WASHINGTON - Conservatives cannot win elections by refusing to talk about abortion, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said Wednesday night.
Huckabee was the speaker at the Susan B. Anthony List 2014 Campaign for Life Gala at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Washington. The group’s two-day “Campaign for Life” event is scheduled to end today.
He said some conservatives avoid bringing up social issues because they want to win elections.
“So do I, but I want to win them for a cause that’s worth fighting for … whether it’s politically expedient or not is of no consequence to me,” Huckabee said.
“I did not become pro-life because I got into politics. I got into politics because as a pro-life person I believe that if we get this issue wrong, we get all the other issues wrong.”
The chance that Huckabee, a Fox News personality and a favorite of Christian conservatives, may run for president has been floated since his unsuccessful run in 2008. He did not say if he is considering a 2016 presidential bid.
Huckabee said some conservatives feel that they can’t oppose abortion and also be fiscally conservative or want a strong military.
“I can be a full-spectrum conservative, I don’t have to quit being pro-life and pro-family to also be a person that believes that the government should take less money from each family,” he said. “We can run the full gamut of what we believe, we don’t have to be reduced down to one flavor. That’s not how we lose an election, that’s how we win elections.”
In 20 years, Susan B. Anthony List has worked to elect more than 100 anti-abortion female candidates. It also supports male candidates running against pro-choice women.
Earlier Wednesday the group heard from several other socially conservative politicians thought to be considering a run in 2016, including Republican U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, Mike Lee of Utah and Deb Fischer of Nebraska.
Susan B. Anthony’s List defended Huckabee in January after Democrats criticized remarks he made at a national Republican event in Washington. The group urged its members to donate to his political action committee, HuckPAC.
Huckabee said at the Republican National Committee winter meeting that Democrats were trying to win over women voters by promising them free birth control and telling them “they cannot control their libido or their reproductive system without the help of the government.”
Huckabee made the comment as he was making a pitch that the GOP needs to broaden its appeal and end its internal divisiveness.
Also Wednesday, the List presented U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., with its Defender of Life award. Speakers at the gala in previous years included Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana; Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee and Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania - all Republicans.
Front Section, Pages 3 on 03/13/2014