This race is currently in a dead heat. Ten percent appear to be undecided, and I believe strongly that Barack Obama and Joe Biden have the integrity, record, and vision to win these votes and seal the deal (handily) in November. But as I canvass and phonebank throughout the Midwest and talk to good people still undecided about this election, one issue comes up time and again.
Abortion.
I know. This is an issue kept afloat in large part by evangelicals and social conservatives who use it as a wedge -- and as a fig leaf for bankrupt policies that that have undermined our country's stability, not to mention our democratic, pluralistic ideals. But abortion remains a serious and legitimate moral concern for many Americans, particularly Catholics in the so-called Rustbelt, who are potentially responsive to Barack Obama's candidacy but still hesitate to support him in spite of it all. They hesitate because they are concerned that a vote for Obama -- or any Democrat -- is a vote for what they fear is "abortion on demand," an absolute, unequivocal societal sanction of a practice they feel is morally abhorrent.
As we strike out to campaign and get out the vote in battleground states, we need to take away this fear without sacrificing the principle, enshrined as federal law, that women in this country have the right to choose. We need to do so by following Barack's lead -- by learning how to listen to and talk with fair-minded Americans who struggle with this issue.
As progressives, we often have a knee-jerk reaction to abortion. We are categorical, and from one perspective, rightly so. Women in this country should have the right to choose. Period. For the extreme "pro-life," who are as interested in an honest, constructive conversation as McCain is in microeconomics, this categorical stance is enough. After all, we gain nothing by appeasing extremists who only welcome the prospect of a warm and fuzzy dialogue as a chance to take up the soapbox. But watch this (highly manipulative) video from the Thomas More Law Center. It is not directed toward extremists. It is directed toward undecided American Catholics who see our country headed in the wrong direction, who worry about the economy, the Iraq War, and the energy crisis. The video seeks to cast these concerns to the side and to place abortion as the issue that supersedes all others -- and it does so with an appeal to patriotism, to American civic values.
An appeal to American values: this should be our appeal as well. Listen, for example, to this Obama supporter:
"I may believe that life begins at conception, but as an American who cherishes the Constitution of our democratic, pluralistic society, I must recognize that many of my fellow Americans have a different view. Many believe that in the first trimester there is not yet life, only a mass of cells in their body. Who is 'right'? No one knows for sure, of course, and we all look to our consciences (or to God, to our family) for guidance. But who am I to insist that others see this very unclear, very complicated picture my way, based on my belief, informed by my faith? Who am I to take away the choices of others to lead their life according to their beliefs? My country is not my church. Freedom is complicated. Freedom is hard. For these reasons, I cannot support legislation that would force women in the United States to do as I believe -- simply because I believe it. That is why I protect Roe v Wade."
The Obama supporter continues: "What I do support are common-sense, common-ground initiatives to reduce the number of abortions in the United States. Can you imagine, for example, if we came together at the local and federal levels to offer support, financial and otherwise, for women who choose to bring their child to term and to offer him or her up for adoption? But I mean, if you are a working woman unexpectedly pregnant, struggling financially, alone, without much support, how are you supposed to make it? How are you supposed to survive? And why aren't we as a national community talking about this woman and offering to help her in meaningful, substantive ways -- not just preaching to her or referring her to a doctor?"
This last question is key and cuts to the heart of the Obama candidacy. The abortion discussion is too polarized in this country. The extreme "pro-lifers" and extreme "pro-choicers" feed off each other and paralyze our discourse and our politics. The worst among them shout at each other, mock each other, judge each other -- all the while never moving the issue forward. It's all or nothing for them. For the rest of us, there is: how do we work through our differences and try to do the right thing, given the ideals of our democracy and these difficult, obscure circumstances?
Breaking through the gridlock and the polarized politics of our time: this has been Obama's message from the start.
If we follow Barack's internal campaign motto -- Respect, Empower, Include -- and reach out to undecided abortion-leaning issue voters in this way, we will win -- and win convincingly -- this year. We need to demonstrate to those Catholics in Cleveland and those evangelicals in Ashville that we can "disagree without being disagreeable," that we recognize and acknowledge that their concerns are grounded in difficult moral questions, and that we believe the right to choose is a matter of liberty and privacy. Not enough of this outreach was done in 2004. Let's not repeat the same mistake.
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One more point, particularly for those with Catholic friends and family: Obama-Biden is a ticket tailor made for Catholics. They appeal to our better angels, demand that we listen to other points of view, and call on us to support one another despite our differences. Here is Biden (citing Aquinas!) with a thoughtful response to the question of abortion. Douglas Kmiec, a former dean at Catholic University (and a Republican and Reagan administration official), has issued a critical endorsement of Obama. I recommend sending around this article from Kmiecto undecided Catholic family and friends. Kmiec reminds Catholics of what it really means to follow a consistent ethic of life. There are just too many American Catholics out there who received that Thomas More Law Center video above, for example, and who support the death penalty but condemn abortion. Or who shrug their shoulders at the issue of poverty but condemn abortion. Or justify torture but condemn abortion. Or support an illegal war that has taken thousands upon thousands of innocent lives (~90,000 Iraqis dead) but condemn abortion. Remind these Catholics that supporting the death penalty or torture or an unjust war -- or ignoring poverty and social injustice -- is just as wrong in the eyes of the Catholic Church. Mobilizing the word "life" for one's own political ends when it is convenient is just plain hypocrisy -- if not apostasy itself.