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Tim Roemer was ABC News’ This Week with George Stephanopoulos this weekend. An interesting exchange:

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Finally the issue of abortion. You’ve said you’re pro-life and a lot of choice activists say that your record is against their interests and it’s been a record anti-choice and one final blogger, Kevin Drum of washingtonmonthly.com says, “You either believe in a right to choose or you don’t. I don't see how you can tap dance around a core principle like that.” Your response?

TIM ROEMER: My response is when I was in Atlanta the past couple days and would talk about this issue, first of all, I think our party needs to be more inclusive, George. George Bush, when he travels around the country campaigning for reelection in the last month of the campaign, who is he seen with? Well, he wasn't seen with Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson. He was seen with Rudy Giuliani and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Two people that don't have the same views as him on abortion. I'm not asking to rewrite the platform. We have a majority of our party, an overwhelming majority of our party that is pro-choice, and I respect that, but I think we should not only be more inclusive on this issue, especially in the Midwest and the south if a candidate has those views, we should have them in our party. We should also have a conversation about this. Anna Quindlen who I believe is a lifetime Democrat and pro-choice person, writes for "Newsweek" magazine, very respected writer said in a "Newsweek" article about a month and a half ago that the Democrats need to have a dialogue on this issue. I was very encouraged the last couple days when I talked to members of the DNC, who said to me, Tim, we need to think about this issue. We need to talk about this issue. Nobody wants to be in a position of having an unwanted pregnancy. How do we try to prevent that situation? How do we try as in the Clinton years when I worked with them to reduce the abortion rate by 11 percent through counseling, economic security, all I want to do is have a conversation in my party and broaden that tent, not rewrite any platform.

Roemer also said, “I’m not going to try to let people steer this party left, nor would I steer it right. It needs to be bigger, George. We need more Democrats on the bus, more connection to the values of the American people that our party holds dear and we need to express those values.”

Roemer can attempt to downplay his abortion views, but it is hard to believe that if he wins, that none of the media coverage will note that “PRO-LIFE DEMOCRAT WINS DNC CHAIR.”

In the latest issue of The Atlantic, Benjamin Wittes, a Washington Post editorial writer who says that he “generally favors permissive abortion laws,” declares that “the Democratic Party’s commitment to preserving Roe v. Wade has been deeply unhealthy for abortion rights, for liberalism more generally, and ultimately for American democracy.” He writes that he looks forward to the day that Roe v. Wade is struck down, and the fight over abortion returns to the legislative branch of government. (He thinks there will be little public support for abortion bans.)

Meanwhile, Sarah Blustain writes in the American Prospect that “Abortion is a right that ends in sorrow. Democratic rhetoric in the future must acknowledge this fact.”

Over in the Washington Monthly, Amy Sullivan declares that “it’s long past time for the Democratic Party to realize that they continue to lose voters who aren’t one-issue abortion voters but who feel unwelcome in the party because of their beliefs.”

On paper, it makes a lot of political sense for Democrats to reach out to and welcome pro-lifers. But one has a hard time seeing the party’s staunchly pro-choice wing just saying ‘okay’ and embracing their arch-nemeses with open arms. You want to see a bloody intra-party fight? If Democratic party leaders start seriously reaching out to pro-lifers, the ensuing fracas will make the current Republican disagreement over immigration look like a tea party.

[Posted 01/12 05:31 PM]