Wisconsin delegation puts differences aside on abortion after shooting

Wisconsin Republican Party Chair Brian Schimming, right, with state Treasurer John Leiber, declares Monday that Republicans are "unified behind Donald Trump" at a Wisconsin delegation breakfast Monday morning. (Baylor Spears | Wisconsin Examiner)

The Wisconsin delegation to the Republican National Convention sought to put differences about abortion aside on Monday, and instead focused on unifying around former President Donald Trump following the assassination attempt in Pennsylvania on Saturday.

The delegates met for a breakfast event at the Hampton Inn and Suites in downtown Milwaukee where they were addressed by Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, former Speaker of the U.S. House Newt Gringrich and Wisconsin Republican Party Chair Brian Schimming.

“Everyone will remember that moment about President Trump,” Schimming said. “That guy in the midst of unspeakable tragedy showed more leadership than [President] Joe Biden has shown in his whole life.” The statement was met by applause.

Democrats are the party in “disarray” and “panic” right now, Schimming told reporters. “The Republicans are in Milwaukee today, unified behind Donald Trump, and frankly… we’ll be unified by anybody that he brings up as the vice presidential candidate.” Ohio U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance was announced as Trump’s pick in the afternoon.

This message was reinforced by Wisconsin delegates throughout the day.

“Unity is the key word,” former Gov. Scott Walker told reporters after the delegation breakfast. He said there was already an increasing amount of unity among Republicans after the presidential debate in June from Republicans, who “couldn’t see [President] Joe Biden serving another four years.”

“With the tragedy that occurred and the attempted assassination, I think there’s an incredible amount of enthusiasm,” Walker said.

Brandon Maly, the chair of the Dane County Republican Party, noted that there were signs the party was coming together before the shooting over the weekend, including when Nikki Haley decided last week to release her delegates so they could support Trump.

“If that isn’t a show of unity, I don’t know what is,” Maly said. “It’s really incredible.”

Stephanie Soucek, a delegate who serves as chair of the Door County Republican party and the vice chair of the 8th Congressional District, told the Examiner that she doesn’t “think it’s going to be a challenge at all” to unify the party. She said that has been reinforced since the shooting.

“Right now, I feel like we’re all coming together, looking to be unified,” Soucek said. “We’re not always going to agree with everything…but we have one goal in mind and that’s to save America.”

Soucek pointed to the disagreements over the lack of a federal abortion ban endorsement in the official party platform, which was approved by delegates on Monday.

The party states in the platform that it believes the “14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States guarantees that no person can be denied Life or Liberty without Due Process, and that the States are, therefore, free to pass Laws protecting those Rights.” Specifically, it states that the power to do this has been given to the states, and that the party opposes “late term abortion” and supports prenatal care, access to birth control and in vitro fertilization.

While the language could leave open the opportunity to establish additional legal rights to fetuses under the 14th amendment, the language also represented a change for Republicans, who have typically laid out more explicit goals for implementing a federal abortion ban. The decision to change the language comes as the issue has proven problematic for Republicans, who are seeking to win. Support for abortion access is widespread in the U.S with a recent Gallup poll finding that 54% of U.S. adults identify as “pro-choice,” compared with only 41% identifying as “pro-life.”

At the convention Monday, U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee introduced the 16-page document, which calls for among other issues starting the “largest deportation program in American history,” supporting universal school choice and “slashing wasteful Government spending”, as being “personally reviewed, edited, and approved” by Trump. She said it also promises to protect “life for the born and unborn.”

However, anti-abortion activists said the change represented an abandonment of principles.

Shortly before the platform approval, a small group of anti-abortion activists, including members of Live Action, a national anti-abortion nonprofit, and Pro-Life Wisconsin, gathered at Haymarket Square Park outside of the fence surrounding the RNC to object to the platform. Protesters carried signs that said “Protect life in platform!” and red heart balloons that stated “Protect them both.”

As the protest was just starting, however, several participants learned that a group of delegates, who had planned to attempt to reinsert stronger abortion language into the platforms, were dropping the challenge in light of the Pennsylvania shooting . When the platform was later approved in a voice vote, only a few “No”s could be heard from delegates.

Pro-Life Wisconsin Legislative Director Matt Sande said the event was changing from one of “encouragement” to one of “total protestation.”

“We’re not just frustrated and sad. Now, we’re angry,” Sande said.

The platform is meant to be an opportunity to lay out the party’s aspirations and goals, Sande said. He also said that the Republican party should further embrace the strong anti-abortion policies following the attempted assassination of Trump.

“One way to show our support for President Trump and [show] the people that we are the party of life would be to adopt that platform,” Sande said. “That doesn’t really make sense to me at all to dump the pro-life platform.”

Jessica Newell, an activist with Live Action, said she supports a national abortion ban, and that they can’t back down on the issue just to win elections.

“That win would be a facade, and if we’re not prioritizing our politics in order to protect human beings, then what’s the point of it at all?” Newell said.

Wisconsin delegates seemed accepting of the platform as approved and seemed to think it would help the party come November.

Soucek, the delegate from Door County, said she didn’t have a problem with the language on abortion, but that she understands why others wanted a stronger statement.

Soucek added that the Republican party is “still the pro-life party.” She said delegates want to “support women and unborn babies” but are working to find consensus in the party.

“As a party, we just have to continue to share the message of we want to protect life at all stages as much as possible and just work on changing hearts and minds,” Soucek said. “Each state has to do that and work towards that goal.”

“We just gotta move forward and focus on what we can agree on,” Soucek said.

Wisconsin State Treasurer John Leiber, who sat on the platform committee, said during a press conference Monday morning that the platform was meant to win elections. He said there were some people who wanted more time to debate the platform, but he thinks people are “pretty unified on what this platform is.”

“The message was this was a platform to win an election. This is a platform for what the president stands for,” Leiber added. “This is what he wants to go out there and talk about and show to people what he wants to do in his next term.”

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