by James C. Sherlock
Democrats in Virginia and nationally plan to ride abortion to victory in elections as far as the eye can see.
The herald of this strategy was a piece in New York Magazine by Rebecca Traister. It was titled, unsubtly, “Abortion Wins Elections.”
She is probably right, if her positions are presented in a softened way.
She is right if progressives can set the terms of the debate and avoid the hard questions which the press will try feverishly to help them bury.
But I hand it to her. She is straightforward. She advocates boundless abortions. In that she is probably making the wrong bet.
In the progressive vision:
- There are no fathers, no husbands in the brave new world. Reproductive choice does not apply to men;
- Babies don’t exist until the moment of birth. Some would like the opportunity to take a look after birth — about which Dr. Northam spoke — before deciding;
- They insist on tax money — from everyone — paying the bills.
The far right counters the left’s list of demands with its own. No abortions ever, under any circumstances.
I suspect Virginians are unprepared to go to either extreme. But there are questions directly applicable to Virginia politics.
- Will abortion drive education and parents rights from the front of Virginia voters’ minds?
- Will killing — sorry — terminating babies prove more important to voters than how the survivors are raised and educated?
In either case, it will be about children.
Who don’t get a vote. Continue reading
The Jefferson Council invites you to hear George Will on April 25th at the University of Virginia. The topic of his address could not be more timely: “The Bad Ideas Fueling Today’s Attack on The Best Idea — Free Speech.”
