Voting is underway in New Hampshire today, and Amy Klobuchar has finally found a way to stand out in the Democratic field. Asked yesterday whether there is room in her coalition for pro-life people, she said yes. Would she aim to find common ground on reducing the demand for abortion, the same interlocutor wondered? Yes again, and Klobuchar touted her work in the congressional coalition on adoption.
She reiterated much the same thing on today’s episode of The View. “Do you think there’s room for pro-life Democrats to vote for you?” host Meghan McCain asked Klobuchar, after noting that Senator Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) had said in a recent town hall that “being pro-choice is an absolutely essential part of being a Democrat.”
“I am strongly pro-choice. I have always been pro-choice,” Klobuchar told McCain. “But I believe we’re a big-tent party, and there are pro-life Democrats, and they are part of our party. I think we need to build a big tent. We need to bring people in instead of shutting them out.”
Considering that Klobuchar has shown little inclination to amend her policy stance on abortion to provide a more welcoming home for Democrats who oppose the killing of the unborn, she doesn’t deserve much substantive praise. It is a sorry situation indeed when a candidate makes news merely for declining to oust voters who comprise about one-third of the party — but as support for abortion on demand increasingly becomes a Democratic litmus test, her refusal to do so is worth noting.