The Democratic Party’s abortion identity crisis

WASHINGTON—Pro-life Democrats received a lifeline last week, but their future in the party remains uncertain.

Rep. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman, told The Hill Democrats would not withhold campaign funds from pro-life candidates.

Luján’s comments were significant for the few pro-life Democrats left seeking office but also presented a rift in the so-called “big tent party.”

Earlier this year, Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez said being pro-abortion was nonnegotiable for Democrats. Perez’s comments put other party leaders in a difficult spot. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and her Senate counterpart Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., are both pro-abortion but refused to say that’s a litmus test for everyone in the party.

Outnumbered in both chambers of Congress, Democrats are trying to appeal to a broader audience in the knowledge that winning office takes a different game plan in Arkansas than in California.

California Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat, told MSNBC this week that being pro-abortion is not what should unify the party. He said there used to be many pro-life Catholic Democratic politicians, “so the fact that somebody believes today what most people believed 50 years ago should not be the basis for their exclusion.”

Today, most Democrats identify as pro-abortion, but nuance remains. The majority of Americans do not support unrestricted abortion access, and 58 percent of Democrats endorse restricting abortion to, at most, the first three months of pregnancy, according to a Marist poll. A Gallup survey said as many as 32 percent of Democrats identify as pro-life.

But some Democrats choose to ignore that branch of the party.

A collection of pro-abortion activist groups, including NARAL Pro-Choice America, Planned Parenthood, and Democracy for America, put out a statement of principles rejecting Luján’s invitation to pro-life candidates.

“Abortion rights are inextricably tied to the fight against economic and racial inequity, full stop, and until all leaders of our party fully understand that we’re going to keep losing,” said Charles Chamberlain, executive director of Democracy for America.

Marjorie Dannenfelser, Susan B. Anthony List president, said Luján’s comments and subsequent backlash from liberal groups revealed an identity crisis for Democrats.

“While abortion lobby leaders are beside themselves over the mere suggestion that a pro-life Democrat be permitted to run, clearly, some within the party are starting to recognize the vulnerability here,” she said in a statement. “Democrats’ extreme pro-abortion platform has lost more votes than it has gained and led to defeat in the last two election cycles.”

Pro-life lawmakers exist among Democrats, and more want to join the fold.

Democratic Reps. Dan Lipinski of Illinois and Jim Langevin of Rhode Island remain active members of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus. Sens. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., Bob Casey, D-Pa., and Joe Manchin, D-W.V., have all supported pro-life legislation in the past. And Paul Spencer, a pro-life Democratic candidate, is running to represent Arkansas’ 2nd Congressional District in 2018.

“The abortion debate is polarized and often extremely bitter,” Kristen Day, executive director of Democrats For Life of America, wrote in The Washington Post last week. “[But Luján’s] rightly observing that Democrats—real, bona fide Democrats—do have a range of views on abortion, and to win as many elections as possible, the party has to recognize that.”

Fire and fury

U.S. lawmakers on both sides of the aisle issued warnings this week about President Donald Trump’s escalating war of words with North Korea.

“North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States,” Trump told reporters Tuesday following a report that the rogue state successfully produced a miniaturized nuclear warhead. “They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen.”

“I take exception to the president’s comments because you’ve got to be sure that you can do what you say you’re going to do,” Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., told Phoenix radio station KTAR. “The great leaders I’ve seen don’t threaten unless they’re ready to act, and I’m not sure President Trump is ready to act.”

Trump’s predecessors had their own strategy to thwart North Korea’s nuclear ambitions. Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama both attempted multilateral talks with North Korea. During Obama’s second term, he defaulted to a policy of “strategic patience,” halting communication and hoping North Korea would stabilize if left unprovoked.

In April, Trump declared the era of strategic patience over, teeing up a more aggressive approach. Both sides of the ideological spectrum have generally refrained from attacking Trump’s responses to North Korea. It’s a serious national security issue and not a space for political grandstanding.

But Democrats called Trump’s recent comments unhinged.

“We need to be firm and deliberate with North Korea, but reckless rhetoric is not a strategy to keep America safe,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a statement.

After Trump’s threat, North Korea countered with a warning it’s planning to launch an attack on Guam, a U.S. territory in the Pacific Ocean.

But for now, the Trump administration is pushing back on growing fears of a nuclear war with North Korea. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters Wednesday there’s no sign that the threat level from North Korea is greater now than it was before, adding Americans should “sleep well at night.” —E.W.

Alabama influence

President Donald Trump jumped into Alabama politics Tuesday night by tweeting a surprise endorsement for incumbent Sen. Luther Strange, R-Ala.

Voters head to the polls Tuesday for Alabama’s Republican Senate primary to fill Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ old Senate seat. Strange, Alabama’s former attorney general, arrived in Washington in April as a temporary placeholder after Sessions joined the Justice Department.

Trump’s endorsement instantly polarized a crowded race and delivered a significant blow to Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., and former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, who have both run strong pro-Trump campaigns.

Alabama is a Trump stronghold, and his endorsement will weigh heavily on voters as they decide. Establishment Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., favor Strange. Both Brooks and Moore have attacked McConnell as part of the problem in Washington, calling for Republicans to appoint a new leader in the Senate.

“I respect President Trump, but I am baffled and disappointed Mitch McConnell and the swamp somehow misled the president into endorsing Luther Strange,” Brooks said in a statement after Trump’s tweet. “The president has bigger things going on than a campaign, that’s for sure. In any event, while Mitch McConnell and the swamp managed to mislead the president, I support the America First agenda.” —E.W.

McConnell’s predicament

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell spoke with constituents in Kentucky this week and vented about the unreasonable pressure from President Donald Trump to accomplish the GOP agenda.

“Our new president, of course, has not been in this line of work before. And I think he had excessive expectations about how quickly things happen in the democratic process,” McConnell said. “So part of the reason I think people feel we’re underperforming is because too many artificial deadlines—unrelated to the reality of the complexity of legislating—may not have been fully understood.”

After Republicans failed to coalesce around healthcare reform, Trump urged McConnell to scrap the legislative filibuster rule. So far, McConnell has not committed to upending Senate rules and frequently tells reporters he’s not a fan of Trump’s tweets. This week, McConnell became Trump’s latest Twitter target. “Mitch, get back to work and put Repeal & Replace, Tax Reform & Cuts and a great Infrastructure Bill on my desk for signing. You can do it!” Trump tweeted Thursday. —E.W.

Performance issues

A new survey of senior congressional staffers found they think Congress lacks the resources and capacity to legislate effectively. The nonpartisan Congressional Management Foundation surveyed 100 senior House and Senate aides to complete the study. It found only 15 percent of congressional staffers said they were satisfied with their office’s current knowledge, skills, and abilities. And only 6 percent of respondents said they were very satisfied with the amount of time they have to review and deliberate pieces of legislation. —E.W.