Remember this dust up in the Rapid City Journal from last year's election?
Two years after Sen. Tom Daschle sent out a fund- raising letter for the National Abortion Rights Action League saying he had "stood up for a woman's right to choose," Daschle refuses to say whether he is pro-choice on abortion.
The South Dakota Democrat avoided making a direct response to the question several times Monday during a telephone interview from Washington, D.C. Rather than address the pro-choice question directly, Daschle stated his long-standing personal view that each abortion is a tragedy but that the solution lies in finding better options rather than criminalizing the act itself.
And the RCJ went on to quote Daschle saying this:
"As a citizen and a lifelong member of the Catholic faith, I will do everything in my power to persuade others that abortion is wrong because I am firmly convinced that persuasion, not legal action, is the only proper and the only truly effective way to limit abortion."
In a 1986 campaign letter, Daschle said he was "unalterably opposed to abortion on demand" and went on to say this:
"This is a battle over human life. It must be won the only way it can ever be won, by persuading the young woman on whose decision the life or death of an infant depends that the taking of that life is terribly wrong."
My how a Senate defeat and an possible attempt at the presidency changes things. According to the Santa Barbara News-Press, Tom Daschle is now singing a different tune.
The former Senate Majority leader from South Dakota enjoyed plenty of support as the keynote speaker Sunday at a Planned Parenthood fundraiser held in the backyard of a private home in the hills of Montecito on Sunday night.
"We don't have too many of these in South Dakota," he said jokingly,
referring to the swanky home.
The annual fundraiser, called "Politics, Sex & Cocktails," benefited the
organization's action fund in Santa Barbara, Ventura and San Luis Obispo
counties. The money is used to support candidates and political causes that
preserve women's reproductive rights and health options.
Well, we don't have many swanky homes in South Dakota, although I understand they have a few in Washington, D.C. Another thing we don't have alot of in South Dakota are shindigs entitled "Politics, Sex & Cocktails."
According to the News-Press Daschle warned of:
the looming threats to all women -- such as the Parental Notification Law, requiring the parents
of girls under 18 seeking an abortion to be notified...
Yes, it's a looming threat to women that under-age girls might not be able to get abortions without their parents knowing.
Daschle said:
"People at Planned Parenthood risk their lives to defend the rights of women
today," he said. He said he has always had a special affinity for the organization, as the
two have similar enemies within the Religious Right and elsewhere.
No wonder Daschle didn't want to talk about abortion during the election. But I am sure he's making friends among Democratic primary voters as represented at swanky parties thrown by limousine liberals in California.
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