Why local Republicans pushed back on anti-abortion bill

WASHINGTON – During the 2013 government shutdown, Allentown's Charlie Dent became something of a national spokesman for the oft-overlooked centrist Republican – a group that arguably includes every GOP Congressman from the Philadelphia suburbs.

After the stand-off torpedoed GOP approval ratings, Dent told me that he felt lessons had been learned among Republicans, and that moderate voices would be more ready to flex their muscles going forward.

Some of them did just that this week while expressing continued frustration with an agenda advanced by their conference's most conservative and confrontational figures. In a push and pull that peaked Wednesday and Thursday, Republican women and moderates from the northeast forced GOP House leaders to back off of a bill that would bar abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

The fight hinged on the bill's rape exception – which said women who had been raped could still get an abortion after 20 weeks, but only if they had reported the crime to police. The measure, dubbed the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, was intended to make a point on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade and as pro-life activists held a massive rally in Washington.

But the rally participants were left disappointed as the bill was pulled.

Women in the Republican conference and several Republicans from the northeast, including members of the Philadelphia-area's all male contingent, worried about dragging their party back into an argument over rape – a topic that has led to embarrassing moments for their party.

"I prefer that we avoid these very contentious social issues," Dent told DC reporters. "Week one, we had a speaker election that did not go as well as a lot of us would have liked. Week two, we got into a big fight over deporting children, something that a lot of us didn't want to have a discussion about. Week three, we are now talking about rape and incest and reportable rapes and incest for minors. … I just can't wait for week four."

(He was referring to a failed conservative coup against Speaker John Boehner and then a vote to end deportation exceptions for "dreamers" – undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as young children who have grown up here. Dent and other local Republicans broke with their party to oppose the move to end those protections).

On the abortion bill, U.S. Rep. Pat Meehan (R., Pa.) told the Washington Post he worried about making rape victims "come forward and relive the issue through having to further testify. I wanted that to be considered in everybody's thinking."

The differences go well beyond the one clause in this one bill. It's about a far bigger divide within the GOP over tone and approach.

On tone, Philadelphia-area Republicans, like Meehan, of Delaware County, Dent and others represent moderate districts and have repeatedly argued for a less confrontational posture.

They still criticize the president and favor most of the things you'd expect a Republican would – lower taxes, less regulation, building Keystone XL, curbing Obamacare – but they are more amenable to cutting deals and taking incremental progress, rather than passing hard-line bills that make bolder statements, but have no chance to become law. (Even though the GOP controls both chambers of Congress, Democrats in the Senate can still use the filibuster to block any measures -- unless the plans are appealing enough to attract Democratic moderates).

Local Republicans, as Dent’s comments show, would also prefer to avoid the social issues that still inspire some of the party’s base. If you ask them about abortion or same-sex marriage, they’ll tell you their (usually conservative) position. Despite fighting against the bill up this week, just about every Republican from the area opposes abortion – and on Thursday they all voted for a softer replacement plan, sponsored by South Jersey U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R., N.J.), to ban federal funding for abortion.

But you'll rarely find Republicans from or Bucks or Chester or Burlington counties actively seeking out those fights. They'd rather focus on right-leaning economic policy.

This week they tried to pull the rest of their party with them. What's not clear is if this was a temporary victory, or a bigger change of direction.

You can follow Tamari on Twitter or email him at jtamari@phillynews.com.