He is a splendid demagogue, and, in the end, it will be up to Kemp to make his rational arguments outshine Gore's righteousness. Massachusetts Gov. William Weld refused to speak when he was told that he would be prohibited from making his case for a pro-choice Republican party. Very little, however, was heard about a similar conflict going on within the Democratic party. But conflict over abortion is a bipartisan phenomenon. Yet his remarks received relatively little coverage, while Weld's silence was praised as a principled stand by the media.
Abortion presents an enormous difficulty for both parties.
Many members of Congress have deep personal convictions that conflict with the majority of public opinion. House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt of Missouri was a staunch pro-lifer until he decided to seek the Democratic nomination for President in 1988. A majority of House Democrats voted in favor of the partial-birth abortion ban, and both Gephardt and Minority Whip David Bonior of Michigan voted to override the President's veto of the bill. The issue becomes difficult for two reasons. The first is that very few people actually reason through their views on abortion.