Once upon a time, there were these strange political unicorns called “pro-life Democrats.” They were often, but not always, part of another endangered species called “blue-dog Democrats.”
Most of these unique politicos were in the U.S. House of Representatives, but there were occasional — but increasingly rare — sightings in the U.S. Senate. After all, Tennessean Al Gore had an 84% rating with National Right to Life when he was a congressman, but that changed — for the most part — when he became a senator. And as vice president? Forget about it.
This brings us to the thought for the day, a quote drawn from a mini-firestorm in the Democratic Party back in 2017. Here is a quote from an “On Religion” column at that time:
… Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez drew another bright line defining who participates in the work of his party.
"Every Democrat, like every American," he said, "should support a woman's right to make her own choices about her body and her health. This is not negotiable and should not change city by city or state by state." In fact, he added, "every candidate who runs as a Democrat" should affirm abortion rights.
What if that state is West Virginia?
Some key Democrats quickly stepped forward in 2017 — including Rep. Nancy Pelosi — to suggest that Perez wasn’t speaking for all top Democrats. Still, the party’s stance on abortion rights and funding continued to veer further and further to the cultural and religious left, eventually causing one Joe Biden to shed the last scraps of his once “centrist” stance.
This, of course, brings us to religion-beat angles in the aftermath of the Georgia earthquake, in which Democrats — Black and White — and other anti-Donald Trump voters appear to have handed the Democrats the slimmest possible control of the U.S. Senate.
This brings us to Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, a conservative Democrat and active Roman Catholic who has been endorsed by Democrats for Life, even though his record on that issue has become rather complex. He remains a throwback to the days when it was perfectly normal to be a Democrat and a cultural conservative. One can imagine the pressure he faces from establishment Democrats.
Well, how many Democrats want to toss Manchin out of the party right now?
Based on an online search at mid-morning, I could only find one mainstream news report focusing on Manchin’s sudden promotion, in terms of strategic power in American, and maybe even world, politics. The Independent produced a story with this headline: “Is Joe Manchin America’s most powerful senator: What really happens with 50-50 Senate tie? West Virginia Democrat is one of the most conservative members of his party in Washington.”
This story totally misses the religion angle, focusing instead on the independence that Manchin showed by voting to Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. Manchin said that he opposed the rush to confirm Justice Amy Coney Barrett, but also blasted people who tried to make her Catholic beliefs an issue in the discussion (see this report at National Review).
But here is the key, right now:
Perhaps most importantly, Mr Manchin opposes key structural changes to the US government floated by his more liberal colleagues that would upend the bipartisan policymaking process in Washington. …
He has made his position crystal clear on multiple occasions over the last several months.
“I commit to you tonight, and I commit to all of your viewers and everyone else that’s watching — I want to allay those fears, I want to rest those fears for you right now because when they talk about whether it be packing the courts, or ending the filibuster, I will not vote to do that,” Mr Manchin said in an interview with Fox News … shortly after the 2020 general election.
“I will not vote to pack the courts … and I will not vote to end the filibuster.”
The clock is ticking.
How long until we see a serious elite-media report on Manchin and the role that his faith plays in his political life, including issues linked to Religious Liberty and also the sanctity of human life?
How is Manchin feeling today? Empowered or endangered? I predict that he is seeing many, many nervous smiles from people in both political parties.
Here are a few other thoughts about religion coverage of this utterly bizarre moment in American political life, stated as questions:
* While everyone waits to see if Vice President Mike Pence cuts the ties that bind him (to Donald Trump or to the Republican mainstream), is it safe to ask if the Jericho March crowd is poised to (a) negotiate with the GOP or (b) light a match and blow everything sky high?
* Does candidate (or is it Senator-elect by now) Jon Ossoff have a temple or a synagogue? Whatever. Someone needs to talk to the Jews of Atlanta and/or Georgia and ask for the pluses (and potential minuses) of his election to the U.S. Senate.
* If there are any hip evangelical megachurches holding face-to-face worship services next Sunday out in the sprawling suburban world that is Cobb County and Gwinnett County — north of Atlanta — reporters may want to pay a visit. The question: How many folks in those flocks helped hand Democrats the U.S. Senate?
* There is no question that Black churches helped raise up the Rev. Raphael Warnock, even though many of those pastors and people do not share his liberal approach to Christian faith. However, will anyone visit the congregations of the 25 African-American pastors in Georgia who openly opposed Warnock? I bet that the political discussions in those pews were complex and painful and would yield important information to both Democrats and Republicans. Oh, and journalists, as well.
* There are some conservatives quietly celebrating the flight of people and businesses out of New York, New Jersey, California, etc. However, anyone who knows anything about the suburbs of Atlanta (I have family there) knows that years of northern folks fleeing to Georgia has changed the state — as seen at the polls last night.
Look at the @UnitedVanLines numbers in the tweet embedded in this post. Yes, there are political stories there. But are there religion-beat stories, as well?
Finally, this might be a good time to talk to people at Democrats for Life. Yes, we are talking about political unicorns — but not if you look at the pro-life views (broadly defined) that linger in about 30% of the Democratic party.
Check out this Crux feature, which offers an interview with Terrisa Bukovinac the new president of Democrats for Life. She is (wait for it) an atheist, feminist, vegan Democrat, who was raised in the once rather cultish (in terms of doctrine) Worldwide Church of God.
Religion reporters: Parse the personal history and language in this passage:
As someone who was sensitive to the welfare of animals, I was challenged by someone on my pro-choice position when they asked how I could care about the dolphins but not care about unborn children being killed in the womb. I was confronted with images of the unborn that helped me to understand that abortion was in fact violence. But I was involved with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America by that point and they don’t really take a position against abortion, so I just kind of considered myself personally pro-life but politically pro-choice for many years. It wasn’t until I lost my faith altogether that I began to really think about the implications of the practice. If we only get one life to live and there’s no god to bring about justice in the end, how could abortion be just?
By 2011, I’d been living in San Francisco for four years and deep into my secular journey when I saw someone I used to work with post on a Facebook page called Secular Pro-Life (SPL) which ultimately changed everything. Seeing others like me empowered me to come forward and be seen.
Stay tuned. This could be a long day.
FIRST IMAGE: A social-media image drawn from Reddit