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Contrary to what I assumed earlier this morning, this story isn't going away. Local NARAL chapters are in open rebellion over the national organization's endorsement of Barack Obama. Karen Cooper, executive director of NARAL Washington State, made the following statement:
I wanted to let all of NARAL Pro-Choice Washington's supporters know the story behind the endorsement. None of us here, myself included, knew about it until a phone call this morning from D.C., and at that point it was a done deal. To be clear, we at NARAL Pro-Choice Washington remain neutral in the race between Senators Clinton and Obama. We strongly disagree with NARAL Pro-Choice America's decision to endorse at this time.At WaPo, Prospect alumna Garance Franke-Ruta has more:
Since yesterday's announcement, NARAL groups in Pennsylvania, Missouri, Oregon, Washington, Texas and New York - Clinton's home state - have issued statements signaling their continued neutrality in the Democratic race and emphasizing that the national group did not speak for them on this matter. These groups represent nearly a quarter of NARAL's state chapters.What's going on? Of course, many of the executives, employees, and supporters of these NARAL subsidiaries around the country are passionate Hillary Clinton supporters. But perhaps more importantly, NARAL's donor base --- which is heavily made up of committed second wave women -- has likely yet to fully grapple with the fact that despite winning recent primaries, Clinton is irretrievably behind in the pledged delegate count and the popular vote, and will not be able to win without overturning the will of the Democratic electorate.--Dana Goldstein
