Democratic party leaders are facing pushback from prominent members of their own party on the abortion issue.
Michael Wear, a former advisor to pro-abortion President Barack Obama, said the party has become “entirely too focused” on promoting abortion on demand.
“The party has moved quite a bit on this issue, but it’s been a relatively recent move. It used to be that Democratic Party, throughout the party, people called for abortion to be safe, legal and rare,” Wear told Fox News’s Tucker Carlson.
Then, in 2016, the Democratic National Committee and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton abandoned the “safe, legal, rare” rhetoric and openly embraced late-term abortions and taxpayer-funded abortions – two issues that are widely unpopular among the general public.
The radical pro-abortion stance did not help Clinton win the election, but Democrat leaders are trying the same strategy to block U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation.
Wear criticized the strategy in a recent column at the Los Angeles Times, writing:
What’s most at risk — if you listen to Democratic leaders and progressive advocacy groups — are abortion rights and Roe vs. Wade.
In fact, based on the rhetoric of the past few weeks, you could be forgiven for thinking that abortion was the only issue the high court dealt with. This is not entirely progressives’ fault; conservatives are primarily responsible for making “Supreme Court” another term for abortion politics. Now, Democrats are approaching the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh with the same singular focus. As MoveOn’s Washington director told the Associated Press, when it comes to Trump’s nominee, “the essential message is Roe.”
Wear, who was the director of faith outreach for Obama’s 2012 campaign, questioned this approach, given the major party losses in 2016.
“You saw major activists and even some Democratic leaders say that the preeminent focus was on Roe v. Wade, which to many Democratic voters – and I think many Americans — seems a bit off,” he told Carlson.
“… there is a range of implications of Kavanaugh filling this seat that concern Democrats from a Democratic policy perspective from immigration to voting rights to corporate power and workers protection, and yet out of the gate it seemed like the only thing the Supreme Court was going to rule on was abortion,” Wear continued.
Polls indicate that abortion is not a top voting issue for Democrats. A new Reuters/Ipsos poll found just 9 percent cited abortion as their most important voting issue in November.
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Wear warned Democratic leaders that the focus on abortion could hurt them in the mid-term elections.
“Kavanaugh’s confirmation battle may only make matters worse for Democrats. If the message the party delivers during the Senate hearings is single-mindedly focused on Roe and abortion rights, it may discourage support and turnout in many competitive districts crucial to switching the House and Senate from red to blue,” he said.
National pro-life leaders have expressed high hopes for Kavanaugh and the future of unborn babies’ rights. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said they will vote on his confirmation prior to the midterm elections.
