He’s using coded language. He’s using to speak to Evangelicals.
When most people think of Evangelicals, they tend to think of middle class white people in Red States, but that’s not always the case. In reality, there is no cohesive brand of Evangelicalism. There are many subgroups of Evangelicals that do not identify with each other.
Despite this, Evangelicals want a theocratic government, but because they are so disparate, they don’t want a top down theocratic government. They want a local, bottom up, theocratic patriarchies.
When Ron Paul says that he will leave abortion up to the States, he is not being pro-choice. It’s certainly not pro-limited government, as its still leaving abortion up to the States. What Ron Paul is saying is don’t worry, you can have your theocracies, you can outlaw abortion, you can turn back gay marriage, you’ll just get to do it on a state and local level where you can all still get along.
In reality, abortion is not a State issue. It is a Federal issue. Why? Because the Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade that abortion was a right protected by the Constitution of the United States. So abortion is not anymore a state’s issue than freedom of speech is, or any other Constitutional right.
So Ron Paul is happy to betray the very right of the Federal government to enforce the rights granted in the Constitution of the United States in favor of radical Christian Evangelicalism.
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