Can Someone Please Explain This To Me?

OK, I admit to being an East Coast (or at least mid-Atlantic) elitist (raised in sinful southern California), so this just makes no sense to me. Can someone help?

"Those values affect how you're going to make decisions on other things," Ms. Helfrich said, explaining that she planned to vote for Mr. Bush primarily because of his anti-abortion stance. "I would be suspect of someone making decisions about the war or the economy or whatever comes up without that strong foundation of the respect for life and the sanctity of marriage."

It's from a NY Times article today about the role of "values" in Missouri presidential politics.