YES, MELINDA, THERE IS A PRO-CHOICE MAJORITY. I'm sure others will have plenty to say about the abominable op-ed by Melinda Henneberger in today's New York Times. It's wrong in so many different ways that one blog post couldn't possibly cover it all, so I'm going to restrict myself to looking at the myths Henneberger propagates about public opinion and the political impact of abortion. This goes way beyond her -- the kind of fear she tries to get Democrats to feel about their beliefs on abortion is precisely what turns a winning issue into a losing one for them. Democrats' inability to stand up for their values on reproductive rights is what makes them sound apologetic and allows Republicans to put them on the defensive. But most importantly, she just doesn't have her facts straight when it comes to what the public thinks about abortion. Let's start here:
Democratic Party leaders should also stop pushing the perception that Republicans are natural defenders of the faithful. For years, they have done just that by tirelessly portraying our current president as this committed -- indeed, obsessed -- pro-lifer who would stop at nothing to see Roe overturned. Karl Rove couldn't have said it better himself; this was better advertising than hard money could buy.
