Mommy Won't Help Dems on Abortion

Real Clear Politics ^ | August 15, 2008 | David Harsanyi

[rhema]

Were you aware that the Democratic Party platform will soon "strongly" support "motherhood"? Many of us with mothers are grateful.

Yesterday, a bevy of articles appeared alerting us to the fact that Democrats would offer a pointless embrace of maternity to soften the edges of the party's position on abortion. This, presumably, would grant many social conservatives the space they need to immerse in the warm and tender rays of Hope.

Has anything changed policywise on the issue? Has Barack Obama's stance softened? Not yet.

And why should it. The right of a woman to choose an abortion is one of the tenets of the Democratic Party. A political body must take an inflexible position on occasion -- or is "unity" just another word for "get me elected"?

Giving mom her due was a compromise forged by insiders in intense behind-the-scenes negotiations. The platform will now "strongly and unequivocally" support Roe vs. Wade, but also "strongly" support a woman's decision to carry a pregnancy to term.

Will Republicans follow suit by padding their anti-abortion platform statement with an iron-clad promise to support the right of citizens to grow mustaches? Such a declaration, after all, would be equally relevant.

Michael Yaki, the platform director, claims insiders spent days -- days! -- bringing parties together to carve out this intricate declaration. "If we had tried to do this on the fly, my concern was that it could turn into some very messy public event," he explained.

Messy, indeed. Democrats face a political barrier on abortion, as it remains one of a handful of issues that can't be compromised even by those fed up by Republicans.

Yet, the Democrats are so enthusiastic to make abortion a non-issue that they've recruited the vigorously unexciting Sen. Bob Casey Jr. of Pennsylvania, a Catholic who

[rhema]

Our wide spectrum of positions on abortion can be influenced by deep moral, religious, ideological and personal convictions. Politically, though, the divide is clear -- and should be clear. One of the reasons we have political parties is so that they can take, you know, positions on stuff.

[mewzilla]

Silent Bob's been sucking up to Obama for a while, from April...

Casey vouches for Obama's values

Just more heart and soul of America there, eh, Silent Bob...?

[rhema]

[from the article to which you linked] ". . .Casey has credited his four daughters with helping him to decide whom he should support, but his closest advisers also nudged him along, seeing it as a chance to build credibility of his own with the upscale liberal voters who have long been cool to his pro-Second Amendment, antiabortion beliefs."

Another Jesse Jackson-like Faustian bargain.

[Ben Reyes]

That doesn’t take courage.

The biggest support they can give is to have as many mothers as possible by stopping the wholesale carnage of the unborn.

That’s how you ‘Support Motherhood’. The Republican Party recognizes this. They don’t have to support that meaningless phrase. They just do it by convincing as many women to take up the role. Period. End of story.

Another meaningless phrase like ‘Change’ and ‘Hope,’ I guess.

[pgyanke]

The Republican Party recognizes this....

Well, the platform did. I pray fervently that the new platform won't water down the distinctions...

[To Hell With Poverty]

Totally meaningless BS. If they really supported Motherhood, they’d stop taking actions meant to force us into the workplace, such as gov’t-funded daycare, inching towards year-round school, banning homeschool, and taxing our husbands to half to death!

[Vigilanteman]

I’d be pleased if Obama picked Casey Jr. or Rendell as VP to secure Pennsylvania. Then, at least, we would be rid of one of them if he were elected.

[NautiNurse]

the Democratic Party platform will soon "strongly" support "motherhood"

Let me know when they support apple pie and Chevrolet.

[Liberty1970]

Is this supposed to be some sort of dramatic change (like they are portraying it over at MSNBC)? That sort of implies the Democratic Party was, until this change came out, formally in favor of forced abortions, dragging screaming pregnant women to abortion clinics to kill their children against their will. Idiot media/political propagandists.

[MHGinTN]

The democrat party has been empowering their political position through the defense, support, and funding for the abortion holocaust, for deacdes now. Id say they are ghouls pretending to honor motherhood [if Casey endorses Obamination, he proves himself to be a cino, not a real born again Catholic; Obama is like most in leadership of the Democrat party, he is a ghoul of the first order:

Main Entry: ghoul
Pronunciation: \ˈgül\
Function: noun
Etymology: Arabic ghūl
Date: 1786
1: a legendary evil being that robs graves and feeds on corpses

[cpforlife.org]

Pro-Life PING

Please FreepMail me if you want on or off my Pro-Life Ping List.

[Mrs. Don-o]

FTA: "In 2007, Obama promised the first thing he will do as president is to lift a ban on state restrictions on abortions, including late-term procedures....
[As for me, I] suspect the president has little influence over the issue of abortion to begin with."

Doesn't this guy even read his own writing? To the rousing cheers of a Democratic Congress, Barack Obama's first priority would be to throw out every state law in the USA that regulates abortion to any extent or on any pretext whatsoever.

That would, I think, be unconstitutional on the Federal govt's part, but they could enjoin the enforcement of state laws while the issue is in litigation, which could be for years.

Obama can sink the whole raft of incremental state-legislated statutes we've painstakingly put together for 30 years --- laws which actually protect women and babies from the irreparable harms perpetrated by the Baby-Crushing Industry --- and nobody should pretend for one nanosecond that the presidency is irrelevant in curbing, or perpetuating, this disgraceful massacre.

[gridlock]

If the Democrats do manage to sieze control of the health care apparatus, it is only a matter of time before they start strong-arming women to have abortions whenever a pregnancy is considered “high risk”. It would be as simple as letting the mother know that any costs incurred in the course of the pregnancy would not be covered by the government program, and no other medical care is available.

[Tax-chick]

a legendary evil being that robs graves and feeds on corpses

As we say these days, a Death Eater.

[Tax-chick]

Wouldn’t you be “Animalia” and “Chordata,” too?

[Salvation]

That title needs a “NOT!” at the end of it.

[Salvation]

I’m sorry — I thought it said would help.

[Salvation]

[Salvation]

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