is a legitimate pro-life organization. I regard it as a fringe organization that is out of touch with the mainstream pro-life movement."
He added that he "did deny them a table because they had attacked the nominee for the U.S. Senate."
Wadhams referred to recent comments from the group attacking pro-life U.S. Senate candidate Bob Schaffer.
