OK, this is really wierd

[supernova]

I went to the Dean for America (er Democracy for America) MeetUp tonight in Chapel Hill. (First Wednesday of every Month at the Chapel Hill Library for those who want to attend.)

There were the usual Deaniacs and other assorted progressives there. Tonight there were a couple of people from Durham County, from Chatam County, and from Person County.

Thing of it is, in the middle of the "What do we want?" segment, there was a woman who stood up and said "I'm from the pro-life part of the Dean camp." Interesting, I thought. She's one who had an abortion and later regretted it. In her ... oh, I'd say mid-fifties..., she regrets it. She said she had never been political before Dean and ever after has learned all about the religious left. I'm thinking "Where have you been, lady? Like we're invisible?"

She made a plea for getting the evangelicals and other religious folks on board the Dem ticket, those who would otherwise vote Repub except for the abortion issue.

Perhaps we are invisible, the religious left.

But here's the wierd part. She didn't stay for the meeting. She didn't stay to become part of the larger group. I don't even know her name. I didn't even get to discuss this issue with her, including my own childlessness at the age of 41, but staunchly right to choose. She said she was seeing her way clear to the "you can't legislate morality" view.

I guess my points are several:

- There may be there a segment of the pro-life camp that is willing to meet us pro-choicers half-way.

- What are we prepared to say to this woman?

- How can we welcome those folks into the party?

Personally I would say, I would love to see a pro-life movement more focused on providing services and resources for pregnant women and their offspring once they are borne. Pro-Life day care centers are a good example of this. I'm in the keep it legal but rare category. For the record, I think the women who use abortion as birth control are in an extremely tiny minority, single digits even.

Anyway, what would you say to this pro-life Democratic woman if given the opportunity?


edit: After she said who she was, this woman proceeded to walk around the room at leisure, engage in yoga stretches, and in general NOT take a seat.

[belle]

1. Given the way you've described her...

i don't think i'd bother, honestly; she sounds like an energy creature.

i don't doubt that reaching out to more of the religious left is a good idea; but it doesn't sound liek that woman was speaking for anyone beside herself, and maybe the voices in her head.

[countmyvote4real]

2. If she can't stick around to discuss her viewpoints in your local forum,

How can you be assured of her vote in November?

[supernova]

3. That's what I'm thinking

that she came through like the live version of a blast-fax, announcing her themes and not staying to see the results.

She didn't stay 10 minutes after giving her little speech.

edit: FWIW, no body talked about her after she left. It was as if she had never come.

[struggle4progress]

4. Approach may be misleading ...

1. Suspect many Americans have "shades of grey" approach to abortion issues, have both pro-life and pro-choice sympathies, and are muddling through conflicts between: (i) personal privacy and individual medical decisions as opposed to (ii) a moral discomfort which grows as fetus becomes older and more viable.

2. In this context, "pro-life" v. "pro-choice" may not accurately describe individual attitudes, although it may be useful for organizing at the edges of public opinion. For example, I consider myself "pro-life" but think abortion should be legal, although I really wish it were rare and periodically wonder what noncoercive public policy could reduce abortion incidence (more easily available contraceptives? cheap ob-gyn and pregnancy medical? widespread childcare?).

3. "Meeting halfway" is probably the wrong way to think about this: public debate seems stuck in a thirty-year old trap, and some inventive new intellectual synthesis may be required to craft new majorities. Meanwhile, reaching out means reaching out to people who we can reach; I really don't feel too much sympathy with single-issue voters; as a member of the religious left, I'm not a single issue voter; I think the Democrats have a Big Tent; and I don't feel "left out of the Party" because of my complicated "pro-life" views on abortion. "Politics is the art of the possible."

[yardwork]

5. It sounds like the visitor to your meeting

might not be a reliable indicator of anything in particular, but here is my two cents worth.

I think that Kerry has a chance to win in North Carolina and other southern states like SC and TN that have been hit so hard by the economy. I also think that the large military population in NC might look favorably on Kerry as an alternative to Bush*, since he has done such a terrible job.

However, for Kerry to win the support of many North Carolinians, he is going to have to appeal to them on the basis of morality. This is something that many of us lefties scorn. If we ever want to have a real Democratic presence on the national scene in NC, we need to appeal to Christian voters.

There is an interesting thread here on DU about the difference between Evangelical Christians - many of whom consider themselves to be liberal because of their faith - and fundamentalists. As Democrats, it's up to us to stop pushing Christians into a corner and acting ashamed of anyone who talks about morality.

If Kerry comes to North Carolina and talks about what being a Democrat really means - in terms of sharing the wealth with everyone, helping out the poor and downtrodden, and guaranteeing Constitutional rights for everyone - he will appeal to a lot of people we Democrats may have written off as Republican voters.

[ngGale]

6. Kerry should come to North Carolina...

I think he has a good chance of beating Bush. Clinton did well here considering the time he spent here. Gore didn't try. Hanging a vote with morality on abortion was a good idea. It seems to be breaking up since our country is being torn apart.