Christian PAC Begins Airing Ads Urging Abortion-Rights Opponents To Support Obama

Main Category: Abortion
Article Date: 31 Oct 2008 - 6:00 PDT

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In an attempt to attract Christian voters who "have not been inspired" by Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), the Matthew 25 Network -- a Christian political action committee -- began airing radio commercials this week in support of Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.), the New York Times' "The Caucus" blog reports. The ads will run on Christian music stations in several swing states, including Colorado, Indiana, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia.

According to "The Caucus," one of the ads, called "Pro-Life, Pro-Obama," features Pepperdine University law professor Douglas Kmiec, a Catholic legal scholar who served in the Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations. In the ads, Kmiec discusses why people who oppose abortion rights should vote for Obama, who supports abortion rights. Kmiec says that Obama supports improvements in prenatal care, maternity leave and adoption, which would reduce the number of abortions.

"The Caucus" reports that the latest New York Times/CBS poll, conducted Oct. 19-22, found that white voters who describe themselves as evangelical Christians support McCain over Obama by 65% to 22%. The Republican nominee's support among white evangelicals is less strong than in 2004 -- when exit polls show that 78% of white evangelicals voted for President Bush -- and "could give Obama an opening in certain red states," according to "The Caucus." Furthermore, although a majority of white evangelical voters support McCain, 40% say they are enthusiastic in their support and 42% say they have reservations (Seelye, "The Caucus," New York Times, 10/27).

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