Posted: Nov 9, 2006  10:42

Washington, D.C. - Jennifer Stockman, Co-Chair of the Republican Majority for Choice issued the following statement:

"Today the Republican Majority for Choice joined with common sense voters across the country to send a clear message to GOP Leaders - 'It's time to get your agenda back on track and back to the center.'

"As the political pundits spin the election results, the truth is pretty clear-- elections are won or lost in the center and the moderate middle that provided the margin for victory voted against the GOP.

"We acknowledge that the intense anxiety over the war in Iraq was a driving force in this election. However, the GOP's abandonment of our mission as the Party of small government, controlled spending and a pro-growth economy, left voters wondering what the Republican Party really stands for. Voters noticed the Republican rush to put big government in the middle of the Terri Schiavo battle, they noticed leaders of our Party fighting to ban reproductive choice for rape victims and they noticed GOP leaders blocking life saving stem cell research. These issues on top of the concern over the war in Iraq have left the Republican Party with an agenda totally out of touch with all but the farthest right extreme. In addition, if all we have is the extreme wing, we will lose every time.

"We are proud of the successful efforts to overturn the far-reaching ban on all reproductive choice in South Dakota and congratulate the common sense Republican candidates who bucked the far right line and promoted a focused agenda. Candidates like Governors Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Lingle, Senator Olympia Snowe and Representatives Christopher Shays and Mike Castle all saw success because they fought for common sense values and the beliefs of the real Republican majority. Far right social conservatives Rick Santorum in Pennsylvania and Jim Talent in Missouri lost in vital swing states because their agendas were out of step with the electorate - I have grave concerns about our prospects in these key states moving forward."

"As the Democrats celebrate and far right pundits attempt to spin their way out of this, I can only ask -Will our Party leaders finally learn this lesson and get back to common sense principles and inclusion or will they continue to blindly follow the failed plan that leads us out of the majority? More importantly, will the real Republican majority step up, demand more from our President and our leaders and pick up the pieces before the GOP becomes a permanent minority?"