Can you imagine what would have happened if the speakers at last week’s Republican National Convention had repeatedly called for something like the redefinition of the Second Amendment or doing away with “In God We Trust” on all our currency? I don’t think Republicans would have received it very well. Why? Well, most Republicans (and most Americans in general) favor the traditional understanding of the right to keep and bear arms, and the overwhelming majority of Americans self-identify as “Christian.” It stands to reason that most Republicans in this country would shy away from policy changes like that.
So why are so many of the speakers at the Democratic National Convention fixated on same-sex marriage and abortion?
The 2012 Democratic Party platform chastises states like Arkansas for passing marriage amendments. Keep in mind that 32 states—including California—have passed these amendments, and altogether roughly four out of five states officially hold to the traditional definition of marriage. But the new national party platform calls what these states have done ‘discriminatory.’
Earlier this week, the First Lady talked about “marrying whomever you love.” Simply put, that’s an extremely thinly-veiled way of talking about same-sex marriage—although the phrase could as easily be expanded to include polygamy or any number of bizarre variations.
NARAL President Nancy Keenan and Planned Parenthood Action Fund President Cecile Richards spoke at the convention the past two evenings, each talking about the “right” to abortion; they also called out Republicans as though Republicans hate or otherwise want to subjugate women. Sandra Fluke even went so far last night as to suggest that Republicans want to pass legislation that would lead to the deaths of pregnant women in our nation’s emergency rooms.
Let’s be honest for a moment: Last I checked, Mitt Romney was married; as far as I can tell, he and Ann Romney share mutual love and respect for one another. The same seems to be true of Paul Ryan and his wife. Barack and Michelle Obama seem to love and respect each other as well. So I sincerely doubt either side has some deep-seeded hatred of women.
Equal pay for equal work among men and women is no longer controversial, and it never should have been. I didn’t hear anybody at the RNC say that it should be otherwise, nor do I know of any credible conservative who says so.
What about same-sex marriage? Is it controversial? Well, it is in the sense that people on both sides have very strong opinions, and a lot of liberal activists are still pushing for the redefinition of marriage around the country. But the majority of Americans favor the traditional definition of marriage, and, as we already said, four out of five states define marriage as the union of one man and one woman. In that sense, there’s very little controversy.
What about abortion? I remember when I started doing pro-life work in the ’80s, a lot of people—pro-life and pro-choice—said that before the end of my lifetime abortion would become about as controversial as vaccinations and organ transplants (i.e. not very controversial). Today, Americans are swinging noticeably in the pro-life direction.
The number of people who self-identify as “pro-choice” is at a record low. The number who call themselves “pro-life” is up. Many states are down to their last one or two abortion clinics. Legislatures around the country are calling for amendments that recognize unborn children as human beings. Candidates speak more candidly now than ever about overturning Roe v. Wade. And in my experience, the most decidedly pro-life people are women—so this is by no means a “war on women.”
I believe all of this shows that many of the speakers taking the stage at the Democratic National Convention are out of touch with mainstream America, and by extension, the voters within the Democratic Party. I’ve heard a lot of Democratic pundits make the case that Romney’s wealth puts him in the same position—and that may or may not be true—but I know many Americans dream of becoming millionaires; comparatively few dream of same-sex marriage or free abortion on demand.
Four years ago, DNC speakers would not have espoused this kind of rhetoric. Eight years ago, when state marriage amendments were passing left and right, they certainly would not have. I would venture that as a whole, most Democratic voters support the traditional definition of marriage and many are pro-life.
I’m not sure what has changed that makes the folks putting on the DNC think these speakers are somehow in vogue, but one thing is for sure: It isn’t public opinion.
