With all the talk about pro-life Democrats like Casey and Langevin as Senate hopefuls, it's time the party make the tent a bit bigger.
As Jim Wallis points out in God's Politics, Democrats tend to use abortion as a "litmus test" (Casey wasn't even allowed to speak at the Democratic National Convention). Many anti-abortion Democrats are pretty progressive in their positions on other issues.
Below is a list of questions I'd ask a Casey or a Langevin before I'd commit to supporting them:
- Do you support overturning Roe vs. Wade?
- Do you think abortion should be allowed in cases of rape, incest, or threats to the mother's health?
- Bill Clinton says abortion should be "safe, legal, and rare." Do you agree with this statement?
- If you agree with "safe, legal, and rare," how would you go about making abortions rare?
- Do you believe in funding abstinence-only education, or would you support teaching about birth control?
- If you were voting for a Supreme Court justice, would you use abortion as a "litmus test"?
Feel free to add others.