Democrats and Abortion

Bob Casey's abortion position has generally nullified abortion as a subject up for debate in November, but it may have electrified the debate within the Democrat Party nationwide.

ProLifeBlogs reviews Ramesh Ponnuru's Party of Death, about a political force that is for abortion and for euthanasia.

There are many groups within the PoD. Chapter 2, "Realignment," describes how the PoD effectively assimilated the Democratic Party. It's a brilliant chapter. Ramesh opens with an eloquent pro-life quote from Jesse Jackson, then goes on to describe the pro-life origins of Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Richard Durbin, Dick Gephardt, and even (gasp!) Ted Kennedy. Unfortunately, the Democrats gradually abandoned the hard task of advocating for the unborn in favor of carrying the PoD's message. Ramesh notes the irony:

It was the party of the little guy. Yet somehow it turned its back on the littlest guy of all.

The nadir of the Democrats' descent into the PoD's clutches is chronicled on pages 31 and 32, in which Ramesh tells his readers about the DNC's decision to ostracize Bob Casey in 1992. With the excommunication of the last prominent pro-life Democrat, the PoD's takeover was complete.

Or was it? Skip ahead to Chapter 18, "Pro-Life Democrats," to see the rebellion of those who want to free Democratic ideals from the PoD.

Sherry Wolf writes at Counterpunch.org...

There is no doubt that hundreds of thousands (millions?) would answer the call if women’s organizations were to try to organize a national mobilization in defense of a woman’s right to choose. When the generals leading the retreat finally decamp to the other side, even though the soldiers would fight if a call were made, it’s definitely time to look for new generals.