Social Conservatives Expressing Frustration With Bush To McCain, Wall Street Journal Reports

Main Category: Women's Health / Gynecology
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Article Date: 22 May 2008 - 7:00 PDT

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Some social conservative leaders are "letting it be known" to Republican Presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) that they are not "happy with the way their desires are being met" by President Bush and Republicans in Congress, the Wall Street Journal reports. According to the Journal, while the "immediate target" of social conservatives' anger is Bush, the message to McCain is "clear: 'You need us in the fall, not just those independent voters everybody wants you to spend your time courting.'"

The "most telling sign" of some social conservatives' "gnawing dissatisfaction" was a letter sent to Bush last month complaining that his administration was consistently rejecting federal funding for abstinence-only sex education programs, the Journal reports. The letter, signed by 50 Republican social conservative leaders, noted that recent HHS grant decisions for sex education programs are "weakening" Bush's policy supporting abstinence-only education. An HHS spokesperson said that the Bush administration "strongly supports abstinence education" but that the process for abstinence-only education grants is an "extremely" competitive. "We are only able to fund a small fraction of the applications" for abstinence-only grants, the spokesperson said.

Some social conservatives also have complained about Bush's failure to compel the Senate to vote on 30 judicial nominations awaiting action, as well as continued federal funding of Planned Parenthood. J.C. Willke, president of the antiabortion group Life Issues Institute, said, "It seems like the president, on our issues, just sort of laid down and died." White House spokesperson Tony Fratto said that "movement conservatives have been overwhelmingly supportive of the president and for good reason. He's been consistent in using his principles as a guide on everything from faith-based initiatives, to judges to life issues" (Seib, Wall Street Journal, 5/20).

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