In which Lindy West convinces me...
She makes the best damned argument I've read to convince me that yes, even in the reddest of red districts, abortion must be a litmus test for a Democratic candidate. I admit that I was wrong because she tells it like it is. The money quotes are in the last couple of paragraphs, and the final line, but please click the link below the quoted section and read the entire thing. This opinion piece is a thing of beauty and served to convince this old Democrat:
Of Course Abortion Should Be a Litmus Test for Democrats
...
Abortion is not controversial on the left. So what does it say that so many lefty men are willing to scrap it in an attempt to pander to some vague fantasy of a vast, disgruntled, anti-choice center? What kind of cringing, bewildered invertebrates roll over and capitulate to the losing side of a debate at a time when they’ve never had more leverage? What contortionist of logic came up with the proposal that alienating 75 percent of one’s constituents, and declaring half to not deserve control over their bodies, can strengthen a party’s numbers? This is not broadening our coalition; it’s flagrantly shrinking it.
There has never been a more opportune moment for the Democratic Party to demand compromise — not from the left but from the center. What are anti-choice Democrats going to do? Become Republicans? Now? Jump into the abattoir of clown meat whose top policy priority seems to be “poor people deserve to die of preventable diseases”?
Come on, Democrats. Be something. Unite and move left. The center will follow or lose.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/02/opinion/trump-democrats-abortion-litmus-test.html?ref=opinion&_r=0
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