Litmus Test Politics

For John, BLUF:  I wonder of they realize a lot of folks don't believe as strongly as they do?  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Democratic Party Draws A Line In The Sand On Abortion Rights

Sub-headline:

DNC chair Tom Perez said all Democratic candidates must support a woman’s right to choose.

I picked this up from a Tweet by Ms Emily Zanotti, who wrote about three hours ago:

They realize Catholics vote Democrat, right?  Now they can't.

But, here is the story out of The Huffington Post, written by Ms Laura Bassett, on the 21st (Lede plus three):

Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez became the first head of the party to demand ideological purity on abortion rights, promising Friday to support only Democratic candidates who back a woman’s right to choose.

“Every Democrat, like every American, should support a woman’s right to make her own choices about her body and her health,” Perez said in a statement. “That is not negotiable and should not change city by city or state by state.”

“At a time when women’s rights are under assault from the White House, the Republican Congress, and in states across the country,” he added, “we must speak up for this principle as loudly as ever and with one voice.”

Perez’s statement follows the DNC’s controversial embrace of Heath Mello, a Democratic mayoral candidate in Omaha, Nebraska, whose years-long history of voting against abortion rights in the state Legislature drew fire from progressives this week. Daily Kos, a liberal website that raises money for lesser-known Democratic candidates, pulled its endorsement of Mello this week after discovering his history on the issue, and NARAL Pro-Choice America President Ilyse Hogue slammed the DNC for adding him to its cross-country unity tour.

‏Will we next be having "self-criticism" sessions within the Democratic Party?

By the way, Senator Bernie Sanders thinks that as long as Democratic Party politicians vote for abortion it is OK if they oppose it personally.

Regards  —  Cliff