Calling itself a “forward-looking agenda,” the new Republican Party blueprint begins with a dedication to the “Forgotten Men and Women of America,” and promises to “restore common sense” and “put America first,” promises that former President Donald Trump has made throughout his campaign years.

The new platform is the first in almost a decade, the most recent being the Republican Platform 2016. Platform 2024 is strikingly different in both style and substance to its predecessor.

The 2016 document notes that the foundation of society is a marriage between a man and a woman, stating, “We do not accept the Supreme Court’s redefinition of marriage.” It lays out the social and practical advantages for children who are raised in a stable, two-parent home. It contains strong language about the dangers of the abortion pill, the need for parents to give consent if a minor is to undergo an abortion, and the importance of codifying the Hyde Amendment to ensure federal tax dollars are not used for elective abortion procedures.

And it is explicit in its defense of the unborn child: “We assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental right to life which cannot be infringed. We support a human life amendment to the Constitution and legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment’s protections apply to children before birth.”

By comparison, the 2024 GOP draft platform has a more direct, bullet-point approach to policies and priorities. The reported language regarding abortion takes a markedly different approach, almost universally interpreted by the mainstream press as a “softening” of the GOP’s stance on abortion.

 “We proudly stand for families and Life,” the new language reads. “We believe that the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States guarantees that no person can be denied Life or Liberty without Due Process, and that the States are, therefore, free to pass Laws protecting those Rights.”

There will be a vote on whether to adopt this new platform at the Republican National Convention next week.

 While consistent with the former president’s insistence, articulated during the last debate, that the abortion issue has now been returned to the people and that voters must “follow your heart,” the reduction in emphasis on legal protection for the unborn struck a hollow chord for some in the pro-life community, who wished to see the 2016 language retained.

Nonetheless, Brian Burch, president of CatholicVote, told supporters, “Party platforms are not a set of dogmas that demand unwavering fidelity. They are exercises in political principles and compromise intended to build coalitions and win elections. They can and do change.”

Given the Democratic Party’s extreme abortion position — 65% of Democrats saying abortion should be “legal under any circumstances” — it is unlikely the GOP’s shift in emphasis will drive party members to the other side of the aisle. But the proposed 2024 platform is a timely reminder that, as Bismarck contended, “politics is the art of the possible … the art of the next best.”