NYT: Democrats Seek the Middle on Social Issues

[Pirate Smile]

Democrats Seek the Middle on Social Issues

By ROBIN TONER
Published: January 16, 2007

WASHINGTON, Jan. 15 — The promise may not outlast their political honeymoon, but Democratic Congressional leaders say they are committed to governing from the center, and not just on bread-and-butter issues like raising the minimum wage or increasing aid for education. They also hope to bring that philosophy to bear on some of the most divisive social issues in politics, like abortion.


Representatives Nancy Pelosi of California, the House speaker, and James E. Clyburn of South Carolina have been open about their faith.

In their first days in session, Senate Democratic leaders reintroduced a bill that they said was indicative of their new approach: the Prevention First Act, which seeks to reduce the number of abortions by expanding access to birth control, family planning and sex education.

In the House last week, Democrats showcased a vote on expanding federal financing for embryonic stem cell research, which, despite fierce opposition from many conservatives, has won bipartisan support among lawmakers — and voters — who are otherwise divided on abortion.

The mantra, for many Democrats, is the search for common ground. On gay rights, lawmakers and advocates said the most likely legislation in the new Congress would focus on hate crimes and employment discrimination, issues expected to be much less polarizing than the debate over same-sex marriage that was front and center in the Republican Congress.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/16/us/politics/16dems.html?hp&ex=1168923600&en=97a7a21c9778781f&ei=5094&partner=homepage

[GoddessOfGuinness]

1. Just as long as they understand that we aren't in the center right now...

It's time to head left and recreate a balance.

[citygal]

2. I just read an article about the abortion discussion...

One pro-choice group reached out to conservatives by placing ads in conservative publications in effort to reduce abortions by providing birth control and education. They said the silence from conservatives was deafening. The conservative side made no effort to join the movement to reduce abortion by making contraception available through funding and education. It is abstinence only programs. This supports my personal belief that the real "pro life" agenda is not simply ending abortion, but ending access to birth control, especially oral contraceptives (and not providing funding to those who cannot afford contraception). This was even more obvious when pharmacists were refusing to administer oral contraceptives because they said it violated their religious beliefs. Some states have now passed laws requiring them to do so. The real religious agenda is not just pro life, it is anti-contraceptive, anti-family planning.

[Pirate Smile]

3. I agree. The social conservatives want to get ride of contraception, not just abortion.

That is such a hugely unpopular position that the more the truth gets show to the American people, the more people will run from the Republican party.

It is like the Terri Schiavo fiasco. It is an extreme position that alienates most people.

This is one of the things that has driven me crazy for a long time. They want to stop abortions but they don't want to actually try to prevent unwanted pregnancies. Grrrrr. :crazy:

[citygal]

4. Exactly.

[IndianaGreen]

5. There was no middle ground on segregation, one was either for it, or against it.

This DLC bullshit of "middle ground" on LGBT and reproductive rights is something one would expect from a moderate Republican, not a Democrat. The same can be said about the war in Iraq.

If the Democrats want to keep Congress, they better don't fuck over the very people that got them elected.

[citygal]

6. Agreed, but it is the rhetoric used that can win this verbal battle.

The repugs have always phrased the issue as "pro life" to gain credibility. By changing the rhetoric, Dem's can reclaim the "moral position" and change the rhetoric to "reducing pregnancy" by encouraging education, etc...what arguments in response are convincing from the opposing side? None. Then the Dem's take a seemingly losing position and turn it against them...and expose the Repugs true motives.

[Frances]

8. Indiana Green, I don't think you are being realistic

Advertisers spend billions of dollars trying to find the right words and images to sell their product. If Dems aren't willing to spend time trying to find the right words and images to let the American people know the truth about their position versus the Repubs' position, they are very foolish.

[OneBlueSky]

7. ain't nothin' in the middle of the road but white lines and dead armadillos . . .

or dead skunks, depending on your part of the country . . .