New RNC Co-Chair Hammered for Cultural Views
By: Administrative Account | Source: CNSNews.com
January 20, 2005 6:18AM EST
By Nathan Burchfiel
CNSNews.com Correspondent
January 20, 2005
(CNSNews.com) - The selection of the former speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives to co-chair the Republican National Committee has outraged a pro-family group, which declares Jo Ann Davidson to be pro-abortion and pro-homosexual rights.
Davidson, who served as Ohio Valley regional chairman for the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign was unanimously elected Wednesday by Republican National Committee members. She will serve as the number two RNC official to Ken Mehlman who helped engineer President Bush's re-election, was then tabbed by the president to head the committee and also was unanimously elected Wednesday.
But while Davidson may have played an important role for the Bush-Cheney campaign in perhaps the most pivotal state in the Nov. 2 presidential election, it is her record on abortion and homosexual rights that has riled the Pro-Family Network of Ohio.
"Her positions are completely opposed to the rank and file of the Republican Party," said Greg Quinlan, executive director of the Pro-Family Network.
According to the New York Times, a message posted Tuesday on the website belonging to Republicans for Choice listed Davidson as a member of that group's advisory board. The message congratulated Davidson on her nomination for the position of RNC co-chair and stated that the group, "look[s] forward to working with her to help make sure the concerns of pro-choice and moderate Republicans are heard within the Republican National Committee Headquarters."
By Wednesday, the Republicans for Choice statement had been replaced with a message informing web visitors that the site was "currently undergoing renovations."
Davidson told the New York Times Jan. 14 that the homosexual rights issue did not come up during her time in the Ohio Statehouse. But according to Quinlan, two versions of the Ohio Defense of Marriage Act were introduced and neither was ever brought up for a committee vote while Davidson was speaker.
"When you're the speaker of the House of Representatives you've got the power to make sure legislation gets through; she made sure that it didn't," Quinlan said.
Quinlan, a self-described former homosexual activist, said Davidson's positions would certainly influence the Republican Party's platform and negatively impact President Bush's goal of amending the U.S. Constitution to define marriage as an act between one man and one woman.
"Davidson is a skillful politician," Quinlan said, "and she will have influence everywhere she goes. She's extremely good at what she does."
He added that while there are Republicans who are pro-abortion and support homosexual marriage, "they are definitely the minority." Quinlan said it is more important "that our team -- the Republican Party team -- that we stand for the values that actually caused President Bush to win."
Republican National Committee spokesman Brian Jones said Davidson was elected not because of her positions on certain issues, but "because of her record of grassroots activism in Ohio." He called her "one of the top grassroots activists in the country" and credited her with registering more than 200,000 new Republicans in Ohio and delivering the crucial state for Bush in 2004.
In his comments to the committee Wednesday morning after being elected chairman, Mehlman reinforced the pro-life stance of the Republican Party. He said the GOP should "promote a culture of life, where the weakest and most vulnerable are protected, where every child is welcomed in life and protected by law."
Mehlman also alluded to the president's efforts to define marriage, saying that Republicans should "promote marriage and be sure that government stands on the side of strong families."
Jones said Davidson's personal positions on social issues will not influence her ability to advance those causes. "She said specifically today [at the RNC Winter Meeting] that she will be 100 percent behind the president in terms of his agenda and his policies," Jones said. "Her position is not a policy-making or policy-influenced position. It's to grow the party and she's experienced in doing that."
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