Fox Democrat Kristen Day blames "ideologically pure" voters for our election losses. [View all]

[madfloridian]

This article in The Hill on the 14th really angered me. I hate the use by "moderates" or "centrists" in the Democratic Party of the word "purity".

They make it sound like it is a naughty word.

This is a disgusting article to me. This is the kind of stuff that has gone on way too long in this party, and it needs to stop.

Do Democrats want pro-choice purity or to win elections?

Sound familiar? Same stuff the party think tanks started spewing after our colossal losses in 2010

Is it better to run pro-choice candidates who oppose all restrictions on abortion in districts where the majority of voters are pro-life, or is it better to end the abortion litmus test and support pro-life Democrats who can compete in these districts?

These are not abstract questions. In 2006 and 2008, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) made a concerted effort to recruit excellent candidates whose values matched the voters’ values. Democrats took control of the House, and newly elected Democrats, including pro-life Democrats, played a key role in passing legislation that has made a real difference in people’s lives, including the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which (even with its flawed implementation) has expanded access to quality, affordable healthcare to millions of Americans.

In 2010, however, the Democratic Party suffered a severe setback in a wave election that wiped out moderates, centrists, and other Democrats in swing districts. Pro-life Democrats, who received minimal backing from the party even in many of these critical districts, were hit harder than any other group. There were a variety of reasons Democrats struggled in 2010, including the economy, but the lack of clarity about abortion funding in the ACA was critical in some of these races, as right-wing anti-abortion activists smeared these Democrats, accusing them of voting for the public funding of abortion. And the party has done nothing to rebuild the strength of pro-life Democrats since.

The result is that there will be more Republicans in the House than at any point since Harry Truman was president. And there will be just a handful of pro-life Democrats.

Another thing. I am tired of people like Kristen Day claiming to be pro-life when in actuality they are anti-choice for women and their reproductive rights.

Our party should be standing up for women in the right wing attacks on their rights to choose. No more lectures from Kristen Day or anyone else in the party.

That is exactly why the policing of pregnant women is getting out of control and scary.

Women's choice advocates need to be aware of the Daschle Abortion Bill 1997

"Daschle's so-called compromise bill, as quoted in the New York Times, permits an exception to the ban for `a severely debilitating disease or impairment specifically caused by the pregnancy (emphasis added),' but makes no provision for a pre-existing, life- and health-threatening `debilitating disease or impairment' that is being exacerbated by the pregnancy. This could include kidney disease, severe hypertension and some cancers. Nor does the Daschle bill allow for an abortion in cases of severe fetal abnormality where it is unlikely the fetus would live long outside the womb, even with technological support.

"The physician certification requirement and the potential loss of a medical license in the Daschle language invites government scrutiny of private medical matters and threatens doctor-patient confidentiality. The intent of this and other abortion ban bills is to control women and to limit their ability to make critical reproductive decisions that affect their families, their health and their lives. These bills represent the ultimate in Congressional arrogance," Gandy charged.

That was an outrageous bill by Daschle, and it was even more outrageous for Clinton to endorse it.

I hate the use of the "purity" when it is used to refer to the strong beliefs some of us hold about what our party should support. It's simplistic and it's petty.