Republicans Fiddle with Abortion While America Burns

While Barack Obama has spent the last couple of months figuring out how to save the country and its economy from GOP-inflicted disasters, the candidates to head the Republican National Committee have been debating abortion. Splitting hairs does not begin to describe the exquisite dissection of each candidate's stance as, to anyone besides right-wing lunatics, there is nothing to distinguish the six contenders' positions on abortion, once again the party's defining litmus test.

Of course, the debate has also focused on gun control and same-sex marriage, but even the party's most conservative supporters (and that's saying something in the GOP's shrunken state) could find no light between the candidates, at least not on marriage. There is also complete agreement on burning issues, such as which president inspires them most: Ronald Reagan (surprise!).

To be fair, not all Republicans have been obsessed solely with abortion in recent days: the Congressional GOP, for instance, seems to have been more preoccupied than the RNC candidates with the state of the economy. This is not likely to last as: a) they got us here in the first place so there is really little for them to add; b) it has just occurred to them that they are no longer in charge. It took a firm "I won" by Obama in response to a whining Republican Senator Jon Kyl to put the latter in his place. This will most likely lead Republicans back to what they know best: reaffirming to one another the sanctity of life, heterosexual marriage and gun ownership.

The GOP is clearly in a dismal state, but the grim numbers alone do not tell the full story. Yes, they were crushed in November everywhere outside of Appalachia. Yes, they are in a hopeless minority in Congress. Yes, they even lost ground in the South. But this shriveling power would count for little in the long-term if there were a sense of potential political renewal. Instead, Republicans are scuttling back to a series of social matters at the pinnacle of which sits abortion, an issue settled decades ago in the United States. It is hard to imagine that beyond the mad fringe of the party, abortion ranks anywhere near the top issues anyone cares about. Put it this way: only 6% of the general electorate ranked abortion as the most pressing issue facing the country at the time of the November election (and only 11% of Republicans.) And that was before the economy dissolved further into something approaching a depression.

One challenge for Republicans is that there are few, if any, voices of reason left in the party, especially in Congress. Moderates long ago fled or were kicked out. There are probably only two truly centrist Republicans in the Senate, the two women from Maine. The House is more than ever dominated by Southern religious extremists who, outside of their narrow constituencies, are loathed and unelectable. Republican Governors are often a tad more pragmatic, as they actually have to govern, but only a handful of them can be even remotely labeled as moderate. More worrisome for the party, and perhaps for democracy, is that middle-of-the-road Republicans are also becoming extinct, replaced either by Democrats in places like Colorado, New Mexico, Virginia or North Carolina, or by right-wing nut jobs in Utah. Of the "ten most liberal Senators" according to the conservative Human Events, five are no longer in the Senate, just six months after the list was compiled. This leaves a party that is in near-complete lock-step, especially on the social issues that have come to define it and that have become a blunt instrument of exclusion. It has been a long time since the Republican Party has even pretended to be a big tent. For years now, people like the gay Log Cabin Republicans have been little more than a running joke on late-night shows. As the party has swung ever further right, such cultural moderates have been reduced to defending their party affiliation on the basis of economic rather than social issues, which has not exactly ended up being a winning proposition for them.

By comparison, the Democratic Party has expanded and matured into an organization that aggregates a wide range of views while staying true to a core identity. In recent years, much of the credit for this potentially dangerous balancing act goes to three people from some of the most liberal bastions in the country, San Francisco, Chicago and Vermont. Nancy Pelosi, one of the most progressive members of Congress, has been both pragmatic and potent in her role as Speaker of the House, finding ways to placate her left-wing base while securing substantial roles for the new centrists in Congress. Rahm Emmanuel, as chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, played a key role in identifying and supporting candidates with a good ideological fit for districts previously seen as unapproachably Republican. And Howard Dean, as head of the Democratic National Committee, instituted a 50-state strategy that paid rich dividends in some of the unlikeliest places, including Idaho, Mississippi, and Alabama, not to mention helping once-red states such as Indiana and North Carolina flip to the Democrats. And now, of course, Obama is looking to build an even broader coalition.

On many issues, the Democratic Party is now home to sometimes jarringly diverse opinions. On abortion, for instance, the contrast with Republicans is stark: naturally, there are more "pro-choice" Democrats than abortion opponents, but the latter include some very high-profile names, such as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. On the bailout and on the stimulus package, too, the disagreements within the Democratic Party have been clear, while remaining orderly. Time, and Obama's popularity, will tell whether the dialogue will remain as respectful. That said, there are of course some false notes in the Democrats' big tent: freshman Rep. Bobby Bright from Alabama mysteriously voting against SCHIP, which provides health care to families with children; Obama inviting rabidly homophobic pastor Rick Warren to give the invocation at his inauguration; Mississippi Congressman Travis Childers and a handful of other Democrats voting against equal pay for women. Nonetheless, these instances are remarkably rare, and notable for the fact that the party moves on from them without undue drama.

To be sure, the Democratic Party has its own litmus tests, but they are more in evidence locally than nationally. Newly designated New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, the most conservative member of the state's overwhelmingly Democratic delegation, is a prime example. Heretofore opposed to same-sex marriage, she changed her position overnight ("evolved" in cute political speak), a step Gov. David Paterson, in charge of picking Hillary Clinton's replacement, is sure to have demanded. Next to "evolve" will be her toxic right-wing positions on guns and immigration, two certain deal-killers in a New York Democratic primary.

One of the most striking aspects of the Democratic Party's rise is that it has defied conventional wisdom. The party has not shifted rightward on most issues. In fact, if anything, it has lurched to the left: from gay rights to trade to the role of government generally, this is clearly not Bill Clinton's Democratic party. The National Journal labeling Obama as the most liberal member of the Senate hardly seems to have dented his success in November. Nor did having a San-Francisco-Liberal as its most prominent member of the House hurt the party's Congressional chances. Perhaps it is such achievements that are inspiring Republicans to move into a right-wing twilight zone in the hope of energizing their base and capturing the soul of what they sadly still deem to be a "center-right" country. George W. Bush and Congressional Republicans lost their way, the thinking goes, and there is an opportunity to return to the party's roots of small government, unmarried gays and outlawed abortion. This attitude is completely anachronistic, not unlike a Communist bemoaning the fact that things would have been different if Marxism-Leninism had truly been given a chance in the Soviet Union. In fact, the Republican strategy increasingly sounds like the demon child of Mao's Cultural Revolution and Stalin's five-year plans: a criminal intolerance of cultural and social differences combined with an outrageously failed economic policy. Ah, but yes, if only Republican policies had truly been given a chance.

Comments

[NeverADullMoment]

It shouldn't be surprising that religion has been co-opted for political gain, even to this degree. Religion is, after all, an easy way to play off of primitive fears.

[time4change2009]

A lot of people have made careers out of the "pro-life" movement and are now scrambling to keep IT alive.

[NCRedhead]

Why would they focus on the economy since it is clear that they don't have a clue what to do about it except that they seemed to be opposed to any idea except tax cuts? So, back to the neocon agenda again...their apparent comfort zone.

[InTheSouth]

I've been waiting for years for the so-called pro-lifers to put their money where their mouths are. If they were honestly concerned about babies and mothers they would be building hospitals and homes for the care of these "precious lives" and providing a real leg up for them into society as contributing members. Instead all they do is called for making a medical procedure illegal and won't say what type of penalty they would impose on the mother. I know stoning is probably a thought. They refuse to grasp what their problem is with the whole idea and listen to people who simply want to put women "back in their place" where men can control. This is dark ages thinking and they use ancient myths to back them up. No one has ever proposed a law obligating women to have an abortion so those who don't want one do not have to have it. They are free to make that choice.
Also - no woman uses abortion for convenience. If anyone thinks that, they are wrong.

[SabrinaFair]

This is typical of the Republican party -- priorities always wrong. And it is a clear sign that they will be in third party status by 2020.

[MissElaineous]

I know a woman who is obsessed with abortion and is dredging up every single whispering campaign talking point about Obama to paint him as some satanic entity. I've shot her down on every single point and told her to just stick with her original assertion that she doesn't like him because of his stand on choice. Instead, she continues to parrot the "not a citizen", "illuminati devil hand gesture", "just like Hitler", and "is a Muslim" that she's heard from her little coffee klatsch friends. Some people - you just can't shift them. Its a disgrace that the Republican party gave these uninformed biddies and gossips so much freight for all those years.

[wallyone]

Any of these rabid pro-lifers alive before ROW v. WADE? Deaths from back alley abortions were not rare. It was also a class thing: rich women could go to another country for the procedure or be shipped off during their pregnancy before giving up the baby. Poor women without family or financial support just did not have any good options. Much as it is today.

[hoosier96]

do you believe that you could be pro-life and not rabid?

[mrfreeze]

Do you believe that the pro-life movement could be more reality-based regarding the human condition?

1) Humans are going to have sex.
2) Unprotected sex leads to pregnancy.
3) Protected sex is not for procreation.
4) Women have a right to control #1, 2 & 3.......Period. End of discussion
5) Policies (governmental, religious or otherwise) that force women into option 2 have one and only one intended purpose: domination of women.
6) Control over the reproductive rights of women leads to unwanted pregnancy and manufactures unnecessary abortions.

Would that life were so simple, that mothers could put life before convenience. We can make the human condition better; however, by using our brains instead of our gut to solve complicated issues.

[hoosier96]

I was born the year the Supreme Court "made new law". And I thank God that my mother put life before convenience.

[Sundalecat]

I never could understand why so many people feel it is their job to tell other Americans how to live their lives. Abortion for instance is an issue that nobody relishes but is a necessary evil and yet the right feels they have the right to tell a woman what to do with her body, to this I say MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS. On Gay Rights I truly could careless and cannot understand where people come from when they feel that gay rights should be trampled. I really don't care about it if a gay couple get's married or not. Again, MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS. On guns the only guns that are needed are handguns for protection and hunting rifles for hunting, I think our police departments would appreciate not getting shot to death by a thug with a machine gun, and if you have to hunt with a machine gun then you must be a pretty bad shot. ATTENTION NRA, STAY OUT OF IT! Believe me I too love America, the flag waves in front my house daily and I truly support our Troops who I assume are Democrats, Independents, and Republ

[hoosier96]

If I want to drive an SUV, so MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS.
I want to smoke a cigarette or eat a Big Mac, so MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS.
I want to own a gun to protect my property, so MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS.
I want to raise my child to be a good christian, so I tell the school to MIND IT'S OWN BUSINESS.

It cuts both ways dude.

[Snowflower]

It's not just your business when

1. Your car pollutes my air

2. Your smoking gives me cancer

3. Your gun dealer sells an AK47 to an 18 yr old who kills innocent classmates

4. Your kid tells my kid that he and his parents are going to hell because they don't agree with you

So, let's meet in the middle . . . buy the biggest car you can afford and pay extra for your emissions; smoke as much as you want just not in my McDonalds; eat whatever you want, and make sure you pay for your own health coverage for lifestyle-created illness; own a gun if you want and support stricter controls to keep the streets save; and raise your child however you see fit. . . so long as it doesn't interfere with how I raise mine. What do you say?

[mrfreeze]

I can't think of one person I know who would deny your rights to drive what you want, eat what you want, smoke, own a gun or raise your children as christians. It has absolutely nothing to do with "cutting both ways." Go ahead, have fun. Knock yourself out. Just remember there is a cost & benefit to everything we do. Just don't surprised the next time you want to dictate the rules to others, especially about the most personal things in their lives. You may not like the answer. Oh, one more thing: one of my favorite lines in the Sopranos was when, after Meadow (the daughter) whines and complains about all the things she wants, Carmella (mom) says one of the most profound things I have ever heard on TV: Always getting what you want is for babys.

[Snowflower]

Amen!

I am so sick of the harbingers of war telling people that abortion is murder but preemptive war is not; that abortion is evil but executing prisoners is not; that its okay to fund foreign wars but not to counsel families about responsible family planning; that it's okay to cheat and get divorce after divorce, whatever but heaven forbid gay men and women be entitled to the same rights as other Americans; that poisoning the environment is fine, stealing the jobs/homes­/investmen­ts of countless Americans is fine but don't let women have control of their reproduction and don't let gays have equal rights. Ugh.

Let the churches lose their exempt status. Let the 48% opt out of the stimulus plan and feed themselves. The only thing they know how to share are their opinions and their misery from the pulpit to the airwaves.

Let them whine and bicker amongst themselves. And let the Dems get on with the business of righting this ship!

[pammygamherst]

i live in the bowels of republicanism and conservatism (central va right across the river from liberty university) and it astonishes me that every four years most people around here vote against their own best economic interests. that's how the republicans ensnare lower to middle class socio-economic folks: abortion, same-sex marriage and gun control. the economy can collapse but by God as long as there are no abortions, no same sex marriage and everyone can own an uzi then all is well with the world.

[kathy001]

LOL!!! It's the same here in Texas. I am constantly amazed that people will completely ignore their own economic issues and focus entirely on who is sleeping with who and what women - and woman, not just women they know - are doing with their bodies. But then, alot of that is the, "My Daddy voted Republican all his life, my Granddaddy voted Republican and if it was good enough for them, it's good enough for me."

It makes me wonder why these people ever bothered installing indoor plumbing. After all, Great-Granddaddy had an outhouse all his life.

[hoosier96]

Many of us conservatives do vote republican because we are concerned about the economy. Unlike liberals, we understand that socialism never works IN ANY PLACE IT HAS BEEN TRIED. We believe that letting the market work without heavy government involvement leads to a strong economy. You can't spend yourself out of a recession because every dollar the government spends has to come from taxes or borrowing, there is no creation of wealth there.

[luke150]

That is actually not true. The Scandinavian countries have a pretty successful form of socialism. On markets - with all due respect, you talk without any knowledge on the subject and just repeat mantras. markets tend to overshoot both on up and down sides. If you just let them shoot on the down side to the extreme, there may not be any businesses left. Not to mention the enormous social burden of having millions of people in the street (but that has never been a concern for a good Republican).
Actually, you can spend yourslef out of a recession, this is how recessions end. Whether it is a private or public spending, demand is what gets you out of the whole. Every dollar spent multiplies in the real economy and thus wealth is created, that is the basis of capitalism. I wish more good Republicans knew actually the principles of capitalism.
Anyway, good talk.

[Petey131]

Let's face it folks Republicans will never change.

[momof3inGA]

My sentiments exactly.

[chopenhopper]

Hey repubs--I've got a dead horse over here--would you mind beating it for me?

That should keep you occupied for the next, say, 4-8 years.

[LiberalMathProfessor]

Abortion, creationism, intelligent design "science"... it is all the same, infusing (jnfecting) government with religion. I say keep religion out of government and vice versa, and it is easy to trace the anti-abortionists and intelligent designists right back to certain of the christianists, which may be another way to spell egotists. Not that professing a religion or personally decrying abortion or considering alternate cosmologies is egotistical... no, it is insisting that the whole damn world must behave as certain egotists demand, which of course broadens the discussion to include any 'ists who will interfere with individual freedom and our Constitution, not just certain religionists.

[Jsens3]

These are good points. It correctly points out that Democrats are widely diverse. A lot of those Congressional Democrats in past decades were really quite conservative and voted with the Republicans on lots of issues. Pelosi herself has done a good job of holding her left wing critics in her district at bay.

[AnnfromCA]

And liberal debate why Michele didn't choose an AA dress designer.

Come on. People have to live. We cannot get up and just focus on the "crisis."

Heck, even when London was being bombed, plenty of people were focused on how to get a butter ration for the day.