Simon Cox Blog: Democrats Willing to Fund Pro-Life Candidates to Win Back Congress

Tuesday, 1 August 2017

Democrats Willing to Fund Pro-Life Candidates to Win Back Congress

Question is how many single-issue voters are really up for grabs.

After years of party polarization over abortion, Democrats may finally be taking steps toward welcoming more pro-life Christians into their ranks.

Representative Ben Ray Luján, chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), said yesterday that the party has “no litmus test” on abortion and won’t withhold financial backing from pro-life candidates in the 2018 mid-term elections, The Hill reported.

His remarks came a week after the party released a new set of policy plans and goals that push economic concerns and don’t mention abortion at all.

As Luján looks to a “broad coalition” to shift control of the US House of Representatives away from the Republican Party, core supporters within his own party are questioning the move away from a firm pro-choice stance.

Will the potential of luring voters who have avoided the party over the issue of abortion be worth the backlash from the Democratic base, including outspoken abortion-rights advocates?

Michael Wear, a former White House faith advisor under President Barack Obama, wants his party to at least try. He suggests that this opportunity depends on how pro-life evangelicals and Catholics respond to the idea. Wear tweeted on Monday:

If you are a Republican or Independent who says, “Gosh I could consider Democrats if only they were more open to pro-lifers,” speak up.

I hear from you all the time, but some strategists and activists say you don’t exist. And guess what? If you don’t speak up, you don’t exist.

Call DCCC. Donate in response to this move. Support pro-life candidates that DCCC supports. Write letter to editor. And, yes, tweet.

Hundreds of followers retweeted and responded to his messages; ...