Forget Tim Roemer. In fact, forget the whole issue of who should chair the DNC. - Is the Democratic Party a Big Tent Party No More?

Preparing the two posts I did today about our party returning to its roots when it was more tolerant and being inclusive reminded me that we haven't heard much lately about the chairman of the DNC.

I did a post last week about the interviews in California (01-21-05 post); another on more Dean-bashing (01-22-05 post); and yet another on Dean) 01-19-05 post) in which I sort of got out on a limb in saying:

"Despite . . . the recent endorsements and present momentum notwithstanding, my call: It won't be Howard Dean for chairman of the DNC. You can take it to the bank."

Obviously the remarks by Sen. Hillary Clinton made me think -- Is she fixing to join our own former Sen. Max Cleland in endorsing former Congressman Tim Roemer for chairman of the DNC?

Sen. Clinton's remarks are in sharp contract to words spoken at a recent Democratic party meeting in Waycross that was the subject of a 01-18-05 post. During a discussion of the current candidates for chairman of the DNC the name of Tim Roemer was mentioned.

Immediately a good and loyal Democrat and faithful party workhouse raised her hand and said: "But Tim Roemer is pro-life."

In a 01-13-05 post I wrote the following about our party's "must be pro-choice" litmus test:

"The Republicans are outmaneuvering and killing us when we take such firm and inflexible stands on social issues about which many in America have divergent views. We must not allow this to continue."

In my 01-13-05 post I also noted:

"Selecting a person who can lead our party to victory who happens to have a different but tolerant position on abortion should not alienate our party's base. No person in our party is going to be denied the right to choose on account of such selection."

Tonight I went to Tim Roemer's Web site, and from there was directed to his Issues Web site page. The Issues part of his Web site is worth reading, and I commend it to you. It is at this link.

"Abortion

"Tim is a practicing Catholic with deep personal convictions on the issue of abortion. He understands and respects that a majority of Democrats may differ with him on the issue. Tim will not change the Democratic Party platform. Throughout his career, he has strongly supported family planning, contraception and other education programs that prevent unwanted pregnancies. Tim will not seek to change the Party’s position on choice and believes that the Democratic Party should be inclusive enough to respect his views, and those of many other Democrats in states around the country. When it comes to this issue, Tim’s belief is that the Democratic Party simply must be more inclusive—so that those who share our Democratic values will not feel alienated by our Party."
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You folks know the law. As an attorney, I will recite it in the following capsule:

In 1973, the Supreme Court in Roe vs. Wade held that the constitutional guarantee of liberty protects a woman's decision to have an abortion. In 1992, the court affirmed the essentials of that ruling and, in 2000, it again protected a woman's right to choose in invalidating a state ban on the procedure critics call partial-birth abortion. The ban had been applied throughout pregnancy and made no exception for the life or health of the woman.

Wake up Democrats. Let the flaps of our tent back up. It used to be tent that housed the Big Tent Party. How soon we forget. But shouldn't Nov. 2 rekindle our memories.

You can forget Tim Roemer, you can litmus test him right out of consideration, but we had better listen to what he is saying. He might not pass must with our litmus test -- a characteristic that used to define the GOP rather than the Democratic Party -- but he is right on target on his message.

Based on news accounts of party losers from the state of Taxachusetts (as Zell calls it) and a clip on CNN Headline News a couple of Sundays ago, Tim Roemer's being pro-life is a killer, no further questions asked.

Thus next candidate please.

But listen to his message is something our party had better do:

-- "We have a majority of our party, an overwhelming majority of our party, that is pro-choice, and I respect that. But I think we should not only be more inclusive on this issue, especially in the Midwest and the South if a candidate has those views, we should have them in our party."

-- Roemer says he joined the race to expand the party both geographically and ideologically.

-- In the last election, "the Democratic Party lost 97 of the 100 fastest-growing counties in the United States. We have four senators, Democrat senators, left in the Deep South," Roemer said.

-- He says Democrats also have lost ground with Hispanic voters, "churchgoing African-American voters" and Catholics.
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Well what about it. Is there a possibility that Hillary will endorse Roemer? How about I check on it and report back in a day or so if I can find out. Wouldn't that be interesting.

But in the meanwhile, think about the title of this post. Is the Democratic Party a Big Tent Party no more?

I don't like asking the question. There being even the possibility that the answer is anything but a resounding yes is something I dislike even more.