Posted by
Mike Bates on Saturday, August 09, 2008 7:17:06 PM
Today ABC News's Web site asks "Are Democrats Now Pro-Life? As Convention Draws Near, New Talk of a Pro-Life Presence."
The story points out that after many years of being strongly
pro-choice, "the party and its presumptive nominee, Barack Obama, are
rethinking how they talk about the issue." It continues:
"As a party we have to remember we are the big tent and
have to make room for people with diverse views on this issue," said
Kristen Day, the executive director of Democrats for Life in America, a
group that opposes capital punishment and euthanasia in addition to
abortion.
The proposed new language mentions better care for pregnant women
and newborns, the need for easier adoptions and an overall effort to
reduce abortions.
"We're hopeful that some language will be included that will say
pro-life Democrats welcome, but at the end of the day we're still
Democrats and we're gonna work hard to work on things that we strongly
believe in," Day said.
Diverse views on abortion? Not likely. NARAL Pro-Choice America
used to travel under the more honest name of the National Abortion
Rights Action League. It still rates members of Congress based on
abortion votes. Its most recent scorecard for the U.S. Senate shows 45 members achieving a 100% pro-choice rating.
Of that number, only three are Republicans. The remaining 100
percenters are Democrats and independent Senators Lieberman and
Sanders, who caucus with the Democrats. The tally for the House of
Representatives shows a similar pattern. Overwhelmingly, Democrats -
including presumptive presidential nominee Barack Obama and possible
vice presidential selection Evan Bayh, who's often painted as a
moderate, - vote in favor of abortion.
So it's no wonder that, as the executive director of Democrats for
Life admits, a little respect would be nice, "but at the end of the day
we're still Democrats." Regardless of what side of the abortion issue
you're on, it's evident that the Democratic Party has a long-standing
commitment to it.
Are Democrats now pro-life? Of course not. The story title is
absurd. Yet by using the question as the headline for an article,
maybe ABC News can place doubt in the minds of some folks. Folks who
haven't been paying much attention.