Are Dems Ready to Elect Pro-Life Party Chairman?

CNSNEWS.com ^ | 1/12/05 | Kathleen Rhodes

[kattracks]

(CNSNews.com) - Having lost the last two presidential contests as well as important congressional seats in 2002, Democrats may be ready to seek a new national party leader with more appeal to the political center, a chairman with a decidedly pro-life voting record.

But the decision by former U.S. Rep. Tim Roemer of Indiana to enter the race to succeed Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe could motivate one of the most pro-abortion candidates in the DNC's history - former NARAL Pro-Choice America President Kate Michelman -- to join the race.

Roemer, who is Catholic and whose voting record in the House earned him a 94 percent rating from the National Right to Life Committee, confirmed Sunday that he's been encouraged by some leading Democrats to seek the position and will in fact do so.

In December, Roemer told the South Bend Tribune in his home state that the current Democratic Party is "overwhelmingly pro-choice," and "as someone who holds a different view, [I believe] that there must be a place in our party for those who have alternative views."

However, Roemer's candidacy has sparked a call from abortion rights organizations for one of their own to mount a run for DNC chairman. Michelman's remarks to the Associated Press on Sunday did little to dampen the speculation.

"The election of such a staunchly anti-choice leader would signal that the Democratic Party is retreating from one of its core principles," Michelman said, even though she did not indicate whether she had made up her mind to seek the post.

Gloria Feldt, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, a leading pro-abortion group, issued similar comments critical of a Roemer candidacy in a Dec.17 open statement to the DNC.

"The Democratic Party and its leadership should champion pro-choice values, and uphold the ... commitment to women's rights and health," Feldt stated, adding that she was disappointed by Roemer's anti-abortion stance.

Roemer's pro-abortion critics fear that he may be jeopardizing the future of the Democratic Party by neglecting its platform. The 2004 Democratic National Platform for America states that the party stands "proudly for a woman's right to choose, consistent with Roe v. Wade," and adds that "abortion should be safe, legal, and rare."

Pro-abortion forces on Jan. 22 will mark the 31st anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion.

In her statement to the DNC, Feldt accused Roemer of "rejecting his party's platform and core belief that women should have access to the reproductive health care they need."

Current NARAL Pro-choice America President Nancy Keenan told the Boston Globe last month that she did not think it was "smart to have the Democrats change their position America agrees with." Instead of "abandon[ing] a position on choice," Keenan recommended that Democrats "do a better job defining choice as the mainstream value that it is."

Roemer insists he is not attempting to change the Democratic platform to accommodate his pro-life views, only that he is entering the race for chairmanship to broaden the base of the party to include more of the mainstream.

On ABC's "This Week," Roemer said he respects the fact that the Democratic platform favors abortion rights. "We have a majority of our party, an overwhelming majority of our party, that is pro-choice, and I respect that. But I think we should ... be more inclusive on this issue, especially in the Midwest and South if a candidate has those (pro-life) views," he said.

The Democratic Party needs to reverse an important voting trend, he added, whereby "97 of the 100 fastest growing counties in the United States," voted Republican in the last national election and only four Democratic senators remain in the Deep South, Roemer said.

"I'm not going to let people steer this party left, nor would I steer it right," Roemer was quoted in National Journal's Hotline Monday. "We need more Democrats on the bus, more connection to values of the American people that our party holds dear. And we need to express those values better."

CNN's exit polling

on Nov. 2 indicated that 22 percent of voters considered "moral values" the most important issue of the election. Out of that group, President Bush won 80 percent and Democratic challenger John Kerry won only 18 percent.

The group, Democrats for Life of America, agrees that the party needs to broaden its reach on the abortion issue. "[W]e really need to rethink our position," Kristen Day, president of Democrats for Life of America, stated in a LifeNews.com report.

"I think the leadership knows that if we're going to be a majority party again, that we need to really respect the views of those in our party who don't necessarily agree with supporting abortion on demand," she added.

According to a Dec. 24 report in the Catholic Exchange, Roemer also has the backing of U.S. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Cal.), an outspoken defender of abortion rights and newly appointed U.S. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), whose own National Right to Life Committee voting record score is 55 percent, higher than most of his colleagues.

Former Vermont governor Howard Dean, considered the current front-runner for the DNC chairmanship, has also made a pitch for more openness toward pro-life Democrats, though Dean personally favors abortion rights.

"I have long believed that we ought to make a home for pro-life Democrats. The Democrats that have stuck with us, who are pro-life, through their long period of conviction, are people who are the kind of pro-life people that we ought to have deep respect for," he said on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday.

Democratic National Committee members will elect their new chairman in February. Other possible contenders include ex-U.S. Rep. Martin Frost from Texas, former Michigan governor Jim Blanchard, former Ohio Democratic Party chairman David Leland, former Texas Democratic chairman Molly Beth Malcolm, former Denver mayor Wellington Webb, and Democratic activists Simon Rosenberg and Donnie Fowler.

Spokesmen for the Democratic National Committee and NARAL Pro-Choice America would not comment about the importance of the abortion issue on the election of a new party chairman or whether Kate Michelman might be a candidate.

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[MadAnthony1776]

The 2004 Democratic National Platform for America states that the party stands "proudly for a woman's right to choose, consistent with Roe v. Wade," and adds that "abortion should be safe, legal, and rare."

There is nothing rare about abortion. Abortionists have killed more unborn babies than Stalin and Hitler killed live human beings put together.

[MisterRepublican]

The Democrats choosing a pro-life chairman is as likely as Jerry Falwell being chosen as editor of Hustler magazine.

[LauraleeBraswell]

You know, the reason people elect Congressmen and Senators is so that they go to Washington and MAKE A DIFFERENCE, change the law, and make new laws.

No one wants a token Pro-life Democrat.

[kcvl]

ROFLOL!

[LauraleeBraswell]

"woman's right to choose,"
It's all abortion. I love how they slap on the label "right" and all of a sudden you have these hysterical woman crying "Oh, they're trying to take away my rights as a WOman!"

Abortion is anything but rare, The Democratic party is committing suicide. People don't like Moderates. Especially all those special interest groups.

[JudyinCanada]

The fact that it is even being considered is a wonderful sign for pro-life people. They realize they have to try and fool ya'll from Jesusland. This is good news...

Thankfully, Jesuslanders are not the dopes that the elite think they are.

[bill1952]

"Feldt accused Roemer of "rejecting his party's platform and core belief that women should have access to the reproductive health care they need."

I'm tired of hearing this phrase.

Now, I'm not going to interject my position on the matter of abortion, but just what the h*ll does abortion have to do with access to reproductive health care?

For that matter, what does abortion have to do with reproduction?

Seems to me like a made up phrase, as in "jobless recovery."

[EQAndyBuzz]

"(CNSNews.com) - Having lost the last two presidential contests as well as important congressional seats in 2002, Democrats may be ready to seek a new national party leader with more appeal to the political center, a chairman with a decidedly pro-life voting record."

No

[wildandcrazyrussian]

Just like the phrase "reproductive rights" being used as a synonym for "right to kill an unborn baby you don't want" when obviously it simply means "the right to reproduce" i.e. not be sterilized or denied permission.

[dpa5923]

The phrase "safe, legal, and rare" exposes the untenable position of "pro-choicers". There is only one reason to make it rare, i.e. it is wrong.

If the child is alive, no reason, save protecting the mother's life, is justified for abortion. If it is just a blob of tissue, there is no reason to ever restrict abortion or make it rare.

Evidence shows the child is alive.

Just my thoughts. . .

[carlr]

Abortion "rights"is the 1^st commandment to the humanist,socialist dems.
Why?
Because it allows for intimate relations at whim and will without consequence and responsibility.The result is twofold.A slap in the face of religious teaching which they always delight in and second it works to undermine and destroy the traditional family .This in turn helps to create a socialist society without strong family structure thus creating more dependence on the parent government.
In essence if sex is free and "safe" outside marriage than another reason for marriage is lost.

What the 60^s radical libs pushed,free sex,drug use wasn`t just a lets have a good time movement but a political tactic to advance socialism.
Abortion is a cornerstone of that and will never be abandoned by the left.

[Kuksool]

RATS attempting to soften their pro-abortion stance is mere window dressing. In Blue states - such as as NJ, IL, and WA - the RATS are pushing for huge funding of stem cell research. Not exactly a way to trick pro-lifers into voting for them.

[FITZ]

I don't know --- they've figuered out that it was the Christian vote that won the last election.

[bill1952]

Exactly.

What annoys me is the way that it is presented as "reproductive rights."

If one believes that abortion is a core issue, why not just call it abortion, instead of the phony linkage to some sort of right that is always used to cast Repubs as evil mean spirited stooges trying to take away "rights?"

I know that type of hyperbole is commonly used, but it insults my intelligence.

[ken5050]

Hyenas fighting over an already rotting carcass..they don't realize that once it's consumed, they'll all starve...

[Liz]

......they've figured out that it was the Christian vote that won the last election.........

Will nominate you for understatement of the year.

Conservative pro-life Christian voters made monumental contributions to GWB's vote totals. Pres Bush won with 63 Million Votes (13 million more than 2000).

The map, though impressive, conveys the misleading impression that blue state Catholics voted for Kerry.

According to EWTN "The World Over Live" analysts, with the exception of VA, where Catholics spit 70/30 in favor of Bush, the majority of Catholic voters split 55/45 for Bush.....a whopping number of votes since Catholics number about 52 million Americans.

According to CNN exit polls, Bush voters included 38% of union members, 40% of those with union members in their households, 42% of those earning $15,000-$30,000, 44% of those who earn under $50,000 and 44% of Latinos, 45% of youth (aged 18-29), 13% of liberals—even 11% of Democrats voted for Bush.

If you look closely, the map appears to place the insignificant "Other Voters" in the ocean.....that's accurate, because "Other Voters--RINO Republicans" were on cruise ships.

(MAP UPDATE Bush won Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Iowa and New Mexico later.)

Democrats were considered the party of Catholics for generations from the days they stood on the docks at Ellis Island registering European immigrants when the boats pulled in from Italy, Ireland, Germany, etc. Then Dem ward heelers helped the new citizens get settled. So their history with Catholics is long. Later I believe as the culture changed, as abortion became legal, and so on, many Catholics had a lot invested in the party and stuck with it, hoping it would change, and/or believed they could change a party that once stood for the downtrodden.

[Liz]

Hyenas fighting over an already rotting carcass..they don't realize that once it's consumed, they'll all starve...

....and there's also the danger for pro-life Republicans that some of these hyenas will gravitate toward our party, and start feeding off Pubbies. We've all been to Repub affairs and heard the pro-abort talk from some of these leeches trying to dilute pro-life positions.

[ken5050]

I concur...I've heard it also, but alas, these are Republican affairs deep in blue states..where the local pubbies haven't yet gotten the message..The sheer lunancy of the Dems was displayed last year when the NARAL mob forced a bunch of Senators to fight on against the PBA ban, and then you had the first Dem primary debate, at the NARAL banquet. That's why Michelman is going nuts..can you imagine Roehmer presiding over a 2007 debate at a NARAL funcion?<P.
BTW, g'morning..

[Brilliant]

Only if they want to throw their base overboard.