Reply #58: As a former conservative, here is how I see it.

[The Quizzical Toad]

The abortion issue is a large part of what kept me out of the Democratic Party since I first became interested in politics (I'm still young, going conservative was a error of youth). As a rather devoted Catholic, I couldn't conceive of being part of a party that embraced something I saw as fundamentally wrong. It was a rather large stumbling block.

As a result, I got locked into a party and way of thinking that made me compromise how I thought about many other issues that were not quite as important to me as the abortion issue. I know that there are many others that are still stuck in the Republican Party because of this very issue, simply because they consider it that important. These are people that might otherwise most likely have little quarrel with the Democratic Party apart from the lies they are fed by the likes of Limbaugh.

To me, the Democratic Party is first and foremost about helping people and protecting fundamental freedoms (and that includes a woman's ability to procure an abortion, as much as some might dislike it). It is larger than any one issue. The key is in how these issues are framed. If one rejects those that oppose legalized abortion from the outset, one pushes individuals that might have otherwise agreed with oneself on many issues into the hands of the Republicans. If, on the other hand, one moderates one's stance and looks for common ground on the issue, such as the desire to make abortion rare, through education and programs to help mothers that desire to give birth to their children but otherwise could not afford to do so, one can draw in potential allies and aid them in moderating their stance.

It is not difficult to understand that abortion is ultimately a very personal decision, and that in a free society one does not have to like it or support it in order to support its legality. If you tell people that the must accept that fact before they can be political allies with you, however, they will never be open to it, as much as you may argue with them. When you let them in, are their ally on many other issues, and are able to actually dialog with them as why you believe as you do, it is then that you begin to make progress on the matter.

I think that Howard Dean is right on the money with his approach.