Kristen Day: Buttigieg and 2020 hopefuls, don’t cancel 21 million pro-life Dems if you want to beat Trump
Pro-life Democrat questions Buttigieg about abortion at Fox News town hall
2020 White House hopeful Pete Buttigieg weighs on where pro-life and pro-choice Democrats can come to an agreement.
Pro-life Democrats have always been loyal soldiers in the Democratic Party. I am Executive Director of Democrats For Life of America and I, along with millions of others, have stayed loyal even in the face on an extreme shift from “safe, legal, and rare” to a new paradigm: abortion on demand and without apology – throughout all nine months, with zero health and safety regulations and paid for by taxpayer funds.
Back in 2010, we stood by the party in the face of criticism from pro-life allies when I supported the Affordable Care Act.
We stood by the party as its leadership did nothing to help re-elect pro-life Democrats – losing valuable seats in the process to Republicans.
Still, we stood by as the party undermined the campaigns of pro-life Democrats – threatening to withdraw endorsements and funds unless they voted for extreme policies on abortion.
Sadly, we watched some candidates and elected officials cave to this pressure – voting against their conscience to stay in politics.
But in 2020, we’ve had enough.
Most of us can’t abide President Trump. But the worsening treatment of pro-life Democratic candidates and their supporters has reached boiling point.
Friday, in New Hampshire, the Democratic Party is doubling down once again on their extreme stance on abortion.
Tom Perez, DNC chair, is hosting a closed-door, one-sided round table discussion on “women’s issues” with Planned Parenthood.
This is the same man who told me – a woman – that pro-life voters are welcome in the party as long as we stay quiet. (So much for trusting women.)
I’m sounding the alarm to 2020 candidates: if you want the votes of 21 million pro-life Democrats – you have to earn it. We’re not going to give it to you for free.
My greatest fear is that the Democratic Party will only learn its lesson by losing a series of important upcoming elections: the presidency, some races in the Senate and a growing number of state-level legislative polls.
So I’m sounding the alarm to 2020 candidates: if you want the votes of 21 million pro-life Democrats – you have to earn it. We’re not going to give it to you for free.
The latest example of intolerable treatment comes from former South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg. His continued fumbling of the abortion question is turning off voters.
From his absurd, non-scientific comments about life beginning with “breath,” to his refusal to even countenance moderate language on diversity of thoughts in the Democratic Party platform, to his continued obfuscation about the reasons for late-term abortion – only a “small minority” of which occur due to fetal abnormalities – Mayor Pete is enraging the “heartland” he likes to call home.
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When he states his position on his abortion, he’s often cheered on enthusiastically by supportive audiences. That’s what happened when he appeared on “The View” this week and was questioned by pro-life co-host Meghan McCain.
But the Pavlov’s dog-like applause that greeted Buttigieg during his appearance on the show is wildly out of proportion to the public’s actual opinion on abortion – including among Democrats.
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Fifty-nine percent of Democrats support some restrictions on abortion, and one in five Democrats say they’d only vote for a candidate who believes abortion should be always or mostly illegal.
As pro-life Democrats we’re facing a well-funded abortion rights coalition. We are David taking on Goliath – and we have to be.
We’ve been taken for granted for 20 years by the Democratic Party. There’s practically no more room leading candidates could concede on abortion. At this point, you’d have to begin mandating abortion (China-style) or begin to deny life-saving care to birthed infants.
On January 26th, I challenged Buttigieg over his pro-abortion stance during a Fox News Town Hall on live TV. The outpouring of support and encouragement I’ve received since then is unprecedented – and I’ve run DFLA for more than a decade.
As Buttigieg’s numbers continue to rise in the polls, pro-life Democrats are increasingly incensed by his failure to engage with us or even acknowledge the basics of modern prenatal science, which states unequivocally that life begins at conception.
If the Democratic establishment wants to lose this election, they’ll stay the course – giving 21 million voters a choice between staying at home or switching their vote to President Trump.
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If they actually care about defeating the president, they’ll stop advocating for elective late-term abortions of viable pre-born babies.
It’s the only thing that’ll keep this party from self-destruction.
