by tryanmax
So, it appears that the Omaha mayoral race is really important to the Democrats, for some reason, but it has also turned into a giant cluster-fudge for them.
Monday last week, DNC chairman Tom Perez named Omaha in a list of races where the Democrat Party is investing in hopes of flipping the House in 2018. Thursday last, Bernie Sanders was seen in Omaha stumping for Democrat Heath Mello with a 45-min ramble about soaking the rich. But now Bernie and the DNC are under fire from their base because, it seems, Mello's progressive bona fides are insufficient.
Mello's crime? He's apparently not pro-abortion enough! Back in 2009, he co-sponsored a bill in the Nebraska Unicameral that would allow a woman seeking an abortion to see an ultrasound if she wanted to. See, freedom to choose doesn't include the choice to actually lay eyes on the "clump of cells" she's evicting from her body. We wouldn't want women to be informed or *gasp* make up their own minds about something as sacrosanct to progressives as abortion, would we?
This set off a debate among Democrats and progressives about whether there is even room for pro-life opinions in their tent. (spoiler: there isn't) Daily Kos, an early endorser, immediately withdrew their backing while also misstating the legislation they opposed. Outlets like WSJ and WaPo ran criticisms under the same erroneous characterization. NARAL labeled Mello’s candidacy “troubling” and a “betrayal. Perez issued a statement saying he “fundamentally disagree[s]” with Mello on what his party euphemistically calls women’s reproductive health. In his statement, Perez also affirmed that every Democrat candidate should toe the pro-choice line. All of which led to Mello promptly selling out his pro-life supporters in an interview with HuffPo. So there you go.
But the backbiting didn’t end there. Dozens of outlets on the left immediately took to calling Mello “anti-abortion” despite his 100% rating from Planned Parenthood. New Republic cited Mello as evidence of the party being “willing to go squishy on abortion to win elections.” That sentiment—along with a fair amount of anti-Catholic suspicion—was echoed in piece after piece, along with sound rejections of compromise or pragmatism on the issue. Astonishingly, it was Rolling Stone that offered the most flexible position: it’s fine for there to be pro-life Democrats, so long as they don’t do or say anything that might suggest they are pro-life.
I don’t know what this portends for the Democrats, only that it furthers their trend toward ideological purity. It reminds me of the Tea Party’s demands for purity, except more narrowly focused. At present, the Democrats seem to only have three issues: 1) resist Trump, 2) pussy-hat rights, and 3) girls who are boys, who like boys to be girls, who do boys like they're girls, who do girls like they're boys. (Bonus if you name the title and artist.) That probably helps explain why a little mayor’s race in a solidly red state seems like a big deal to them.
So, it appears that the Omaha mayoral race is really important to the Democrats, for some reason, but it has also turned into a giant cluster-fudge for them.
Monday last week, DNC chairman Tom Perez named Omaha in a list of races where the Democrat Party is investing in hopes of flipping the House in 2018. Thursday last, Bernie Sanders was seen in Omaha stumping for Democrat Heath Mello with a 45-min ramble about soaking the rich. But now Bernie and the DNC are under fire from their base because, it seems, Mello's progressive bona fides are insufficient.
Mello's crime? He's apparently not pro-abortion enough! Back in 2009, he co-sponsored a bill in the Nebraska Unicameral that would allow a woman seeking an abortion to see an ultrasound if she wanted to. See, freedom to choose doesn't include the choice to actually lay eyes on the "clump of cells" she's evicting from her body. We wouldn't want women to be informed or *gasp* make up their own minds about something as sacrosanct to progressives as abortion, would we?
This set off a debate among Democrats and progressives about whether there is even room for pro-life opinions in their tent. (spoiler: there isn't) Daily Kos, an early endorser, immediately withdrew their backing while also misstating the legislation they opposed. Outlets like WSJ and WaPo ran criticisms under the same erroneous characterization. NARAL labeled Mello’s candidacy “troubling” and a “betrayal. Perez issued a statement saying he “fundamentally disagree[s]” with Mello on what his party euphemistically calls women’s reproductive health. In his statement, Perez also affirmed that every Democrat candidate should toe the pro-choice line. All of which led to Mello promptly selling out his pro-life supporters in an interview with HuffPo. So there you go.
But the backbiting didn’t end there. Dozens of outlets on the left immediately took to calling Mello “anti-abortion” despite his 100% rating from Planned Parenthood. New Republic cited Mello as evidence of the party being “willing to go squishy on abortion to win elections.” That sentiment—along with a fair amount of anti-Catholic suspicion—was echoed in piece after piece, along with sound rejections of compromise or pragmatism on the issue. Astonishingly, it was Rolling Stone that offered the most flexible position: it’s fine for there to be pro-life Democrats, so long as they don’t do or say anything that might suggest they are pro-life.
I don’t know what this portends for the Democrats, only that it furthers their trend toward ideological purity. It reminds me of the Tea Party’s demands for purity, except more narrowly focused. At present, the Democrats seem to only have three issues: 1) resist Trump, 2) pussy-hat rights, and 3) girls who are boys, who like boys to be girls, who do boys like they're girls, who do girls like they're boys. (Bonus if you name the title and artist.) That probably helps explain why a little mayor’s race in a solidly red state seems like a big deal to them.
17 comments:
When Bernie Sanders is now looking like the leader of the reasonable, welcoming Center Left, you know the Democrat leadership didn't get the message from 2016. It's shocking that their answer is to triple down on pushing even further left.
Bev, it is pretty telling, isn't it? I think the only reason they don't drum Bernie out is because he's the only rock star the left has right now.
Thanks for the article tryanmax!
This doesn't surprise me. Hardcore feminists are one of a handful of groups that have utter doctrinal power over the democrats. You may not disagree with them upon pain of death.
What is interesting to me is that Democrats used to be good at faking their views. They would tell the public how moderate they are and would trot out the one or two moderates to prove it. Then they would vote hard left. Now they accept only true believers.
BTW, Elizabeth Warren is "troubled" today to learn that Obama got paid by Wall Street for his speech. In the past, they allows the hypocrisy. It will be interesting to see if they start demand that the democrats act according to their rhetoric. That could fracture their party.
Good stuff, tyranmax! Ultimately to each their own in reconciling one's stance on abortion, but I'll never figure out so many of my Catholic brethren seemingly have no problem voting for politicians with Planned Parenthood endorsements. Eh, few can rationalize like we Catholics. ;-)
Excellent drop of Blur's "Girls and Boys," too.
Eric wins the prize! I didn't clear this with management, but I think I can arrange to have one of our invisible T-shirts delivered to your SPAM folder.
While I'm not Catholic myself, Omaha is a very Catholic town, so I know what you mean about the rationalization. ;-)
Andrew, it is surprising to see the circular firing squad on the Democrat side for once. There's also an unusual degree of unity on the right, even if it is of the "I don't like Trump but I can't stand the lies" variety. And the religious right seems to have faded into the background for the time being. I guess they cashed in all their virtue backing Trump.
The left has gone deranged so it's no wonder they can't fake their views anymore. Calling out hypocrisy is just a tool of convenience. I still see plenty of hypocrisy on the left, especially where Antifa is concerned.
Eric, et al., a side thought. If I were new to the abortion debate today, I would take the pro-life position just to counter the deception and obfuscation of the pro-choice side.
Lemme give an example. As I was reading up for this column, I read a piece referencing a study that found women rarely change their mind about having an abortion once they decide to have one.
Think about that for a second. It's kind of a "no duh" assertion. Of course it's hard to change someone's mind once they've made theirs up. You can hardly get someone to go to Burger King once they're set on McDonald's.
Any meaningful study would have looked at the factors that go into a woman deciding whether to have an abortion or not and at what stage she actually makes that decision. But their agenda driven research skips past all that and frames the obvious in such a way as to make discussing abortion alternatives seem futile.
Excuse me for a moment...
The Bahamas festival backed by a host of A-list models and with packages costing up to $13,000 has descended into chaos amid reports guests have been stranded at an unfinished site overrun by feral dogs.
The boutique Fyre Festival, due to start Friday and run over two weekends, was billed as a 'cultural moment created from an alchemic blend of music, art, and food'.
But on arrival revellers reported finding half-built tents, rat droppings, dogs wandering around the site, mountains of rubbish and thugs looting alcohol.
//snicker snicker
//snicker snicker snicker
Ha ha...
Ha ha ha ha!!!
HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!
Perfect.
"Rich Kids of Instagram Meet Lord Of The Flies"
Just perfect.
Wait. What is this?
Friends of mine who are self proclaimed Democrats or liberals are in disarray. All they can do is lash out at Trump and conservatives with silliness and pettiness...I've gotten to where I ignore them. These people have never read "The Art of the Deal" or any other books on business. They don't understand that Trump is not a politician...he is lining up his ducks...much like other business figures such as Jerry Tsai or Sandy Weill. Have a goal, don't let other people know anything more than they need to, and move in your own good time.
tryanmax, It's an elitist music festival gone wrong. It was sponsored by "the beautiful people" like Bella Hadid and Hailey Baldwin. It was in the Bahamas. It reeked of elitism. High fees. Eco friendly accommodations. Personal chefs. And it's turned into a refuge camp basically.
what a pity
LOL!
OMG, Y'ALL, they were fed cheese sandwiches and salad WITHOUT DRESSING!!!!! With.....OUT DRESSSSSSSSIIINNNGGGG!!!!!! Oh, the INHUMANITY!!!
The media moguls must feel like the aristocrats at Versailles, waiting for the mob. Trump doesn't play by their rules....egads, he didn't go to their silly dinner and sit there while he is insulted by idiots.
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