Republicans view themselves as the party of “life” – with rare exceptions provided for Texas convicts and select species of wildlife.
Democrats, on the other hand, fancy themselves the party of “choice.” Which is true … unless you happen to choose capitalism.
So, how exactly do we define “choice”? Does it mean allowing mothers to choose to terminate a pregnancy, but prohibiting mothers from choosing which school their kids can attend?
Perhaps it means choosing one of those witty bumper stickers? Liberal diversity, it seems, comes down to a single discussion: “Exactly how evil are Republicans?”
Results, as an epigram, can be found on the back of your neighbor’s Subaru.
Bill Ritter, a Democratic candidate in Colorado’s gubernatorial race, will soon get a taste of this left-wing uniformity.
At this point, Rutt Bridges, a self-made millionaire and chief executive of Bighorn Center, is the favorite in the race on the Dems’ side. Yet, as a two-term Denver district attorney, Ritter clearly has the superior political credentials.
Chances of the party’s apparatchik supporting an abortion-foe Democrat, however, are slim. The big tent is open to people of all races and creeds – provided, of course, they walk lockstep.
“I am a conservative on this issue,” wrote Bridges, from all indications with a straight face, in a Q&A on the political blog Coloradopols.com. “I don’t believe that government has the right to dictate the decisions we make in our private lives. I support a woman’s right to choose what is best for her and her family.”
Time will tell if Bridges exhibits the same distaste for government intrusion when it comes to the Second Amendment, tax hikes, school choice, judicial activism and the legislature’s recent attempt to transform Colorado into a nanny state.
Thankfully, Ritter has yet to refer to himself as a conservative. He’s a mainstream Democrat who has stated he would “respect the law” as it stands on abortion. But how important is his stance in a state race, anyway?
With one, and possibly two, U.S. Supreme Court vacancies, abortion-rights proponents understand that a “constructionist” court may overturn the flimsy “privacy”-based decision of Roe vs. Wade.
I, for one, hope so. Even as a tepid supporter of limited abortion rights, I believe the issue should be turned over to the states so that people, not courts, can decide. That is the abortion-rights activists’ biggest fear here in Colorado.
A recent Newsweek poll found that only 3 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds called abortion the most important issue America faces. In January, a New York Times poll showed that 18- to 29-year-olds who think abortion should be generally available dropped from 48 percent in 1993 to 39 percent in 2004.
Planned Parenthood may sell T-shirts exclaiming “I HAD AN ABORTION,” but the public’s position has begun to shift away from celebrating the practice.
Even Democrats who oppose parental notification laws and support late-term abortions have now employed the rhetoric of keeping abortions “rare.” (Though, you wonder, if there’s nothing morally wrong with abortion, why keep it rare?)
“I do believe that there is much to be done in our society, and in our state, to make abortions rare,” Ritter explained to Coloradopols.com. “In the area of teen-pregnancy prevention, greater efforts can be made in educating our youth.” Not a radical position. A mainstream one, actually. In fact, it may be a position that makes Ritter the strongest candidate in the Democratic field.
“There are an awful lot of Catholic Democrats in this state,” explained Leslie Hanks of Colorado Right to Life. “I would think they would support him if he could get past the Democratic machine, the one that always votes pro-abortion.”
By rejecting Ritter over a single issue, Dems may be throwing away a chance to pass all that goofy legislation Gov. Bill Owens mercifully vetoed last year. But if they support Ritter, they may be yielding on a pillar of modern liberalism.
They finally have a real choice.
David Harsanyi’s column appears Monday and Thursday. Reach him at 303-820-1255 or dharsanyi@denverpost.com.
