Quote:
Originally Posted by 70Chip
Thank you for your thoughtful response. It sems to re-affirm my suspicion that Franks is merely re-packaging the old Marxist argument about false consiousness. The primary failing of the argument, IMO, is that it contends that ordinary people really don't deserve to have an opinion about things like abortion. These are extremely complicated issues that the proles out in the country needn't worry their tiny, supesrtitious brains with. The intelligentsia has decided that abortion is nesecarry because it reduces the growth of the underclass and that should be good enough for the rubes. What they miss and what Marx couldn't even begn to comprehend is that equality as defined by the American Revolution means that Everyman gets to own his own moral compass. If you're going to put over abortion on demand you'd better bring a moral argument to bear. If you attempt to do it by beauracratic fiat, you may find that Everyman gets annoyed.
Now, no one could argue with the fact that the Republican Party has received more than it has given when it comes to the abortion issue. Perhaps this fact should give some pause to those on the Left who believe strongly in abortion as a social good. I wish it would. However, the failure to deliver on a specific social policy by a given party really does not do anything to discredit the arguments or the motives of those true believers who maintain the ideological faith. African Americans haven't gotten much from the Democrats in the last few years so I guess we could be asking "What's the Matter with Compton?" Both parties tend to give the shaft to their most ardent supporters. It doesn't mean the supporters are wrong.
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As someone who's been surrounded by racial tension and the abortion issue I could not disagree w/ you more ardently about the "black vote" and the "abortion vote." To your point that liberals have not come through for a main constituency in recent history common sense provides that proactive legislation requires the power of the bully pulpit i.e. the presidency. While Clinton was pres he delivered legislative victories from increased student aid for poor/minority children to the assault weapons ban, which thousands of mayors and police chiefs nationwide have attested to as the primary reason for a diminution in violent crime with inner cities and ghettos (they're also working very hard to have the ban reimplemented). In fact, when Clinton became pres there was a very strong push among conservatives to end student aid altogether (you probably remember this if your about 30 or older) because default rates on student loans were too high. The Clinton admin forced an inquiry and found a handful of colleges nationwide were responsible for most defaults, and that those institutions could be counseled and eventually cut off w/o significant improvement. Minorities are especially benefited by student aid and probably would not have access to grants/loans today w/o the dogged support of the democrat party.
For the last eight years its required fierce battle by progressives/liberals to guarantee the tenets of social security/public services last into the 21st century. Bottom line: the left has delivered for me and people like me over and over again.
The "abortion vote" and the republican party have a much different history however. The highest abortion rates in the history of the country we're during Reagan's presidency (largely because he slashed every facet of social expenditure) and nobody on the right said boo. When abortion rates plummeted during Clinton's presidency the right still screamed and cried to no end that a crisis was underway, and when Clinton proposed the Arkansas law of no third trimester abortions unless for the life of the mom be adopted nationally Gingrich and the conservatives would not let it pass. Many from that group were asked why until years later when it was quietly admitted that the bill would have largely taken the issue away. I have not read the book about Kansas, but it's obvious that the "abortion vote" never wained in the face of such guile, and more pointedly, it's obvious pro-life voters were not even paying enough attention to know what happened. If that is a point the author makes... it probably doesn't much matter.
