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In the wake of Donald Trump's abortion gaffes, it should finally be clear that Trump is not a real conservative - he is the liberal caricature of a conservative.
In his now infamous interview with Chris Matthews, Trump not only declared that if abortion became illegal women who have abortions should face "some form of punishment," but also asserted that "conservatives, Republicans would say, yes they should be punished."
No, they would not.
This is not something a real pro-life conservative would say; it is something a liberal pretending to be a pro-life conservative would say.
Anyone remotely familiar with the pro-life cause knows that its advocates don't want to punish women. Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List, explains that the focus of laws restricting abortion "is on protection, not punishment. Women were not punished by the legal system before 1973's Roe v. Wade decision and there is absolutely no drive to punish her now." As Mother Teresa famously put it, "Abortion is profoundly anti-women. Three quarters of its victims are women: Half the babies and all the mothers."
Trump does not understand this, because he is deeply unfamiliar with what motivates pro-life Americans. The goal of the pro-life movement is to create a "culture of life" that upholds the dignity of every human person from conception to natural death. The objective is not punishment; it is to protect both mother and child.
Since Trump does not actually understand what pro-life conservatives truly believe, he mindlessly echoes the liberal caricature of pro-life conservatives. He mistakenly thinks this is what these conservatives want to hear. They don't. This is, however, what liberals want to hear. They want a Republican candidate who feeds their false "war on women" narrative. They want to run against the caricature of the pro-life position, because the caricature is ugly. And Trump is giving them precisely what they want.
If that were not bad enough, Trump then went on to compound his problems by reversing himself. In an interview with John Dickerson on "Face the Nation," Trump said that he would not change the law to protect innocent unborn life, declaring that "the laws are set. . . . At this moment, the laws are set. And I think we have to leave it that way."
Leave it that way? This is something no pro-life conservative would say. It's not even something a liberal pretending to be a pro-life conservative would say. It's something Hillary Clinton would say.
Trump then twice declined to answer when asked whether he thought abortion is murder, saying "I'd rather not comment on it" and "I just don't think it's an appropriate forum" before finally, on the third try, grudgingly saying "I don't disagree." Quite the profile in pro-life courage.
Trump likes to say he is a convert to the pro-life cause, just like Ronald Reagan. But Reagan would never have said that laws allowing abortion on demand should not be changed. As president, Reagan supported the "Human Life Bill," which would have recognized the unborn as human beings and protected them as persons under our Constitution. Reagan would also never have said that women should be punished for having abortions. In his 1983 essay for the Human Life Review, "Abortion and the Conscience of a Nation," Reagan declared: "We should not rest until our entire society echoes the tone of John Powell in the dedication of his book, 'Abortion: The Silent Holocaust,' a dedication to every woman carrying an unwanted child: 'Please believe that you are not alone. There are many of us that truly love you, who want to stand at your side, and help in any way we can.' "
Much like when Trump referred to "Two Corinthians" instead of "Second Corinthians," his comments on abortion are a "tell" demonstrating that he does not possess a basic understanding of the first principles that animate conservative thought on the sanctity of life.
So let's stop the charade. When it comes to the issue of life, Donald Trump is a caricature, not a conservative.
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Previously:
• 03/18/16: Stop blaming Trump supporters for campaign violence
• 02/22/16: Hey, Bernie: You're blowing it by refusing to attack Hillary over her scandals
• 02/02/16: Political establishment can learn a few things from hockey's all-star enforcer
• 01/26/16: Hillary's email excuses are falling apart
• 12/15/15: How Rubio is quietly killing ObamaCare
• 10/21/15: Yes, George W. Bush kept us safe
• 10/14/15: Finding a consensus conservative for the GOP
