Down but Not Out

Thursday, November 06, 2008
Opinion by Robin G. Jordan

The pro-life movement was dealt a serious blow in the November 4th elections. Barack Obama, an ultra-liberal candidate with a strong pro-abortion record and the endorsement of Planned Parenthood, was elected President of the United States. Obama did well with Catholic voters nation-wide. One fourth of the evangelicals who cast their votes in the presidential election voted for Obama. Obama received a wide majority of the popular vote and can lay claim to a popular mandate. The liberal pro-abortion Democratic Party gained additional seats in Congress where Democrats already enjoy majorities in both houses. Three pro-life state constitutional amendments went down to defeat—the first would have limited abortions, the second would have defined life as beginning at conception, and the third would have required notification of the parents before a teenager could receive an abortion. The Washington State assisted-suicide proposal was passed.

The pro-life movement needs to be assessing what happened, why and how it happened, and developing a new strategy. It needs to take a thorough look at Obama’s successful campaign and learn from its success. Obama took advantage of a backlash against President Bush. He ignored the conventional wisdom that young, poor, and minority voters cannot be counted upon to vote. the rest