“Trump is No Pro-Lifer”

Princeton’s Robbie George, one of the leading conservative thinkers in America (and, incidentally, a great friend of BYU — he was just here again, a few days ago — and of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) takes aim at Mr. Donald Trump’s newfound stance as an opponent of abortion:

http://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2016/03/trump-is-no-pro-lifer

In doing so, by the way, Professor George also takes a swipe at Mitt Romney.

I understand this, but I want to register a quibble.

Governor Romney is not as conservative as I am.  Nor, on economic issues, is he as libertarian as I am.  However, I suspect that he’s more conservative than many realize.  And his description of himself as “severely conservative” isn’t quite as false as Professor George assumes it to be:  Any believing, practicing Latter-day Saint — particularly one who has been a bishop and a stake president, as Brother Romney has been — is “severely conservative” in many genuine respects, very much including abortion, compared to the surrounding culture of America.  And probably especially so in Massachusetts.  (We’re routinely mocked on this score by comedians and caricaturists, and their perception of us doesn’t emerge out of thin air.)

A similar point simply can’t be made of the boastful serial adulterer Donald Trump, with his appearances on Howard Stern’s show, and etc.

Now, abortion may not be a significant issue for Trumpism.  For genuine conservatism, however, it has long been, and remains, a major one.