He Was For Abortion Before He Was Against It

Indulge me in a quck trip down memory lane as we enjoy another change of direction from The Man Who Won't Be President:

The week after Thanksgiving, dozens of Democratic Party loyalists gathered at AFL-CIO headquarters for a closed-door confab on the election. John Kerry dropped by to thank members of the liberal 527 coalition America Votes. When Ellen Malcolm, president of the pro-choice political network EMILY's List, asked about the future direction of the party, Kerry tackled one of the Democrats' core tenets: abortion rights. He told the group they needed new ways to make people understand they didn't like abortion. Democrats also needed to welcome more pro-life candidates into the party, he said. "There was a gasp in the room," says Nancy Keenan, the new president of NARAL Pro-Choice America.

NOW he tells us!  But what did the Tall One have to say during he nominating/pandering process when he spoke to NARAL?

This, this is an extraordinary, extraordinary gathering, and I'm privileged to be her with my friends and colleagues who are running for the presidency and particularly privileged to be here with all of you.  We gather at an extraordinary time.  What is at stake, as you heard from almost every speaker, is not just the right to choose.  And never in my years in the Senate have the rights of women been at such risk, never have women been assaulted in their citizenship here at home and in their womanhood around the globe as they have been by this administration.  [applause].

NARAL, NARAL is without question the front-line defense, and when judgements are made, the judgement is inescapable that Kate Michelman is one of the most effective and important civil rights leaders in our time.  [cheers, applause].  Together with NARAL and your efforts, I think it is fair to say that Kate has saved more women's lives, liberated more women, and taken on more tough fights that anyone else committed to this cause...

...My friends you won the right to choose.  It didn't just happen; people made it happen.  Women most of all.   And now we need to work just as hard to protect it.  We need to energize a whole new generation of citizens about freedom.  People who care about and respect women, who will stand up and make it clear that we can't go back, we will never go back, we will never let this right be taken away.  Thank you. [cheers, applause]

That sure let them know that they were headed in the wrong direction.

Fine, this is all a nostalgia binge, and yes, I mocked Kerry at the time for this.

I may as well shatter Amy Sullivan's cred amongst her friends on the left by agreeing with her (mostly).  And to be even more annoying, I will toss in an "I told you so".

Comments

[docweasel]

Heh, sounds like typical Democrat posturing: "let's pretend to be something Republicans can swallow so we can get in there, then we can do wtf we like."

Like how Hillary is getting Jesus, going hard ass on immigrants and is acting like a hawk to position herself for 2008 run. The Dems are slaves to that "gasp" heard in the room when Kerry brought up ANY backing down on abortion totalitarianism. That's one tenet the Dems aren't willing to give on, not even rhetorically and with a wink, like they did for Kerry and Iraq. Its one of the central pillars of the Dem party: FREE ABORTIONS FOR ALL! and a cultural war statement the true believers will never cede. They'd sell out the gays before they'd sell out the "feminists" (a misnomer if ever there was one).d

[Geek, Esq.]

I just saw the reaction amongst the Atrios crowd. Eeks.

The Dems would be very, very smart to point out that abortions are much lower under Democratic presidents than under Republicans.

Of course, they should still remain pro-choice, and let the Republicans get 100% of the credit for overturning Roe.

[Crank]

"NOW he tells us!" Good pun. Of course, Kerry's history suggests that he will beat a hasty retreat once criticized for this.

[TM]

Thanks, Crank. Completely unintentional, but I will take a Lefty Gomez style "I'd rather be lucky..." bow.

As to abortion falling under Dem Presidents, it is a great soundbite but...

Since we all know that correlation is not causation, what if someone is unkind enough to ask for an explanation?

Some of this was kicked around in relation to the (deeply problematic) study showing abortions have risen under Bush. Abortions did fall under Clinton, but in addition to any impact of a good economy, we also had welfare reform and changes in state law in a number of states (parental notification, for example.)

One might strain to give all the credit for that to Clinton specifically, or Dems generally.

This study goes back to 1980, and the trend is generally down. One should also note that changes in reporting can affect results - sometimes Evil Reps get more aggressive in requiring reporting, and reported abortions go up.

[TM]

More broadly, it is interesting to look at gun control, capital punishment, and abortion. In each case, progressives willinsist that the Rep Party is controlled by Neanderthals. However, Clinton tried to move his party toward capital punishment by wacking Ray Rector; Dems have abandoned gun control (although Bush also postured by pretending he would sign the Assault Weapopns Ban if it ever reached his desk);and now the Dems are re-thinking their view on abortion (although Reps put every pro-choice Rep on display at their convention.

Do I have a point? Both sides seem to be looking for the center, but the center is somewhere the Reps already are.

[/Wishful Thinking]

[Neo]

Te Democrats keep saying that Bush and the Republicans in general are turning back the clock. When Joe and Jill Average see none of it, they think the Democrats are a buch of chicken little's.

John Kerry isn't entirely stupid, merely misguided, but not here.
Democrats need to MoveOn [pun intended]. The abortion battle would best be handled by letting Roe die, as, I think even many abortion foes would agree, most states would then just make it legal. NARAL is on a mission, a mission that would end if Roe were overturned and most of the states made it legal, a mission that keeps it employed.

John Kerry is merely starting a conversation that says, in a loose form, that "abortion" is a battle that just pushs voters away from Democratic candidates, just so NARAL can stay employed.

Democrats don't have to be the party of abortion.

[Geek, Esq.]

The entire Dem point should be that their policies lead to a reduction in abortions, through better education, better economy etc. A lot anti-abortion Bush loyalists play real cute with the whole idea of overturning Roe--they say they want to discourage abortions, and Bush is the guy to do that.

The Dems should be able to counter that with safe, legal, and rare--prevention is the most important thing.

As far as the center is concerned on this issue--the center is very much in favor of the status quo. That's where the Republicans have their dilemma. Do they risk losing the center by pushing for an overturn, or do they risk alienating the pro-lifers who aren't die-hard Republicans and may just sit out in future elections? They have done a masterful job of keeping their coalition together--can they keep it together?

As a Dem, btw, it frustrates me to see the Atrios crowd unable to even admit that abortion is "icky." Jeebus.