Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate to Wage Risky Attack On Opponent's Abortion Views. I don't wish him well in this shift in tactics.
In a 7-24-05 post entitled "Gov. Howard Dean on Meet the Press last Dec.: 'I have long believed that we ought to make a home for pro-life Democrats'," I wrote:
I think it is imperative that we follow Dean's advice if we are to return to our former status as the big tent party. I used to find it inappropriate -- given all of the issues out there -- that being pro-life was a litmus test for the GOP. But now we are close to pro-choice being a litmus test for our party.
As I have written on the blog before, I am pro-choice not because I am a Democrat, but because I think it should be a woman's choice, and definitely not mine unless it happened to be my wife or daughter.
But what if someone has religious convictions different from me; do we not have room in the party for such person?
As we reach out to fellow religious voters, we should quit arguing the legality of abortion, and rather shift the theme to abortion should be "safe, legal and rare."
And just as we want to see fewer abortions, we want our children to learn good values -- at home, in school, at Sunday school and at church with their parents.
Good values, health care, jobs and sex education can reduce the number of abortion procedures, and who can be opposed to that.
Regardless of whether we are close to pro-choice being a litmus test for our party as I wrote in 2005, I don't like to see Democratic candidates base their appeal to voters on just social issues.
From The Washington Post:
Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate R. Creigh Deeds will launch a campaign this week to portray his opponent's longtime efforts to restrict abortion as out of the mainstream, a potentially risky strategy for a Democrat in the once solidly conservative state.
McDonnell has said he is against abortion in every instance, including rape and incest, except when the life of the mother is in danger.
Deeds's appeal is directed at moderate suburbanites in Northern Virginia and elsewhere who might be turned off by [Republican Robert F.] McDonnell's views. It's also an attempt to rally support from Democrats who have joined Virginia's electorate in recent years but who might be ambivalent about Deeds because of his relatively conservative positions on guns and other issues.
The effort is also designed to undercut one of the main themes of McDonnell's candidacy: that he is a moderate who would concentrate on jobs and the economy if elected.
McDonnell said Saturday that Deeds's approach is the desperate act of a flailing campaign, noting that both men said at their first debate two weeks ago that they would not focus on social issues in the race.
Deeds's strategy is a departure from the approach that worked for the state's past two Democratic governors, who generally played down touchy social issues and focused instead on the issues they said voters cared about more: traffic, schools and other quality-of-life issues.
One risk of Deeds's strategy comes in finding a way to cast McDonnell as too consumed with abortion without appearing to be overly consumed with the issue himself.
An excessive focus on social issues is widely believed to have hurt Republicans in some recent elections. But if [McDonnell] shies away from his record on abortion and other social issues, voters might conclude his moderate rhetoric is merely a campaign-year makeover. He could also risk alienating the most energetic part of the conservative base.
I think it is imperative that we follow Dean's advice if we are to return to our former status as the big tent party. I used to find it inappropriate -- given all of the issues out there -- that being pro-life was a litmus test for the GOP. But now we are close to pro-choice being a litmus test for our party.
As I have written on the blog before, I am pro-choice not because I am a Democrat, but because I think it should be a woman's choice, and definitely not mine unless it happened to be my wife or daughter.
But what if someone has religious convictions different from me; do we not have room in the party for such person?
As we reach out to fellow religious voters, we should quit arguing the legality of abortion, and rather shift the theme to abortion should be "safe, legal and rare."
And just as we want to see fewer abortions, we want our children to learn good values -- at home, in school, at Sunday school and at church with their parents.
Good values, health care, jobs and sex education can reduce the number of abortion procedures, and who can be opposed to that.
Regardless of whether we are close to pro-choice being a litmus test for our party as I wrote in 2005, I don't like to see Democratic candidates base their appeal to voters on just social issues.
From The Washington Post:
Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate R. Creigh Deeds will launch a campaign this week to portray his opponent's longtime efforts to restrict abortion as out of the mainstream, a potentially risky strategy for a Democrat in the once solidly conservative state.
McDonnell has said he is against abortion in every instance, including rape and incest, except when the life of the mother is in danger.
Deeds's appeal is directed at moderate suburbanites in Northern Virginia and elsewhere who might be turned off by [Republican Robert F.] McDonnell's views. It's also an attempt to rally support from Democrats who have joined Virginia's electorate in recent years but who might be ambivalent about Deeds because of his relatively conservative positions on guns and other issues.
The effort is also designed to undercut one of the main themes of McDonnell's candidacy: that he is a moderate who would concentrate on jobs and the economy if elected.
McDonnell said Saturday that Deeds's approach is the desperate act of a flailing campaign, noting that both men said at their first debate two weeks ago that they would not focus on social issues in the race.
Deeds's strategy is a departure from the approach that worked for the state's past two Democratic governors, who generally played down touchy social issues and focused instead on the issues they said voters cared about more: traffic, schools and other quality-of-life issues.
One risk of Deeds's strategy comes in finding a way to cast McDonnell as too consumed with abortion without appearing to be overly consumed with the issue himself.
An excessive focus on social issues is widely believed to have hurt Republicans in some recent elections. But if [McDonnell] shies away from his record on abortion and other social issues, voters might conclude his moderate rhetoric is merely a campaign-year makeover. He could also risk alienating the most energetic part of the conservative base.
posted by Sid Cottingham | 9:14 AM
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