As the Republican National Committee (RNC) wrapped up its four-day annual summer meeting in Minneapolis over the weekend, some leaders were left wondering if the party is straying from its conservative stance on social and religious issues.
"Evangelical and pro-life Catholics are a critical part of the GOP's electoral coalition," James Bopp Jr., an Indiana member of the RNC, told The Washington Times. "The GOP cannot win in 2008 without their enthusiastic support. It remains to be seen whether the GOP is moving away from them. Whether the GOP is doing so will be determined by who is nominated for president."
Most RNC members either swore they would not let the national party distance itself from religious and social conservatives stands or saw no indications of that happening.
"Not as long as I'm in this party," longtime Oklahoma RNC member Bunny Chambers told the newspaper.
Michigan Republican Chairman Saul Anuzis said the party is not drifting from its social conservatism.
"The religious Right and social conservatives are still a very big part of the party and will be for a long time to come," Anuzis said. "The Democrat policies clearly are antithetical to what religious and social conservatives believe in. The Left that controls the Democratic Party is very much pro-choice on abortion and anti-traditional marriage."
