So I've been thinking about this subject & I've come up w/ 3 main ways to improve the prospects for solid pro-life candidates in the future:
(1) increase support within the so-called "religious right" by keeping attention focused on the issue to avoid allowing these people to be distracted by lesser issues. Last night, I saw an exit poll (I think on FoxNews, but I'm not sure) saying that 20-some-odd percent of white evangelicals in Virginia voted for Obama. How many states would McCain have won if these voters had remembered the unborn?
(2) break through to the minority groups, such as African Americans, that tend to poll as more pro-life than the general public, but who vote for dismal candidates. The median life expectancy of African-Americans is now negative, since the majority (about 60%) of African-American pregnacies end in abortion.
(3) grow the pro-life movement beyond its traditional, socially conservative base. There are many voice in the wilderness in this category (Nat Hentof, Feminists for Life, the Pro-life Alliance of Gays and Lesbians), but they remain isolated. Anyone who has seen the bumper stickers on my car knows that I'm a fan of this strategy.
For all of these, you are probably thinking "How?", and so am I. I have a few ideas, but, for now, how we can achieve these goals seems like an excellent springboard for discussion.
3 comments:
We need the abortion issue to be front and center in the public sphere. If it's not a public issue, people won't care about the 2012 candidates' stand on life issues.
Good to see you last night, by the way. Check out my pro-life blog at defendlife.blogspot.com.
Joe,
I think a big problem is that many in the pro-life movement are complacent when it comes to asking candidates deep questions regarding abortion and the constitution. I have seen voters walk up to candidates, ask if they are pro-life,the candidate responds "yes" and the voter goes on their merry way, asking no further questions. We need to probe deeper into the beliefs of those who desire to represent us.
In the case of incumbents, we need to closely examine their voting records- not just on issues that specifically mention abortion, but in budgets where hidden funding for organizations like Planned Parenthood is contained.
I have seen pro-life organizations give 100% pro-life ratings to representatives that have voted to give taxpayer funding to abortion providers.
We need to ask questions to candidates and incumbents about their beliefs on the role of government. We should be united in the idea that supreme court precedent should be based in the text of the constitution, not in "emanations and penumbras."
We need to hold our elected officials accountable who tell us at election time they are "pro-life", but then go and vote to continue spending our money funding this terrible industry.
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