ACHTUNG: This is not a “fair and balanced” article. It is an editorial by the editor
“We have met the enemy, and he is us.” — Walt Kelly in “Pogo.”
“I learned our country must be strong,
It's always right and never wrong.
Our leaders are the finest men,
And we elect them again and again” — Tom Paxton
There is great wailing and gnashing of teeth all over this land today because of the news that Roe vs. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that essentially legalized abortion in 1973, is in very real danger of being overturned.
The news about the historic leak from the Supreme Court was greeted by a firestorm of wailing from pro-choice folks and celebrations by pro-life folks. Abortion indeed is this nation’s most contentious issue since slavery.
This prompts me to send a challenging message to all those who say they support a woman’s right to choose: Organize and put your money where your mouth is.
Ever since the Moral Majority and Christian Coalition became political entities in the late 1970s and scored the huge victory in electing Ronald Reagan in 1980, the pro-life side of this debate has owned this issue in terms of enthusiasm, organization and results. Though it has taken a long time, these zealots have proved their mettle in marching, lobbying and electing politicians who are on their side. Things looked so bleak for them about 20 years ago that I saw and heard many vow to change the hearts and minds of the people to come around to their side.
From where I sit, they failed to secure the sympathies of a majority of the electorate, but they have found other avenues by which to achieve their goals. And now they are on the precipice of overturning the hated Roe vs. Wade decision of 49 years ago.
The pro-choice crowd has only themselves to blame. Though they consistently have enjoyed the supposed advantages in public opinion polls, they have been soft on the public relations and marketing aspects and have fallen asleep at the wheel while pro-lifers have gotten their boys and girls elected to state legislatures, Congress and the U.S. Senate.
Pro-choicers are rightly critical about old white men making laws about what women can do about their bodies, but they have simply let it happen. The pro-lifers have outflanked them in getting the elder white guys elected and then appoint justices to the Supreme Court. It certainly wasn’t fair when Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell scuttled the appointment of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court and then a year and a half later shepherded the selection of Amy Coney Barrett, despite similar circumstances, but the action stands.
The silence has been deafening about the conflicts of interest for Justice Clarence Thomas and the political antics of his wife and Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s sudden good fortune of having his debts forgiven.
Democrats and pro-choicers have been acting like whiny losers since the election of Donald Trump. They’ve done little if anything to fight back for their cause.
Yet a CBS poll Tuesday evening showed more than 60 percent support keeping Roe vs. Wade as is and in Michigan the figure was 56 percent, despite the unanimous pro-life stance of all Republican challengers to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
It doesn’t matter. Polls and public opinion apparently no longer drive election results.
Me? I am as pro-choice as was Donald Trump in a televised interview with Tim Russert in 1999. Unlike Trump, my view since has not changed.
The challenge ahead for pro-choicers is to get mad as hell and not going to take it any more, enough to mobilize voters and harness their outrage at the polls in November.
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