Politico asks Was abortion a wave-stopper for Democrats in 2010?
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By branding Republican challengers as outside the cultural mainstream on the issue, Democrats managed to hold on to at least a slice of the political center by courting and winning over moderate women in a handful of key states.
The strategy ran counter to the one that enabled the party to broaden the political map in 2006 and 2008, when Democrats thrived by running candidates whose positions on abortion were closely attuned to the socially conservative areas where they sought office.
This year, however, Democrats adopted almost the opposite approach late in the 2010 campaign. As many of the anti-abortion Democrats elected over the last four years were going down in defeat, the party made abortion a central concern in a handful of battleground Senate races — and they ended up in the Democratic column as a result.
One reader wrote to me to make this point too.
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In New York, EVERY statewide contest was won by Dems because they used abortion rights to drive the women’s vote. Gillibrand started it in her Senate contest against DioGuardi, then Schneiderman used it in the AG race against Donovan. Paladino’s website stated he would end Medicaid funding for abortion, which even got me annoyed.
Although the country is evenly divided on the question of abortion, it is a bottom line issue with many voters.
I have talked to a number of Jewish woman who tell me they get incensed over the idea that women might be denied the choice.
While it is true that Palin said she wouldn’t legislate against abortion but she would advocate against it. She made a point of endorsing candidates who were pro-life and as President she could make a point of appointing Justices who are likewise, prolife.
While I am at it, I talked to a brilliant Jewish woman this weekend who said that Obama won on “smoke and mirrors” but that she remains a committed Democrat. Jews are hot wired to stand up for social justice which means providing a good safety net. They are also hot wired to resist dictates of the Christian religion. No way do they want to be ruled by their stand on Abortion. Jews by their nature are progressive. For centuries Jews were oppressed by the status quo so sought progressive policies.
When Jews must choose between their attachment to progressive values including abortion rights and their attachment to Israel, many of them would sooner abandon Israel or convice themselves that Obama or Democrats are not anti-Israel that abandon progressiveness.
It is wrong to label such Jews as stupid. They simply didn’t want to vote against their progressive values. Dershowitz is a case in point.
It is not only Jews who are protective of their choice but the whole feminist movement is.
Palin only hurts her chances by being anti-abortion. I can easily see the Democrats making abortion a central issue in the next election.
Palin should declare herself early that she would not make abortion illegal but she would make it rare. This would help her enormously.
Another big divide is on the question of the safety net. Democrats campaign on being their brother’s keeper. Conservatives campaign on freedom and never complicate their platform by discussing the safety net. They can’t avoid this issue forever. Bush campaigned as a “compassionate Conservative.”.
Its time for Palin to write another facebook entry on her views on the appropriate safety net. She should dispell any notion that she is for a dog eat dog world.
Uncle, I’ll second that. 😉
Uncle, I’ll second that.
From AmexEagle Watch-
yes AE feel free to be offended- that was the intention.
Real Catholics would not have abortions or have voted for Obama. I guess 60-70% of American Catholics are not real Catholics. 53% of the Obama vote was by Catholics that’s almost 30 million votes. Jews less than 2 million votes. I blame the stupid Catholics.
I brought up the subject as a dump more on the character of their Prophet Mohamed, to emphasize how vile the guy was. Not only a blood thirsty murderer, thief and plunderer but a pedophile as well. I think that’s kind of strong and since they were engaged 2 years before the consummation of the marriage(sic) I in jest, asked if she was a virgin when they married.
While I strongly abhor rape I still don’t consider it on par with murder. The Russians when they took parts of Germany in WW2 raped every female regardless of age as a means of revenge not because of sexual desire. They sought to punish the Germans in a very primordial manner. I cannot condem them for that. They suffered far worse from the Germans.
In the bible read the rape of Dina. Makes for a good teaching lesson today.
The son of the ruler of Schem raped Dina, after which offered to marry her. At that point Simeon and Levi pretended to accept the marriage, but demanded that the population of Schem circumcise. While the locals were incapacitated after the surgery, Jacob’s sons killed them all, enslaved their wives, and took their property. Their actions need not comply with legal norms or practicality. Simeon and Levi acted on a higher moral plane, that of revenge. And so their laconic reply to Jacob’s lamentations was, “Should one deal with our sister as with a harlot?”
In national matters, we are one, and the sister is always ours. An attack on a single Jew is an attack on every Jew.
In Israel Arabs rape Jewish women whenever they get the opportunity. I would kill everyone even without a trial by judge.
For those bitter liberals who cannot stand Sarah Palin, this article speculates that it is her utter happiness with her family and her life that drives liberals nuts:
http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2010/11/17/2010-11-17_sarah_palins_happiness_is_what_really_irks_liberals.html
Quote:
And then it hit me. The reason Palin has become such a lightening rod, a kingmaker and a punching bag, a celebrity and a power player, is simple. It’s because she’s so gosh darn happy.
For her fans, like the ones I had the pleasure of meeting in Chicago, she’s refreshingly upbeat and resilient, the bubbly friend from childhood who was always great at cheering you up and cheerleading you on.
But for her detractors, nothing raises the ire of cynical liberals more than a happy-go-lucky, totally unburdened, freethinking and self-assured conservative woman who has everything she wants and then some. And without anyone’s help.
Unquote.
Just like those 1.5 million inconvenient human lives happily torn limb from limb in abortions every year just in the US.
Thus spake Birdalone who happily supports 1.5 million inconvenient human lives being torn limb from limb in abortions every year just in the USA.
Do you folks think you are kidding Allah by mis-spelling his alternatibe name – God?
Birdie, who are you trying to fool here? As Laura wrote, REAL Jews believe abortions of convenience are evil. You support abortions of convenience. I oppose abortions of conveniense just as REAL Jews do. Now you are suddenly pretending to be a superior non-observant Jew because you choose to spell God as G-d.
BTW, I believe in a God who would not be offended if I spelled his name. He would be much more offended if I supported abortions of convenience.
Precisely. I agree. Please tell Birdalone.
Yes, really. I don’t need to know you personally. That’s just a silly comment. I can tell by what you wrote.
Here we go. Proof of what I had said. You should join Max in writing imaginative sci-fi movie scripts.
Yamit. Allow me to ask you a question. Why is it then on some issues you are quite expressive ie KILLING animals is MURDER yet when referring to a female who probably lost her virginity by being RAPED when she has not yet even reached a two digit age you dont use much expression. A.E. Oh so you dont like a Jewess saying G-d as opposed to what? GOD? How petty. I doubt that the One and only true Creator would be so picky. IT KNOWS WHY AND THATS ALL THAT REALLY MATTERS.
If AE’s uncontrolled personal arrogance goes this far – to insult all Jews as “pretentious” and “reluctant” because of our belief that G-d is so powerful, then I think AE should find a different blog, where he is not deliberately insulting an entire religion with his Jew-hating bluster. .
I am a totally non-observant Jew (and, yes, yamit and Ted, as you both know, I struggle every day with that), but I respect the rationale on the rare moments when I invoke G-d.
If AE insists on insulting us, then he should be shunned for the Jew-hater he is.
That was my point. The kid didn’t have a say in the matter now did she?
Yamit thats harsh. If Aisha wasnt a virgin then at that age she was probably raped. If a male virgin is raped he may still be considered a virgin if there was no penetrating done by him. Yes men do get raped too and sometimes by otherwise straight men. ie in prisons. Man needs to DO something to balance his sex drive and not behave like the beasts of the fields. If women can and are expected to divert temptation then men CAN do that too. Sadly that many of them CHOOSE not to.
Yeah and he was a pedophile as well, ah lovely Aisha. According to the traditional sources, Aisha was six or seven years old when she was engaged to Muhammad and nine when the marriage took place. I wonder if she was a virgin when she got engaged? 😉
A.E. Really? I didnt realize that you knew me personally well enough to know what I do or do not know. First of all Mohamed was a false prophet therefore serving a false god. Have you ever met anyone who claimed to be a prophet? I have. Their a joke and as evil as evil can be. No true prophet would go around claiming to be one but then again you would have to have some kind of Jewish roots to truly understand prophets and be able to discern the real from the fake.
There’s a lot you don’t know.
A.E. NO THEY DONT.
The Muslim’s worship the same God that you do. I use Allah as an alternative for God because of your pretense and reluctance in spelling the word God. Perhaps you have missed the facts that Jews, Muslims and Christians all trace their religious traditions to Abraham.
The difference is that I have never said my religion is superior to any other religion like some hypocrites did before me. I never attribute or blame religion, or even a group or race, for anything. I hold individuals responsible regardless of what religion they profess.
Nice try A.E. EVERY race has it bad ones INCLUDING yours. DONT paint every Jew with the same brush. THAT is what facists DO.
A.E. Are you a recent convert? Because Allah is what the Muslims refer to as their G-d. Shy Guy? Correct me if I am wrong.
You mean quality people like George Soros and Bernie Madoff? Or do you mean the guys in the black suits with black hats and beards who refuse to work and are supported by the Israeli government? Allah help us from all fanaticism.
Biblical command? The last time I checked they were killing animals for food all over the place in the Bible, sometimes simply as a sacrifice. Killing animals for food is “Murder”? Is this guy serious?
This is similar to the lunacy that abortions for convenience are fine. Here we see that Judaism is “superior” because it makes convenient exceptions. Allah help us from fanaticism.
Careful Yamit. You know the RUMOR that the Jews just want to take over the world. Isnt it odd that the ones who perpetuate those rumors usually come from religions who think that they are the ones who are suppose to take over the world and some are willing to do whatever it takes to try to achieve. Thats why I like Judaism. Judaism does just the opposite. Thats why there arent that many Jews. Quality is better than quantity.
A-The biblical command against murder includes animals. Most hunters kill for the sport and enjoyment of it not because they need the meat to eat or survive.
B-An individual who can murder defenseless animals when it is not a necessity would psychologically be not be morally constricted or predisposed to murder humans under certain cultural stimuli.
C- Killing humans for a higher purpose like self-defense is appropriate, killing for vicarious enjoyment is proof of ontogeny recapitulating phylogeny.
Yes I have been to a slaughterhouse and it’s not a pretty sight. Hunting is far worse for the animals.
That’s why Judaism is superior to all other religions and creeds because it limits and restricts the types of animals Jews are allowed to eat and requires the most humane form of slaughter.
Why is hunting any more savage than slaughter in a meat packing plant? Are you aware of the food chain? Have you watched on Animal Planet what animals do to each other?
Who gets to decide how to share the wealth? Capitalism does not include you running the world. Your expertise is to create Harry Potter type scripts of a fantasy world of your creation. People have been put in strait-jackets for less.
Not true. It is people like you who are responsible for 1.5 million innocent lives being flushed every year just in the US. Old people would be next, because you are the personification of madness and evil as we can see from your insane comments about a mythical superclass, ridiculing Allah and encouraging the evil of abortion.
Yamit. Hunting does seem somewhat savage but i think it depends on where you live also. In some parts of the world people still hunt for survival. Others do it for sport.
those societies were/are Statist – that is to say fascist totalitarian states that did NOT share the wealth but kept it for a very few in order to maintain power over the masses.
Those societies are/were exactly like America is today.
Sharing the wealth is a part of Democracy and Capitalism not of totalitarians systems – and the big lie is that there is not enough wealth – there is enough to make earth paradise a thousand times over – the problem is that the wealth is horded and restricted by the Superclass in order to maintain fascist control of the masses.
The human race has lost it’s historical inheritance – all of our history has been for nothing as we are all reduced to the level of sled dogs for the Superclass.
All your ideas are lies, distortions and deceits distributed not from yourself but transmitted by you from the efforts of Superclass Propaganda. – you are the carrier of an evil disease.
You and your superclass are already killing all of the world’s grandmas and grandpas – very hypocritical. And this is ridiculous logic. You anti-abortionists live in a world of superstitious religion and you are fascists in your desire to impose your world on the free human race. Your basic philosophy is founded on fascism – you have given up your own freedom and oppress others to follow you to your own repressive and shallow universe.
Life begins at birth – that’s why it’s called birth – it’s the start of a life.
And what’s with the monkeys attitude? That’s some kind of emotional repression – wanting to deny your basic reality you emotions and your physicality.
You think you are not an animal? Humans are animals – nothing will save you from that basic fact not even lunatic religion – get used to it
Unnecessary? I may be unnecessary for you. Who the hell are you to judge others? Besides there are some areas where game has to be killed for food to prevent them from becoming a public nuisance. There is nothing primitive about hunting and killing your food. That’s what animals do to each other. It’s called the food chain – humans are the top of the chain because of superior human intellect.
To say this about “most hunters” is false. Where is your evidence to make such a claim?
Yes, but even those who eat their kills. Hunting today is unnecessary, where most people who want meat can purchase it. While I realize that most people require meat it’s limitations based on domestically raised animals and humane slaughter in most cases reduce the primitiveness from the exercise. Most hunters hunt not for food but the thrill and enjoyment of killing (murder) of defenseless animals. It’s these I refer to.
I am not now a vegan.
Yamit must be a vegan.
Say what?
Are you referring to anyone other than pure trophy hunters?
I’m not sure what you are referring to here. I recall writing that science had made religion moot in knowing whether life started at conception.
From where you stand it may appear that way.
I was not referring to you.
Where did you learn that animals have no intellects?
I can name animals with intellects superior to many so called humans.
I am also against the murder of animals no less than most humans.
I view hunters on the same level as I do The Worst human Butchers of other Humans.
A.E. How is my comment false? I was just stating how other people define themselves. EXAMPLE. As I am in the process of converting to Judaism which is already a done deal I notice a change in others. As soon as they see me they either bring up the topic of christmas or church etc. They feel threatened which is really stupid because I am not taking their religion or holidays away from them. Perhaps they are taking it away from themselves. I like Judaism because its more a way of life. I have no intention of putting religion first. Not mine OR anyone elses either.
Karl Marx will be happy to hear Max’s stirring appeal for socialism. Millions die every year but not from inadequate and denied health care, at least in the USA and most western societies. If shared prosperity – who gets to decide on how to share this – helped everyone in a society, Russia, China and India would still be following Marx’s idiotic philosophy. The only ones who follow Marx’s bogus philosophy are such wonderful societies as N. Korea, Cuba, Zimbabwe, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Bolivia and some failed anarchies in Africa. Migrants flock to these countries, legally and illegally, to experience all that shared wealth.
As usual, you have it backwards. It is the DNA in your sneeze that establishes you as a human being and not a monkey, or a tissue mass, or a pile of dirt, and that same human DNA would have been found in your mother’s womb right after conception, which would establish the creation of a human life.
Science has superceded religion in establishing that a human life is being flushed with each abortion procedure. All these pro-abortionists are now doing is trying to justify the taking of unborn human life. Once they do that, the slippery slope will logically lead to Grandma and Grandpa.
Humans are not Allah’s puppets. Allah gives you the free will to do as you wish. Tragedies and genocide are part of the human condition. Abortion is just another form of genocide, one of convenience, because it ignores the choice of adoption which many find inconvenient.
Millions have already died from BOTH inadequate and denied health care and from denial of a share of the prosperity. There is enough proof that if recorded in books would sink the titanic all over again. Your statement is superclass propaganda and an unfounded propaganda lie meant to empower the superclass.
The superclass is responsible for the entire structure of our society. Every Ghetto death and 99.9 percent of human misery on this continent is the fault of the superclass who have created this society according to their own wishes and their own greed.
As for human DNA every time I sneeze I throw the DNA into the garbage along with a Kleenex. Should I preserve my mucus as “human life”?
Morgentaler is a true hero fighting against religious and political fascists. If there is a G_d I wish he would have enough kindness to protect the humans race from religious zealots and fascist superstitious nutcases.
Success is the best revenge. While her pro-abortion character assassins piss and moan, Sarah Palin just keeps her eye on the ball and keeps going, onwards and upwards:
http://www.deadline.com/2010/11/sarah-palins-alaska-scores-big-premiere-ratings/
Quote:
The premiere of TLC’s Sarah Palin’s Alaska last night drew 5 million viewers to become the most watched series premiere ever on the cable network. The documentary series starring the former Alaska governor and vice-presidential candidate and executive produced by Mark Burnett also set a record for a TLC series debut in households with a 3.5 rating. Its 18-49 delivery was 1.6 million. Sarah Palin’s Alaska posted triple-digit rating gains vs. the network’s primetime average in the 9 PM slot, where it faced NBC’s Sunday Night Football, ABC’s Desperate Housewives and CBS’ Undercover Boss.
Unquote.
Both comments above are manifestly false. To begin with no one is dying in the US from a lack of health care which is available at no cost at the nearest emergency room. Secondly, human DNA exists in the foetus right after conception, so even pro-abortionist ghouls cannot use this “not yet a human being” bullshit any more. Religious affiliation also cannot be used any more because science has superceded religion in proving that a human life is being extinguished, regardless of legal or self-serving definitions of what is a human being.
The problem with this example of intellectual vapidity is that we are talking about humans, not animals without intellects.
This evil comment may supercede whatever evil Sarah Palin is committing by standing up for the sanctity of human life. What level of absurdity have we reached that standing up for unborn life is considered evil by pro-abortionists. It is evil pro-abortionist women who are the ones demonizing Sarah Palin.
okey dokey bedrock. Nominate Rick Perry. Even though he may be a bit lightweight, he has the look, and the confidence, and a reasonably good record governing Texas. I guarantee he can win. Including the women’s vote. All he has to do is flash that smile…
I think the quest for the American presidency is forever tainted by the American preference for reality television and violent video games, with high fat snacks on the side.
Birdalone:If you want Obama for six more years instead of two, by all means, have Sarah Palin challenge him. If that becomes my choice in 2012, I might choose suicide (I ALWAYS vote but that would be a worse than evil choice), although I am looking forward to the Circassian protest at the Sochi Olympics in 2014 (that is about all I am looking forward to). I guess I could buy the dvds of The West Wing and pretend Jed Bartlet is still the president, but it would be hard to avoid the destruction of America all around me with a choice of Obama v Palin. Ultra-lightweight competition
rongrand
The problem is G-d does not vote in American elections. For some reason He/She abstains from registering.
However women do vote and the majority feel that they should be the masters of their bodies (misguided souls).
If you and I can prevail upon them to change their minds, Palin might have a chance. Until then the poor gal might just have to continue making fortunes being the CELEBRITY.
Thanks yamit – and if anyone needs to understand WHY, all they have to do is read this thread 🙂
Thanks for your voice Max. Throughout history, women, and other female mammals, have chosen abortion, and infanticide. Better to be safe and legal than return to the dark ages, although sometimes I think the world is trying to return to the dark ages. The barbarians always win while the “educated” count the number of angels dancing on the head of a pin, or debate when life begins.
If you want Obama for six more years instead of two, by all means, have Sarah Palin challenge him. If that becomes my choice in 2012, I might choose suicide (I ALWAYS vote but that would be a worse than evil choice), although I am looking forward to the Circassian protest at the Sochi Olympics in 2014 (that is about all I am looking forward to). I guess I could buy the dvds of The West Wing and pretend Jed Bartlet is still the president, but it would be hard to avoid the destruction of America all around me with a choice of Obama v Palin. Ultra-lightweight competition.
Right again Laura. As a Catholic I know my Jewish and Protestant friends all share in the sanctity of life, recognizing a fetus will become a living being, a child of G-d. It’s not about religion, it’s our respect for human life G-d instilled in each and everyone of us.
How disappointed G-d must be of our treatment of the very young and the very old.
Max. Really? Ever heard of Morgentaler? The Canadian Feminist Abortionist? He led the country to believe in abortion yet at his clinics which were mainly minors dragged in by their mothers or boyfriends did not counsel on the alternatives. They also didnt disclose that afteq an abortion there is a higher rate of infirtility and tubal pregnancies. These clinics were just out to make money and Morgentaler was just providing an excuse for man to put his pecker wherever and whenever and women and children would bear the consequences. Sounds like a reoccuring worldwide theme.
Anti-abortion-ism is a medieval political stance – sends humanity back to the dark ages.
Ken, Your an INSULT. What part of what I said would think that I would not choose life. MOST of the people I am in contact with either derive from catholic christian or no religious afiliation. catholics are against abortion and birth control yet many of them do both. christians vary depending on the denomination. I have been very active with the PROPER education of what abortion is, side effects etc. and have never advocated for it.
G_d gave laws (the Torah) to the nation of Israel.
Sounds like superstition to me. Do you have any proof of this probably imaginary event by an imaginary being other than someone told you so in some form or another, or possible voices in your head?
You make me laugh, the children of poor cultures like our Canadian Native Peoples and the American poor in ghettos are often taken from them on some pretext or other and given to the rich to adopt.
What are you doing – Shilling for the rich? using poor people as surrogate mothers to provide children for the rich?
There is no end to the depravity of fascists.
If we we run the world on superstition there will be nothing but disaster and fascism. Imposed superstition is an imposed fascism.
Mer,
God gave laws (the Torah) to the nation of Israel. These laws given by God are perfect. Israel is to serve as a light to the nations by observing these laws and being blessed by them. So that those who are wise and God fearing among the nations will see and learn and return to the Creator after they turned away from him in favor of false god’s and their false legal codes early in the history of man. The Torah was given because he cares for us. Obedience to the Torah brings blessings to mankind and protect men from curses arising from engaging in evil behaviors that are harmful to themselves and others and are therefore offensive to God. These laws will one day go forth from Zion so that all mankind will be blessed. Please Mer consider – The TANACH says Children are a blessing from God. If a woman becomes pregnant and feels that she cannot provide for the child she can seek assistance from organizations like Efrat (in Israel) and many other crisis pregnancy centers in the USA and around the world. Some are run by Christian organizations, some by Jewish ones, none of these organizations will send any woman away without try to help her with her child. If the circumstances are very severe remember there are many couples who cannot have children of their own, these couple know more than anyone that a child is a blessing from God, adoption is noble and honorable, and a God approved way to provide for the child in situations where the mother and/or father cannot. God lays before all men a choice between life and death, blessing or curse, obedience to Torah or rebellion to Torah. Mer, please choose Life, Blessing, and Torah for yourself, and for your family, and spend your whole life doing these things, advocating these things, if you do so you will be blessed by God. Read the Tanach, day by day, and pray to God for wisdom and understanding. Jews and Christian disagree profoundly over many matters so turn to Tanach and prayer to God for wisdom and understanding regarding these matters so as to avoid error and to find the Truth in these areas of severe and sometimes bitter controversy. Mer, all men should stand for life, but if you are Jewish all the more so because you are to be a light to all the nations and peoples of the earth.
You Neo-Fascists are quite absurd – you don’t mind the ongoing murder of the poor by denying them Healthcare and n a share of the enormous wealth hoarded by the Superclass and exploiting them as work-slaves – but you do mind aborting something that has not yet become a human being.
I think we should be tolerant with people who have imaginary friends that they call “deities” – but the rule for everything is that when something is not benign or constructive , it is malignant or evil.Such these people with imaginary friends practice evil when they impose laws from their imaginary friends upon the real world of human beings.
These kind of people belong in psychiatric institutions but as it was said of the Nazis – there were not enough psychologists in the world to cure them all – thus the unfortunate necessity of war.
Religion is one of the worst , most evil destructive forms of insanity in the world. Too bad there is not a cure for it. It is good to have a Jewish Culture and even a religious homeland but when it imposes repression unnecessarily on people then it is evil.
If a religion serves the religion first and not people first then it imposes repression upon people and is evil.
If it does not transgress the boundaries of personal development then it can be benign or constructive – but the idea to blindly believe without challenge is the source of fascism in the world – that idea is the foundation of many kinds of fascism from Islamofascism to American Economic Fascism.
You can be free, you just have to choose it.
And when you choose to be free, you will chose good over evil by stopping imposing fascsim on others.
ken.mathews. Gods Laws according to whom? As the human race progresses and populations increase how DO we interupt TODAY. King David had concubines. A rabbi told me it was for survivoral because many women died during childbirth. That is not true today. I could go on and on. I do not believe that in most cases abortion would equate with the murder of a viable human being.