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drew’s journal

What if?

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About 30 years ago, the parties flipped. Republicans used to like abortion, and Dems did not. If you think about this callously, it makes sense. More poor people have abortions, more poor people vote for Democrats. More abortions = more power for republicans. Democrats were always for "the little guy," and that once included the unborn.

I don't know why Democrats flipped.

The point of this is not to advocate for or against any abortion law. I understand both sides of that argument. I just want to point out one thing:

Many Christian voters, including many in my family, only vote for Republicans because of abortion. The rest of the platform doesn't matter.

For whatever reason, torture and war don't matter, but abortion does.

Once upon a time, the whole Roman Catholic church voted for Democrats.

I wonder, if that "flip" never happened, if the war would have happened? I wonder if Ronald Reagan would have been elected president?

Today, A pro-life democrat may never get the party's nomination, but he or she would walk in the general election. It would be a Reagan-style blow out.
184 words

💬 2 comments

  1. james ·

    About half the country supports abortion, if both major parties did not support abortion and worked towards a constitutional amendment outlawing it a third party would have formed. Women make up 55%-60% of the democratic party. It is hard to imagine them remaining a viable party with much of their base disinterested.

    Also, my mom used to be a Democrat. Then she found Jesus and became super Catholic. She was suckered into the GOP on abortion. Now she is a war hawk, thinks all people on welfare are black welfare queens, and is disappointed Mike Huckabee did not get the nomination despite the fact I told her she thinks everyone with AIDS should be sent to an island and homosexuals are just as 'bad' as necrophiles and zoophiles. I think abortion gets people into church and they later drag you to the alter.

    But, it is certainly an interesting 'what if?'

  2. jason ·

    Fascinating. I have some Liberal friends who are pretty much the same way - one issue voter on the abortion argument. I really don't understand that mode of thinking. What, the economy, national security, taxes, foreign policy, none of that stuff matters?

    Call me cynical, but I think the Democrats flipped strictly because of fealty to powerful special interests. A pro-lifer could never be the Democratic nominee today, and probably not in the near future either. They would get the usual treatment, get castigated, called anti-woman, a 1800's throwback, and that's on the nice end of things.

    Regardless of this flip, yes I do think Reagan would have won, because Carter was so unpopular (Kennedy even mounted a challenge), and his administration was so ineffective. Abortion policy was the least of our concerns in those days. I think he's been a much more effective personality outside of US politics, for what it's worth.

    I don't really disagree that a Moderate (Pro Life) Democrat could win handily these days. The opportunity is certainly out there.

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