Question for the Ages
I'm sure many of you have seen the Email that's going around, suggesting that you send a $10 donation to Planned Parenthood in Sarah Palin's name. I've been excited about it, but today got into an interesting debate with my mother. A friend of hers had responded, saying that it's wise to keep the "abortion issue" out of the limelight until the election—"if we can just focus on the economy we have a chance," and the priority is just to get Obama elected.
However much I like the Planned Parenthood idea, I wouldn't be deeply disturbed or upset to lose the opportunity. However, something is rubbing me very much the wrong way about the above argument, and I am finding it very difficult to articulate.
Little help?
posted by Gemma @ 2:56 PM
1 comments
1 Comments:
Right now the economy is a powerful rallying point, but it's foolish to make that the entire argument for Obama -- it leaves him (and us) hostage to events that could suddenly refocus attention elsewhere. Obama can make an argument in almost every area that his administration would be more sane, more effective, and more closely aligned to the interests of the electorate than would McCain's.
For instance, on the point at hand, I don't think it makes sense to keep abortion out of the limelight. "Pro-choice" is the majority position in this country by five or ten points, and that goes to ten or twenty if you just look at independent swing voters. If you let abortion be a coded subtext argument it helps bring out the socially reactionary base, but if you shine light on the issue and forcefully assert that one side wants to criminalize abortion while the other side does not, we win actual swing votes (as well as bringing out our own base).
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