As the 112th Congress is sworn in, an already endangered species
is nearing extinction in the Capitol Building: the pro-life
Democrat. This increasingly rare bird is in the process of
committing political suicide.
That the Democrats took a thumping in the mid-term
election of November 2 is, of course, obvious. The dramatic switch
from Democrat to Republican control of the House of Representatives
is unprecedented in modern times. Over 60 seats changed from
Democrat to Republican, giving the Republicans a huge
majority.
Less-remarked upon, however, was the switch from so-called
“pro-choice” legislators to pro-life ones, which, not
coincidentally, accompanied that move from Democrat to Republican.
Marjorie Dannenfelser, director of the excellent group Susan B.
Anthony List, which seeks to elect pro-life women (from either
party) to Congress, counts 38 switches from “pro-choice” to
pro-life from the 111th to 112th Congress, plus another 14 seats
where “unreliable” pro-life members were replaced with “reliable”
pro-life votes. In all, 52 seats were “strengthened” into a more
pro-life position.
Congressman Chris Smith (R-N.J.), a longtime pro-life
stalwart, celebrates that this January marks “the beginning of the
arguably most pro-life House ever.” Smith calls it “another message
to President Obama that the American people will not be fooled by
the Obama administration’s accounting gimmicks and phony executive
orders. They expect their elected officials to stand up for life
without backing down.”
This is a clear reference to the “Bart Stupak Democrats,”
who voted yes on the “Obamacare” healthcare bill that provides
taxpayer funding of abortion; they were duped into thinking that
President Obama’s corresponding executive order will ban abortion
funding. This was quite a leap of faith for these pro-life
Democrats. Recall that one of Obama’s first acts of president was
to overturn the Mexico City policy, thereby providing taxpayer
dollars to groups like International Planned Parenthood. Most of
those pro-life Democrats now find themselves no longer in Congress.
Some, like Congresswoman Kathy Dahlkemper (D-PA), were defeated in
landslides.
Perhaps sweetest justice of all, leadership of the House
goes from Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to Rep. John Boehner (R-OH), a
tectonic shift in the pro-life direction, from one lifelong Roman
Catholic to another — but with only Boehner applying the “social
justice” narrative (not to mention the Church’s teaching) to the
unborn.
Likewise, the U.S. Senate includes notable gains for the
pro-life movement. In Florida, Marco Rubio, rising Republican star,
registered a remarkable victory in a three-candidate race in
November, trouncing a turncoat ex-Republican endorsed by Bill
Clinton, the president who vetoed bans on partial-birth abortion.
In Arkansas, pro-life Republican John Boozman defeated incumbent
Democrat Blanche Lincoln. In a major upset in Wisconsin, pro-life
Republican Ron Johnson defeated Democrat incumbent Russ Feingold, a
dependable vote for the abortion lobby. Other significant pro-life
wins occurred in North Dakota, Indiana, and elsewhere. In a giant
relief in Pennsylvania, pro-lifer Pat Toomey edged out Democrat Joe
Sestak, who was atrocious on human-life issues. All of these gains
help mitigate the pain of Californians handily re-electing Barbara
Boxer, returning to the Senate a woman with a ghastly record on the
unborn.
In short, the Democratic Party has descended, yet further,
down the death path, with preciously few pro-lifers in the House or
the Senate. We’re approaching the point where you may be able to
count them on two hands, potentially even one hand. We’re also
approaching a point where a serious pro-life Democrat voter will
find it increasingly difficult to find a pro-life Democrat
politician to vote for.
Alas, I say this with regret. I’m a pro-life Republican,
but as one who studies history, I know that the parties, and what
they stand for, change over time. I’m far more concerned with the
lives of unborn babies than political lives of Republicans. I don’t
support “pro-choice” Republicans; in fact, I’ve actively worked for
their defeat. I’m an American deeply saddened by the Death Culture
thrust upon this great nation through the evil of Roe v.
Wade in January 1973.
Ever since Roe, the Democratic Party, in
particular, has veered down a tragic path. For a time, in the early
years around Roe, it wasn’t completely clear where the two
major parties, Democrat and Republican, would align on the matter
of unborn human life. It has taken some time, but, ultimately, the
progression has been steady toward the Republicans becoming the
party of life and the Democrats the party of death. Importantly,
there are exceptions to this, but, by and large, and certainly in
Congress, we can confidently say that the vast majority of
Republicans are pro-life while the vast majority of Democrats are
not. If it isn’t quite 90-10%, it’s close.
In fact, a fascinating analysis of Catholic members of
Congress, done by the National Catholic Register and
National Right to Life, finds that of those with a 0%-5% pro-life
ranking, all are Democrats, whereas of those with a 95-100%
pro-life ranking, all are Republicans. That’s a stunning
religious-cultural-political shift.
Along this descent, there were Democrats who tried to stop
the train-wreck. One was a governor in my home state of
Pennsylvania, Bob Casey (who was also Catholic), who was distraught
over the fact that his party, which prided itself as defender of
the “little guy,” the poor, the downtrodden, the needy, was turning
its back on the most innocent among us: the unborn child. When
Casey pleaded for a speaking spot at the 1992 Democratic National
Convention, to share that message, Bill and Hillary Clinton and the
self-proclaimed apostles of “tolerance,” diversity,” and
“open-mindedness” refused him a platform. Looking back, that was a
telling moment.
How telling? If you’re a new voter looking for a political
party, choose the Democrats if you want unrestricted abortion,
potentially even taxpayer-funded; choose the Republicans, if you
don’t. The choice is pretty simple.
It’s a sad development for the culture and the country. It
further polarizes the abortion issue, and more starkly along party
lines than ever before. For pro-life Republicans in Congress, it’s
a loss, as they will need pro-life Democrats as precious allies. No
one — Republicans included — should celebrate the Democratic
Party becoming the Death Party. No one — Republicans included —
should welcome such a moral degeneration of a onetime great
political party.
