Bzzzzzt…

…sorry, but thanks for playing.

The great and powerful Kos proclaims...

NARAL, and many people here, whined and cried about Langevin, the way they whined and cried about Harry Reid, because of those Democrats' personal opposition to abortion. Didn't we know, they demanded, that choice was a core principle of the Democratic Party?

To which I have a simple answer: The hell it is.

The hell you say. Everyone's entitled to their opinion and all, but when I want to figure out what the core principles of the Democratic Party are, though, I generally find the Platform of the Democratic Party a more authorative source than a blog, any blog...

Because we believe in the privacy and equality of women, we stand proudly for a woman's right to choose, consistent with Roe v. Wade, and regardless of her ability to pay. We stand firmly against Republican efforts to undermine that right…. (my emphasis)

Granted, Kos bases his case on the primacy of the right of privacy, a point that's well made in my opinion. My own pro-choice position stems largely from my conviction that it's just none of my business. That's not the sole ground for Democratic support of reproductive choice, though. I think the equality of women is a pretty core principle in its own right, and I'm sure the list could be extended. There's tolerance for a diversity of opinion in the Democratic Party, but we are, in the end, a pro-choice Party, for better or worse. You may never see Harry Reid take a pro-choice vote as a Senator, but you'll never see him move anti-choice legislation as Majority Leader.

Of course, all this comes up largely because of the outrage in some quarters over NARAL's endorsement of Lincoln Chaffee, to which I can only offer a big get over it. NARAL isn't a branch of the Democratic Party, no matter how closely our interests may align with theirs. They're an independent lobbying organization with a need for friends on both sides of the aisle, and an obligation to stand with their friends regardless of partisan affiliation. Lincoln Chaffee is one of the best friends they have on the wrong side of the aisle and they could hardly afford to leave him behind or they'd soon find themselves without any friends there at all.

With the right candidate and the right resources, we can beat him without them, but we can't do it by bashing NARAL or pretending that we're something other than what we are, a Party that stand firmly on the side of the ground of reproductive choice.