| Submit your comments on this article |
| Home Front: Politix |
| Dean Urges to Reach Out to Pro-Life Voters |
| 2005-07-22 |
| Democrats need to reach out to voters who oppose abortion rights and promote candidates who share that view, the head of the party said Friday. Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, told a group of college Democrats that their party has to change its approach in the debate over abortion. "I think we need to talk about this issue differently," said Dean. "The Republicans have painted us as a pro-abortion party. I don't know anybody in America who is pro-abortion." Dean's approach echoed similar arguments advanced in recent months by former President Clinton and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y. "We do have to have a big tent. I do think we need to welcome pro-life Democrats into this party," said Dean. The effort to attract such voters comes as Senate Democrats are preparing for confirmation hearings on Supreme Court nominee John Roberts. Roberts' views on abortion are already being intensely scrutinized. Dean did not mention the looming confirmation hearings. He discussed the abortion debate after a student questioned why the party was supporting Bob Casey Jr., a Pennsylvania Democrat challenging incumbent Republican Sen. Rick Santorum. The chairman tried to draw a distinction between Casey and Santorum, even though both men oppose abortion rights. "You have to respect people's positions of conscience," said Dean. "I think Bob Casey's position is a position of conscience." Dean, a former Planned Parenthood board member, said the difference between his party and Republicans is that "we believe a woman has a right to make up their own mind and they believe (House Majority Leader) Tom DeLay should make it up and Rick Santorum should make it up for them." John Brabender, a consultant to Santorum's re-election campaign, said Dean's distinctions were meaningless. "It makes absolutely no sense for Howard Dean to attack Rick Santorum unless he's also attacking Bobby Casey," he said. DeLay spokesman Kevin Madden said, "Howard Dean's rants are a perfect example of why the American people have lost faith in the national Democratic party." "Reach out to pro-lifers. Offer them 'Pro-Death' t-shirts and stuff. Yearggh." |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #15 could be easier with Hillary and her thankles |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-07-22 21:39 |
| #14 Reaching out for the pro-lifers grabbing them around their slippery little legs and dragging them into the light of the new Democratic Party. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-07-22 21:21 |
| #13 he outta be looking out for them... they won't slow down for him LOL |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-07-22 21:12 |
| #12 Just remember: Howard is looking out for those guys with confederate flags in the backs of their pickup trucks. #snicker# |
| Posted by: Secret Master 2005-07-22 21:09 |
| #11 Pro-life (medium OS version) and all for frying-em-up-on death row....matter of choice in actions and consequences promised/richly deserved. Catholic too. |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-07-22 21:06 |
| #10 Don't forget the head-bangers or the Hopeless Mucoids, either... |
| Posted by: Dave D. 2005-07-22 21:00 |
| #9 Not only has Dr. Howie Dean performed abortions, but he's a big backer of Planned Parenthood, the #1 source of abortions. "I don't know anybody in America who is pro-abortion."--Must have narcolepsy because he hasn't been talking to the "faithful", i.e. the foamers, droolers and Catheter Chronics over at DU. (Dave, now I know I love you!) They heart abortion! Yes, he's nuts, but he's a liar, too. He'll obviously shoot off his mouth and say whatever Gawdawful thing comes to his tiny mind at the least provocation. What a maroon. |
| Posted by: Jennie Taliaferro 2005-07-22 20:54 |
| #8 Pro-Life is a very absolutist postion - if fully realizedit also entails objections to routine use of capital punishment, protection & care of the children that result from "unwanted" births, etc. The latter point is often overlooked by the more militant religious fundamentalist types (a'la Fred Phelps) who seem only to exist as "pro-life" in order to have someone to bully or heckle or look down on, without considering and caring for the full range of consequences of being truly pro-life. Despite that, there are others who are also bad - the "splitters" - fence sitters. To be saying you are pro-choice but consider abortion to be evil - or claiming to be pro-child and pro-choice... that is simply idiotic contradictory bullcrap . Its like saying "I think slavery is evil, but its not up to me to tell you what to choose to do with another human being". If you truly recognize abortion as wrong, or as an evil, but then refuse to act to stop the evil, or limit it or speak out against it - they you are a moral coward. So-called "Pro-Child, Pro-Choice" fence-sitters who use that rhetoric are essentially moral cowards. They are doing the equivalent of saying that they dont want to infringe on someones rights to keep slaves, even though they believe slavery (the arbitrary abuse of one human by another) to be evil. So the Dems want to "reach out to" Pro Lifers? How? I am pro-life and its a position that is diametricly opposed to so-called "choice". Abortion, in my ethics, is murder. Its the callous and purposeful killing of an innocent human being. The only debate for true pro-lifers is where to draw the line (circumstances, etc). The Democrats, on the other hand, say there is no line to be drawn and this has been their consistent persisten thrust in abuse of the courts to make laws via judicial fiat, or strike down any attempts to limit the murders of children in the womb. What could the Democratic party, as it now exists, beholden to NOW and NARAL, possibly have to offer a pro-life voter? Nothing. If he thinks he is going anywhere with this, if he thinks that the hard left of MoveOn and Soros will let anyone that speaks of limits on abortion have ANY influence on party policy - he is out of his mind. Howard Dean is insane . |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2005-07-22 20:46 |
| #7 Frank - not just Schumer. You hear this shit a lot, if somewhat obliquely. But there's no doubt what they're talking about. If the MSM had actual reporters who did the job they're supposed to do - as opposed to being Donk cheerleaders - and if they had the education they should have (instead of being dumb as dirt), the next time somebody in Congress started making noises about a nominee's religion, some enterprising reporter would very publicly ask that Congresscritter to explain exactly when Article VI, Clause 3, of the Constitution was repealed. Article VI, Clause 3: "The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States." By the way, it's appears from their actions and pronouncements that more than one member of Congress hasn't even read the Constitution, never mind holding to their oath to support it. It's almost like they got "support" confused with "subvert"; after all, both words begin with "su" and end with "rt" - you can see how hard it would be to tell them apart. :-( |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2005-07-22 20:02 |
| #6 Schumer's hinting his Catholic religion may work against him...if he were Jewish, would that be OK? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-07-22 19:33 |
| #5 LOL... Anybody remember the movie Scanners, from back in the early 80's? I never saw the movie, but I remember seeing the trailers for it on TV: the poor bastard who gets invaded by one of the space aliens or whatever the heck they were, he starts shaking and jittering and his eyes bug out REALLLLLL wide and then his whole head just explodes in a shower of wet, bloody goo? That's what Kos's Kidz and the foamers, droolers and Catheter Chronics over at DU are gonna be like if the Dems let Roberts through unscathed. I can't wait... |
| Posted by: Dave D. 2005-07-22 19:15 |
| #4 Hmph. I shall wait for the other shoe to drop. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2005-07-22 19:08 |
| #3 Dave, I think I love you! ROFL ;-) |
| Posted by: Jennie Taliaferro 2005-07-22 19:06 |
| #2 "Dean and the Dems might surprise us all and let Roberts sail through." Oh, I wouldn't be all that surprised; sooner or later even the dimmest of the dim have got to wake up and realize how much damage their knee-jerk, reactionary, over-the-top, hate-filled bullshit is costing them. Even "Byrdbrain" seems to have got religion in the last couple days. |
| Posted by: Dave D. 2005-07-22 19:04 |
| #1 Although it's as likely as not that Dean is just talking out of his floopus again, there is also a chance that he has read the writing on the wall regarding the Maybe the Dems are going to cut their losses on Roberts and wait for their big showdown for the next nominee. It's looking more and more like Reinquist will retire shortly after O'Connor's official stepdown, and Stephens is about 280 years old, so W. could be nominating 3 judges total. Dean and the Dems might surprise us all and let Roberts sail through. |
| Posted by: Chris W. 2005-07-22 18:56 |