Non-negotiables

What follows stems from a conversation that I began with a friend of mine over the weekend that we never were able to finish, but it's something that I want to put out there to discuss.

I'm going to begin with a disclaimer that there are many many people that are going to read this and be incredibly offended. My intention is not to point at an individual and yell "YOU! You are WRONG!" I am simply pointing out what I view to be a clear trend in national politics, nothing more. This post is generally about positions adopted by those that call themselves "liberal." As most liberals in this country identify with the Democratic Party, I'm going to address the issues from a party-support level.

With all the election discussion of changing positions and political posturing and everything, I think it is fair to ask the question "What does the Democratic Party stand for?" My friend listed out some of the things the party stands for and takes strong positions on, which include education, the economy, the war, taxes, human services, and the environment (and obviously that list includes the standard liberal view on them, such as opposition to the war, raising taxes, etc). But in viewing that list, I have a hard time coming up with what position on each of those issues is "non-negotiable" for the Democrats. If you look at the party leadership, it's clear that many people have different views of what the "right" position is on each of those issues. There are some free-market Democrats that trend conservative in their economic thinking, just as there are those that think the government should drive everything. There are those that believe we were right to go into Iraq, just as there are those that are completely and adamantly opposed to it. And you can go back and forth on that list. And at the end of the day, the same case can be made for Republican positions - there are people on all sides of the spectrum.

The suggestion therefore is that it is possible to hold any manner of views on the political spectrum and still be a "good" Republican or "good" Democrat. In practice though, and particularly for the Democrats, this is wishful thinking.

I'm going to suggest that there is at least one non-negotiable issue as defined by the party leadership and that every Democrat politician knows, regardless of whether or not they agree. That position is simply pro-abortion.

Now, this is the point where most of those that identify themselves as "liberal" are going to get up in arms and offended. However, I'm going to stick to my guns here. The only issue in which the Democratic Party refuses to allow any debate on is that of abortion. Quick, off the top of your head, name 5 pro-life Democrats. Those that know me know how much I follow politics, and I'm having a tough time coming up with a name besides Reid, and the only reason we know that is because of the knee-jerk reaction to try and appeal to the "red states" which made him the Senate Minority Leader. But the evidence goes even further than that. Look at the presidential primaries this past year. There were at least 2 candidates that flat out changed their positions from pro-life to pro-abortion just in order to be taken seriously as candidates. Pro-life members are marginalized in almost every action that the party takes. There have been cases of immensely popular Democrats that, because they were pro-life, they were denied high-profile positions, including speaking at the DNC, and various committee positions.

The list could go on and on. While such a statement seems like common sense to those on my side of aisle, it is clear that the Democrats are the party of abortion. It is the single non-negotiable issue for success in the party. There is no other issue which acceptance is required to receive significant party support. And I believe this is the reason that liberals get a bad name. It is the reason that people such as Curt Jester rightly identify this lock-step support of abortion as the root of many of the evils in society, most recently the infant murder in the Netherlands. The same mindset that permits abortion is the same mindset that permits infanticide on this level, it's the same mindset that "normalizes" homosexual activity, and it’s the same mindset that encourages blatant misuse of our sexuality. It is what it is, and it needs to be identified and seen as such.

I understand that this is extremely offensive to those of a liberal bent. And it should be. Such positions ARE offensive, and realizing that a given party supports such a mindset as a total non-negotiable should anger people. But don't get angry at me for having the gall to point this out. Get angry and your party for not doing anything to stop it. Get angry at the mindset that allows for infant murder without any sort of reproach. Don't give me some wishful thinking position of "this isn't what liberals stand for," because whether you like it or not, it IS what your party stands for. It is the party whose single most important, non-negotiable tenant is the slaughter of millions.

Am I angry about this? You bet I'm angry. And anyone that knows me knows that I'm not going to take this sitting down. This is a fight that MUST be fought, and I'm not going to just left the world take it's course without standing up and shouting as loud as I can "THIS IS WRONG!"

It is wrong. Such actions ARE evil. There is nothing that can change that, no wishful thinking justification that can explain away the willful decision to intentionally end an innocent life. THAT is my non-negotiable