Does anyone reading this think there is ANY evidence that Obama is actually concerned about the frequency of abortion?
Where, exactly, in his record as legislator or activist, can anyone find such evidence? What reason, exactly, do we have to think anything other than that the Democrat platform statements about “reducing the frequency of abortion” were anything but election season feelgood talk? How can the Christian Left be fooled by this? Simple: they wanted to believe that a candidate who supports the “Freedom of Choice Act” (known to rational people as the abortion at any time in the pregancy by any method for any reason by anyone of any age ACT) could still actually care about abortion, because that gave them the sop to their collective conscience (everything about them is collective) that they needed to vote for the person who promises all the nice socialistic government programs that they think the New Testament encourages. It’s hard to believe that anyone takes this seriously.
The first priorities for Barack Obama’s administration will be the economy and a variety of foreign policy issues. But the burgeoning religious left, which worked so hard to get Obama elected, expects some movement on its issues, including a robust White House office of faith-based initiatives, poverty reduction, and reducing demand for abortion.
Here’s what Matthew 25 Network founder Mara Vanderslice (pictured) told God-o-Meter about this last issue:
I hope that an Obama administration is going to prove to religious Americans that supported him that he’s going to provide common ground on the abortion issue. He spoke directly about wanting to reduce the number of abortions and it’s one of the first things people are looking for: How is he going to legislate and lead on that issue?
I wish they had been more vocal on this intention to reduce abortion [on the campaign trail]. He [Obama] said it at different times and locations but the pro-life groups got their message out very effectively, painting Obama as an extremist on the issue. I don’t think that’s true but they had some success with that. So it’s up to a new Obama administration to show us he’s going to find that common ground.
Many in the religious left see such untraditional Democratic policy initiatives as abortion reduction not only as a genuine priority for their movement but also as a political necessity if Obama and the Democrats want to hold onto their gains among certain faith constituencies, from white Catholics and evangelicals to Latino Christians to black Protestants.
Ms. Vanderslice was a recent guest at a Christian university that held several political workshops led by people of various perspectives. One wonders if any of the people she swayed at this Christian university actually think Obama will do ANYTHING to reduce abortion.
I suppose there’s one born every day…. the ones not aborted, that is.
In the meantime, the notion that anyone in the Christian Left will actually hold Obama accountable is risible. If they were made of such stern stuff they’d not have voted for him in the first place, assuming they had the wit to read the public record.
So, prediction time: they’ll hold Obama accountable for doing nothing to reduce abortion, alright. They’ll write letters. They’ll blog, and give interviews. But they’ll still vote for him next time, regardless of the rate of abortion under his reign, because they’d much rather talk virtuously about abortion than actually do something effective about it. There is not a chance that any voter for whom abortion is a really major issue actually voted for Obama. So anyone who claims to care about abortion, and still voted for him, is a voter for whom other things are much more important than abortion. You know, global warming, the gap between rich and poor, the Iraq war, universal health care, or just getting a black man into the White House, no matter WHO he is.
November 13th, 2008 3:57 pm
I think you could write a very effective post on ‘Christians’ who can’t get even slightly worked up about abortion. The Christian Left claims, when pressed, that they care about abortion, but as you state, “they’d much rather talk virtuously about abortion than actually do something effective about it”.
November 13th, 2008 3:58 pm
I think the Christian Left really doesn’t care a hoot about abortion but feel they must pay it lipservice to still have a place at the evangelical table.
November 17th, 2008 11:56 am
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