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Common Ground shifting

Common Ground shifting

by digby

It looks like the Religion Industrial Complex is still working the “common ground” gambit. Here’s Sarah Posner on the latest:

Yesterday the Democratic National Committee announced the hiring of the Rev. Derrick Harkins to head up the party’s outreach to “people of faith.” Harkins, the senior pastor of Nineteenth Street Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., also serves on the board of the National Association of Evangelicals and its humanitarian arm, World Relief, and on the board of the Democratic-leaning Faith in Public Life.[…]I talked after the press conference with Harkins about his views on same-sex marriage, the religious right’s quest to defund Planned Parenthood, and his views on efforts to restrict abortion. Harkins, who has been supportive of “common ground” efforts to “reduce the number of abortions,” like the Ryan-DeLauro bill introduced in 2009, said he’s “absolutely pro-life,” but opposed the right’s efforts to shut down Planned Parenthood. Harkins did not oppose state efforts to restrict access to abortion: “would I advocate for further access to abortions? Well, no, that’s not in my wheelhouse. But I would say if you’re going to have that conversation, you better also have a conversation that speaks to the situations that apply to that would prompt a family, especially a poor family, or a woman to seek out an abortion.”The Democratic Party’s 2008 platform reads, “The Democratic Party strongly and unequivocally supports Roe v. Wade and a woman’s right to choose a safe and legal abortion, regardless of ability to pay, and we oppose any and all efforts to weaken or undermine that right.”On marriage equality, Harkins told me he opposes same-sex marriage, but hopes for a place of “common understanding” of a “vexing question.”

So, basically we have one political party that unequivocally condemns abortion and another one that hires people who condemn it but thinks that there should be some help for women who give birth against their will — oh and also features a few feminist troublemakers who will be asked to take another one for the team the next time legislation comes down to the wire.
Read Posner’s whole interview and if you care about this issue ask yourself if it’s really necessary to engage someone who so clearly doesn’t support the wishes of the majority of the party to do “outreach” to people who … also don’t support the wishes of the majority of the party. If he’s successful, there’s only one way that can end.
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