But the Conquered, or their Children, have no Court, no Arbitrator on Earth to appeal to. Then they may appeal, as Jephtha did, to Heaven, and repeat their Appeal, till they have recovered the native Right of their Ancestors, which was to have such a Legislative over them, as the Majority should approve, and freely acquiesce in.
-John Locke

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Thanks For Nothing, SBA List

The Susan B. Anthony List is very proud of itself.  SBA List has put a pledge in front of the Republican Presidential candidates, and most have signed it.  Notably Gov. Romney has not signed it, though he says he's not against it.  The Pledge, in short, asks every candidate to make abortion a central issue in the campaign.  Congrat's to SBA List - they have just potentially sabotaged the 2012 campaign.

Right now the Republicans have a great opportunity: Obama is very vulnerable.  The economy is listing again (still?), unemployment remains high and the America is starting to realize that Obama has no real economic plan other than transforming the US into a European social democracy.  Obama is not post-racial, he is not the resolute leader of the greatest nation on Earth but rather is a sandal-wearing doink who has to sneak cigarettes when his wife isn't looking (look: either have the will to quit or be unabashed about using tobacco!).  Obama is beatable.

the Republicans should be talking about the economy, Obamacare, and THE ECONOMY.  Hammer a President who has woeful approval ratings with what he must own: the economy.  Unite the Right and Center, conservative and independent on that issue.  Why on earth would anyone in their right mind start injecting abortion into the discussion?  It's a whole lot easier to get people to agree that the economy sucks and Obama doesn't know what he's doing than it is to get people to agree on reproductive rights and the role government should play.  It may well be that Planned Parenthood is corrupt, or a huge waste of taxpayer money.  However, Planned Parenthood by itself is not to blame for the current economic crisis.

By raising the issue of abortion, SBA List may stall the momentum that the Republicans have been gaining.  Most of the candidates have not issued a detailed economic plan, but now most are on the record pledging certain actions regarding abortion!  It raises the question as to what is the real priority for the Republican party, and it raises the question of who will have the most influence on the party.  I worry that this move will give the Democrats an issue to work as leverage and play on the fears of the independents - "all the Republicans care about is abortion - see, they aren't serious about fixing the economy."

SBA List may prove to be a distraction that derails the entire party.  I hope they enjoyed the champagne. The abortion issue should have been left alone until after the election.  In fact, It's an issue that should be handled the way Democrats approach gun control - don't try to go whole-hog on it, but chip away piece by piece, softly, gently, unendingly.

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