Tory Shepherd: Cory Bernardi is not alone in his stroll along the fringes of his worldview Senator Cory Bernardi has reignited debate on abortion, describing those who advocate choice as 'pro-death'. Right-winger and South Australia Liberal Senator Cory Bernardi. PROGRESSIVES - get to know thine enemy. The Conservatives are in power and they have your measure. Time to realise they're not a bunch of dumb rednecks, or old-fashioned irrelevancies. They're the Government. You may think South Australian Senator Cory Bernardi is a lone wolf, an outcast. Sure, he's on the fringes of the wild woods, but he's not out strolling the perimeter alone. It's not as though he concocted the worldview he puts forward in his new book overnight. The Conservative Revolution, with his perspective on abortion, the traditional family unit, Islam, and so on, is the culmination of years of reading, of thinking, of canvassing views. And that didn't happen in a vacuum - his beliefs are not without support from within his own party. Remember, Senator Bernardi was Tony Abbott's parliamentary secretary b efore he was fairly unceremoniously bumped to the backbench following his by-now infamous remarks on gay marriage and bestiality. That's not to say that Mr Abbott and he see eye to eye on everything (although they certainly agree that there are too many abortions and that they can be "convenient"). There are people within the Coalition who roll their eyeballs when they hear that Senator Bernardi has been espousing his philosophy. The party really is a broad church, and there are many on the other end of the spectrum. There are some who wish he would shut up. Then there are those who see that he has an important function in appealing to a certain segment of the constituency - those who might otherwise be lured away by hard-right minor parties. And there are those within his party who agree with much of what he has to say, if not how he says it. His turn of phrase - most recently referring to pro-choice women as "pro-death" - is dramatic and outrageous. It garners hyperventilating responses and headlines - and probably book sales. He even says in the book that he's not going to pussyfoot around with language, and anyone who thought he had a modicum of use for political correctness has obviously not been paying attention. It's that revulsion that drives much of Senator Bernardi's passion. He thinks - wrongly, I think - that views that challenge political correctness are stifled. But here is where I do agree with him: The contest of ideas is important. If we cling to empty phrases conjured from first-year Arts degrees, we end up with a hollow edifice. That edifice will crumble without the infrastructure of tuned ideas, battled-honed logic. It may be immense fun to dismiss Senator Bernardi with some shrill words and a dog joke, but it's not enough. Senator Bernardi says Christian values are the foundation of Western civilisation, without which we will crumple into a moral abyss. It's easy to point to atheists who have done good things. It's better to read up on secular humanism, to be interested in the similarities between religions that point to a non-religious basis for values, to be able to talk about the role of evolution in ethics. To be ready for the conversation. Senator Bernardi says there are far too many abortions despite sex education. Gunning after abortion is almost always a precursor to an attack on women's rights, but "get your rosaries off my ovaries" is only a good enough defence on Twitter or a protest sign. In real life you need to arm yourself with the facts and figures - for example, abortion in South Australia is declining, some figures are inflated because they include miscarriages, and a University of Adelaide study done (several years ago) found one in three terminations carried out at the Women's and Children's Hospital were on international students. That study found Chinese students particularly sometimes believed that contraception was harmful, and that doctors couldn't talk about sexual health. So they're not increasing, and sex education isn't good enough. Good place to start another conversation. On Islam, Senator Bernardi raises concerns which I share - for example, the treatment of women within some fundamentalist strains of the religion, some cultural practices associated with the religion, the dangers of a parallel legal structure. Important things to understand and discuss rationally. Senator Bernardi has a keen eye for divisive topics, which by definition means some people are on one side and some are on his. Best to know exactly what the other side's up to, what weapons they have handy, and the best defence. Hint: It's not a meme.