We Are All Conservatives Now

by digby

So I keep hearing that the conservatives really won yesterday, and yet:

From the country’s heartland, voters sent messages that altered America’s culture wars and dismayed the religious right — defending abortion rights in South Dakota, endorsing stem cell research in Missouri, and, in a national first, rejecting a same-sex marriage ban in Arizona.

Conservative leaders were jolted by the setbacks and looked for an explanation Wednesday. Gay-rights and abortion-rights activists celebrated.

The verdict on abortion rights was particularly clear. Oregon and California voters defeated measures that would have required parents to be notified before a girl under 18 could get an abortion, and South Dakotans — by a margin of 56 percent to 44 percent — rejected a new state law that would have banned all abortions except to save a pregnant woman’s life.

“This was really a rebellion in the heart of red-state, pro-life America — the heart of the northern Bible Belt,” said Sarah Stoesz, head of the
Planned Parenthood chapter that oversees South Dakota. “It sends a very strong message to the rest of the country.”

Naturally they are blaming Bush, their erstwhile noble Bible believing prince turned embarrassing loser:

Anti-abortion leaders said the GOP shared some of the blame for the defeat. The Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer, president of Human Life International, said
President Bush and other top Republicans failed to campaign strongly for the South Dakota abortion ban and against the Missouri stem cell measure.

“While South Dakotans fought valiantly to defend their babies, we once again witnessed an almost total lack of support from the national leadership,” Euteneuer said.

The anti-abortion group Operation Rescue said the election results meant any legislation from Congress restricting abortion would be “virtually impossible” for the next two years.

“America has voted and the bloody results have placed the most vulnerable among us, the pre-born, in the crosshairs for continued extermination,” said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman.

Gee, I wonder why mainstream American finally said they’ve had enough?

.. gay-rights supporters took heart at the relatively close results in some of the seven states, notably in South Dakota, where the ban received only 52 percent of the vote.

In Arizona, the defeat of the ban stemmed in part from its scope. It not only would have reinforced an existing state law against same-sex marriage, but also would have barred any government entities from recognizing civil unions or domestic partnerships in providing benefits to employees.

“We knew all along that once voters were informed about the true impact. … they would oppose this hurtful initiative,” said Steve May of Arizona Together, which opposed the measure. Gay-rights leaders said the election results would likely shelve any serious push for a federal ban-gay-marriage amendment. They also were pleased by the defeats of several Republicans whom they considered archenemies — notably Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and Indiana Rep. John Hostettler.

“It’s the end of an era for divisive, gay-bashing politics — at least in the minds of the American people,” said Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign.

Similarly, abortion-rights groups welcomed the defeat of Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline, a Republican who had touted his efforts to seize women’s medical records from abortion clinics.

If this is conservatism, then sign me up.

C’mon people. Their schtick is tired. The country is moving in a new direction and it isn’t conservative.

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