Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Phillips Why the Pro-Life Groups Have to Piss Off the Republicans
Posted by Betsy Phillips on Tue, Sep 22, 2009 at 3:53 PM
Comments (6)
Showing 1-6 of 6
If we amend the state constitution as proposed in SJR 127, that will intensify, not diminish, the legislative battles between the pro-life and pro-choice groups in Tennessee.
If the amendment passes and Roe v. Wade stays intact, the Tennessee legislature will revisit those issues --- a waiting period, informed consent, and a hospitalization requirement--- that, for now, are blocked by the state constitution as interpreted by the Tennessee Supreme Court. On the other hand, in the unlikely event that Roe is overturned, Tennessee ( and every other state) will face a legislative decision as to whether any kind of abortions should be legal in this state.
Though I often wish it were otherwise, the Right to Life folks are going to be a powerful force in Tennessee politics for a long time to come. Endorsing the occasional Democrat---and winning---ultimately strengthens their position because they are not beholden to one party.
like
dislike
Henry nailed it. Passing SJR 127 only strengthens Tennessee Right to Life.
Endorsing a pro-life Democrat that looks like he's winning a special election against a Republican that waffled on pro-life issues is just good politics for them. Win and they have a friend in the Democratic Caucus. Lose and watch Marsh fall all over himself to prove how pro-life he is before Fall 2010.
You really dont know Tennessee right to life or the people in it if you think they would intentionally do something to hurt the passage of sjr127.
I thought their endorsement was just a way of trying to depict themselves as something other than an arm of the GOP, which they most assuredly are.
TNRtL is similar to other self-imagined 'revolutionary' movements. They are not so much about a specific issue like abortion or choice as advocates for on-going change.
If abortions were outlawed tomorrow, there would be members of TNRtL who would want to move on to the next challenge because they see the victory as incomplete. And always will.
This might be the sexualization of the culture or the decline in parenting or another related issue. As the Redlegs officer says in 'Outlaw Josey Wales,' "There ain't no end to doin' good."
Of course the Right to Life people are not alone. The obvious Tennessee example is the 'gun rights' movement which managed to hijack much of the Legislative session.
But it bears mentioning that the same pattern can be seen in other movements. Some feminists viciously turned on women who supported Senator Obama over Senator Clinton because they saw it as a betrayal of women's rights. Other feminists still blame the patriarchy for everything from global warming to tanktinis, citing the works of Andrea Dworkin and Susan Brownmiller. There is little sense of true victory because with such a victory, they would no longer have a cause to lead.
The vast majority of advocates for Right to Life issues and the vast majority of feminists are good people who have little interest in single issue politics or cultural revolution.
But revolutions have certain dynamics and one is the appearance of 'true believers' who try to gain control of the meaning of the Revolution. By defining what it means to be pro-life or feminist, they exert almost total power. Dissent is crushed by characterizing critics as sell-outs or worse.
Traditionally American politics has been impervious to this sort of extremism but over the last forty years or so, it seems like more and more issues are taking on this sort of conflict.
When SJR 127 passes, the air goes out of the pro-life groubeps' balloon. Any power they have to swing elections or bring in money is pretty much gone.
I must disagree with this statement - these TNR2L nutbaggers (at least according to the TNR2L well-hidden "Bible Quotes" web page anyways - you have to look through the site index to find the BQ web page) believe that life begins at or even before conception...
Sweet Jesus, I wish that someone would clue these homefooled holy-rollers and snake dancers about the definition and usage of allegory within Semitic poetry from the Bronze Age!
More to the point, there is not any specific biblical prohibition against abortion to be found in either the Old Testament or the New Testament - abortion is not specifically prohibited within the "Ten Commandments"; Moses did not specifically prohibt abortion within any of the 613 laws recorded with the Torah, and; neither Jesus or his disciples ever specifically prohibited abortion as recorded within the New Testament.
http://www.tennesseerighttolife.org/human_life_issues/human_life_issues_biblical_quotes.htm
Zeitgeist, The Movie (free dvd download)
http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com/dloads.htm
