(LifeSiteNews) — Every election, like clockwork, the Liberals drag the abortion issue into the spotlight. And every time, Conservatives act surprised — as if this hasn’t happened every other election. They stumble. They mumble. They change the subject. They offer up a vague, unconvincing “we won’t touch the issue” — a line disbelieved by those already against them and deeply demoralizing to many of those otherwise for them.

It’s political Groundhog Day — and we never seem to learn.

What do voters see? Weakness. Evasion. A party with no principles — or worse, a hidden agenda. And if that’s the impression you leave, why would anyone trust you to lead?

It’s the same scene. Every election.

This, more than any Liberal attack ad or media ambush, is why we keep losing ground.

You hear it all the time: “Don’t talk about abortion — it’s political suicide.”

But that’s a lie. And a coward’s excuse. It will be talked about whether you want to or not — maybe especially if you don’t want to. Offering up a hollow “we won’t touch it” satisfies no one: your opponents won’t believe you, and your supporters — for whom this is the raison d’être of their support — will feel betrayed and demoralized.

The real death of a movement comes when it forgets what it’s for.

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Yes, the Left talks about abortion — constantly. They celebrate it, fund it, promote it, and use it to raise money. And they do it without flinching. Meanwhile, our side trembles at the mere mention. We lose not because we speak about abortion, but because we don’t know how — and worse, because we refuse to try. This isn’t strategy. It’s surrender.

The problem isn’t that abortion is a losing issue. The problem is that Conservative politicians are terrified to speak about it with moral clarity, while the Left talks about it — especially during election time — with moral deceit.

Too many Conservative strategists believe they can win with economic policy alone. Tax cuts. Balanced budgets. Pipeline approvals. Important, yes — but empty without a moral core. A nation isn’t held together by accounting. It needs a conscience.

Some seem to think:“If we’re the same as our opponents on social issues — but better at managing money — we’ll win.” But that logic collapses under pressure. Voters don’t rally to parties that echo their opponents. Matching the Liberals’ abortion stance while promising slightly lower taxes doesn’t inspire anyone. If you sound like your rivals — just with a balanced spreadsheet — what are you offering?

“The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity.”

The Liberals and NDP may speak wrongly about life and the family — but at least they speak of them. And in doing so, they speak to the hearts of many, and to what matters most to many: life and family.

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Governments don’t win or lose on social issues alone. But social issues — including abortion — do matter, especially when they’re part of a broader vision. Just as there are many “fiscal conservatives” who are socially liberal, there are just as many — if not more — Canadians who lean left on economics but are socially conservative. Many immigrants. Many working-class families. Many religious voters. And many others besides.

These voters could be won over — if only the Conservative Party had the courage to represent their values too.

The Conservative Party — like all broad-tent political parties, including the Liberals and the NDP — is held together by competing factions and internal contradictions. It is a sometimes-uneasy coalition of fiscal conservatives, social conservatives, and libertarians. But when it comes to abortion, Conservatives address the issue not with conviction, but with fear — framing it as a controversy to avoid rather than a moral wrong to confront. And in doing so, they lose the far greater number of voters who are waiting for someone to speak to their deepest convictions — and miss the opportunity to sow division in the ranks of their political opponents. The way Conservatives handle the abortion question divides their own base — when handled boldly, it would divide theirs. The Liberals and NDP face internal tensions too — but they don’t silence their base. They don’t distance themselves from their radicals. They make room for them — and energize their coalition in the process.

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Abortion is not a losing political issue. Political cowardice is. And cowardice always forfeits the fight.

Richard Dur is an award-winning political consultant with extensive experience working on campaigns across Canada. In addition to his professional work, he serves as the volunteer Executive Director of Prolife Alberta, an organization dedicated to advancing pro-life public policy.