MGB:_On abortion, Lamb adopted the standard Catholic line, which actually reflects Vatican II document Dignitas Humane, that Catholics cannot be commanded to Catholicize a secular nation, respecting the freedoms of their non-Catholic and Catholic fellow citizens. While this position is correct, it is weak tea. As a lawyer, Lamb could have explained by Roe is not going anywhere, and indeed why it should not. In doing so he could identify the extent to which the pro-life movement has become, and has always been, a Republican electoral operation. Sadly, few politicians have that kind of courage, as they are afraid that calling out the bishops would alienate Catholic voters..
When Republicans have control over Congress and the ability to use the nuclear option, they demure from realistic abortion legislation that includes the magic words in the 14th Amendment that allow them to extend personhood to 20 weeks (although 25 is a better marker). Still, his position was good enough to win election and will win him re-election easy in a non-gerrymandered district where being publicly pro-choice does matter.
The pro-choice movement should stand its ground until the pro-lifers throw in a $1000 per child per month child tax credit. Conservatives hate such a provision because they don’t-want to pay for the fertility of others and they will let the unborn die rather than doing so. I have no use for such people and neither should the Democratic Party.
Abortion will never be illegal in the United States because if the fetus is recognized as a person under law, the crime becomes infanticide and the penalties are clear for all concerned. In abortion, the fetus is not a recognized person so it has no rights except as property and its freedom from being aborted by the government. With no rights, there are no remedies, as it should be. Anything else is an assault on women’s rights, an area where the Church could use some improvement, starting with ordaining some. Indeed, until women are ordained, the Catholic Church has no credibility on abortion.
The GOP found that running a pro-life, anti-immigrant (and pro-Trumpist) Republican does not work in a union district, although sadly it works just fine in the South, Midwest and West. As redistricting happens, the Republican challenger may move to the more conservative district. If he remains anti-labor, it won’t help him and a flip-flop will be too noticeable. He’s done.
Most districts have lost their labor presence. PA-18 has not. Lamb is from there and his pro-union chops are not an act. Sadly, until much of the country is re-radicalized toward organized labor and other cooperative methods of worker power, this win is not as repeatable as Trumka would like. We have work to do and it should not be distracted by arguments on an issue on which no one wants progress, lest it hurt their fundraising.
For workers to win at the ballot box they must win at work. It is time to Occupy Capitalism from the inside, starting with worker owned firms. With that base, the only thing the Republicans have is the Culture Wars and there are many out there who will argue back at them. While it is good for fundraising to organize on these issues, at some point the best strategy is to declare victory and call out your opponent as a scammer. While compromise is doable on abortion, it will essentially baptize the status quo, at least in the first trimester. Gay rights are essentially settled, with the Second Circuit supporting the concept that employee discrimination based on sexual orientation is already covered in law, both in the statute and the creation of gays and lesbians as a privileged class. In short order, the Church must stop firing gays who get married and Hosanna-Tabor will not help them. Leaving the Democratic Party over either abortion or gay rights is an empty gesture because these issues are or soon will be settled law.
The main cultural issue left is immigration and we will fight that one all day and into the night, as well as police who feel they can shoot unarmed children because they fear they might be armed.
The rabid FoxNews Republican base is mostly dying out, although there are white evangelicals who continue with what they have been told because they don’t know any better. Elections help them learn, so the culture wars on race and immigration are still useful. So is outing Trump’s racism against Obama as his reason for running. Laying that bare can only help, as will the completion of the Mueller probe. If the current Congress will not act on this information, it is quite clear that the next one will. Lancing that boil is the first step to healing.
As for Mrs. Pelosi, if Mr. Mueller has dirt on the Vice President, she will either become President or place the next President in the Speaker’s chair. How she handles this issue will determine what the party will look like for the next few years, although ultimately the radicalization of workers is much more important to the future of the Party (which may shed some neo-liberals) and the nation as a whole
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