In Iowa, an anti-abortion sign of the times for Republicans [View All]

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ORANGE CITY, Iowa — On the outskirts of this overwhelmingly Christian and deeply conservative town of about 6,000 in northwestern Iowa, motorists pass a sign on the edge of State Route 10 that poses a question: “If a fetus is not a child, why the rush to abort it?”

So many thousands have seen the sign since it was erected in autumn 2008 that observers generally agree that it is the most powerful anti-abortion message in the community. The sign sits on farmland belonging to 81-year-old Carl Mulder, a lifelong Republican and self-described “devoted Christian” who lately has been reading whatever he could about the possibility of a federal government shutdown sparked by Republican and Democratic differences over government spending cuts.

On Friday, as the midnight deadline for working out a deal approached, nothing had aroused Mulder so much as talk that Republicans were demanding a slashing of federal funds for Planned Parenthood. He was excited, convinced that the congressional imbroglio offered conservative Republicans a rare opportunity to strike a major blow on behalf of the pro-life movement. He did not want to see the GOP backing down from what he views as a pivotal fight, even if it led to a shutdown. Compromise, Mulder said, would only betray weakness.

Mulder’s yearnings and warnings reflect the political risks facing House Speaker John A. Boehner (Ohio) and the other Republican leaders if they are seen as caving in on the issues that matter most to many social conservatives. With the shutdown deadline only a few hours away, Mulder gave voice to expectations and hopes: “We need people to be strong now on abortion funding, not to back down. This is the chance. My understanding is many Republicans want to defund Planned Parenthood — and if takes a government shutdown to do that, then I’d do it because we have to stop the killing of unborn babies.”

Full story: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/in_iowa_an_anti_abortion_sign_of_the_times_for_republicans/2011/04/09/AF3Mr67C_story.html

The farmer also said: "Washington does right and stops spending on all this stuff that we can’t stand as Christians here."