Democrats Aren't In Lockstep Over Abortion - That's Why They're Fighting

[PoliticAverse]

For Democrats with eyes fixed on the midterms, the months since the 2016 election have been filled with soul-searching about the most promising paths to victory in 2018. This week, Rep. Ben Ray Luján, head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, made some news when he said in an interview with The Hill that the organization wouldn’t take a candidate’s stance on abortion into account when allocating campaign funds. The move has angered some on the left and renewed questions about what ideological deviations from Democratic orthodoxy the party should tolerate as it tries to win back voters who swung for President Trump in last year’s election.

Activists and some prominent Democrats took umbrage with the DCCC’s stance when news of it surfaced this week. Cecile Richards, head of Planned Parenthood, wrote in a tweet, “Women deserve access to safe, legal abortion no matter if their state is red or blue — it’s a constitutional right that can’t be traded away”; and ThinkProgress talked to abortion rights activists who felt undermined by the move. Former Democratic National Committee chair Howard Dean, who headed the organization during its 2006 “50 state strategy” push to be competitive, even in conservative states, tweeted out the Hill article and said, “I’m afraid I’ll be with holding support for the DCCC if this is true.”

...

The debate isn’t just lip service about how to attract Trump voters — it’s indicative of a split that already exists within the party. A look at the numbers shows Democrats don’t all feel the same about abortion rights. In 2017, polarization doesn’t just happen across party lines, but within parties themselves.

In 1995, about 66 percent of the overall Democratic electorate believed that abortion should be legal in most or all cases.1 Since then, Democrats overall have shifted towards greater comfort with abortion. In 2017, 75 percent said they think it should be legal in most or all cases, according to a Pew Research Center poll.

Read the rest at: https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/democrats-arent-in-lockstep-over-abortion-thats-why-theyre-fighting/

[wryter2000]

1. Howard Dean

He believes in being competitive everywhere and still supports a woman's right to control her own body.

[Me.]

2. I Question The Whole Win Them Back Meme

Did those/or would those people ever vote for a Dem in the first place and isn’t this like seeking Fool’s Gold?

[Greybnk48]

3. There is not universal agreement on ANY important ethical issue.

That's NOT the point. The point is are we going to allow religious beliefs to dictate whether American women have rights? If your religious or spiritual beliefs run counter to medical procedures like abortion, or transfusions or some other religiously banned procedure, then don't have one. But unless or until there is sound medical evidence against this procedure, like there is for say female genital mutilation, then don't force women to lose all of their human rights for your subjective, non-factual spiritual beliefs.

[bettyellen]

4. Sick of hearing jack booted words like "lockstep" used to discuss solid support....

Which is what we SHOULD HAVE in the Dem party towards women's choice. Sick of the demonization of democratic principles.