March 31, 2004
THE PARTY OF DEATH:
Reclaiming pro-lifers (Nat Hentoff, 3/28/04, Washington Times)
Quiet as it's kept, the diminishing Democratic majority in Congress for the past quarter of a century equals the rate at which pro-life Democrats have been abandoning the party. This was the message given to Terry McAuliffe, head of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), when he was visited on March 8 by members of Congress on the National Advisory Board of Democrats for Life of America. Among them were Reps. Bart Stupak of Michigan and James Oberstar of Minnesota.These are the illuminating statistics — ignored by the media — that were presented to Mr. McAuliffe: In the 95th Congress (1977-78), Democrats had a 292-seat majority in the House of Representatives, which included 125 pro-life Democrats. Now, as a minority, Democrats are down to 204 seats, with 28 pro-life Democrats.
At the meeting, Mr. McAuliffe was told that in certain congressional districts, a pro-life Democrat would be able to win a Republican-leaning seat.
Add in the Roe effect and the Red Brown factor and you've got a party in demographic crisis and denial--not a good combination. Posted by Orrin Judd at March 31, 2004 2:31 PM
The problem inside the Democratic party is that it requires too many litmus tests. How many people can be pro-choice, pro-gun control, pro-affirmative action, pro-gay rights, pro-immigration, plus some others? These are all cultural issues.
The leadership needs to set priorities and allow caucuses to do the rest. Those priorities should be economic - strengthening the middle class, fiscal responsibility, and a safety net. democrats are losing votes because people feel these are a low priority in favor of a set of cultural cliques.
There may not be a mandate to force candidates to be all of the above, but there are many levels of pressure to drive out people who do not conform in total because they are not as welcomed.
One could say that
Posted by: Chris Durnell at March 31, 2004 3:34 PM