Would you be willing to vote for a pro-life dem candidate in Utah...

[Hippo_Tron]

If he/she could outst Orrin Hatch? You have to figure that if democrats became pro-life and picked up abstinence only policies and remained anti death penalty then we might win support of more religious groups. I am in no way suggesting that we do this, as I am extremely pro-choice and as far as sex ed goes I think that congress has absolutely no business discussing it. I'm just wondering what other DUers think on the subject.

[joeybee12]

1. Not sure, it would depend on his/her other positions

My experience has been that if they're pro-life, they're also homphobic, and they tend to be anti-environmentalists. Naturally you could point to Dennis K as an exception, but, again, he's the exception, not the rule.

[JohnKleeb]

7. actually

In my experience and I admit I got bias being these are family members. Youre right, they are generally socially conservative than most, but my grandparents and some of their siblings, and btw these folks are all devout Catholics brought up in the depression, they tend to be a little bit more conservative on social issues but populist on economics, and they hate the Bush doctrine of war. I think most pro life dems are more social conservative, yes. I think it would be nice to oust Orrin, my original hated republican, who I asked was evil to one of those pro life people I mentioned above, my grandmother.

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

16. most Catholics are anti-environmental?

Seems to me Catholics, one of the largest religious groups in America and the world, are pro-life, homophobic, but I've never heard anyone say they are anti-environmental?

[JVS]

18. I guess one could interpret being agaist birth control as contributing...

to the destruction of the environment. Similar to SUV drivers. I'm not so sure that doing so would be accurate.

[DieboldMustDie]

23. What makes you think Catholics are against birth control...

or even abortion?   Their leadership certainly is, but the rank and file membership is pretty divided.

[JohnKleeb]

19. My grandparents

very religious catholics, probably arent in favor of gay marriage or whatever but do believe gays are equal, on the environment I havent talked to them ever about that. Shame that people like these, the new deal coalition would vote republican, my grandparents and others dont but no doubt many vote GOP because of this.

[dolstein]

2. That's a no brainer -- abso-friggin-lutely

I don't see how a pro-choice Democrat could get elected statewide in Utah. I'd take a pro-life Democrat over a pro-life Republican any day of the week and two times on Sunday.

[Jerseycoa]

3. Not I

But I don't live in Utah.

[redqueen]

4. In a heartbeat.

Especially if they weren't die-hard 'every sperm is sacred' type pro-lifers.

But yes, a Dem is a Dem, and so far, that's what I do... vote for Dems. :)

[GOPBasher]

5. In Utah, yeah.

In Utah, I'd take what we can get. Nationally, I'd demand a pro-choice candidate on the ballot.

[eyesroll]

6. Well, if it's pro-life Republican vs. pro-life Dem,

at least the Dem will (I'm assuming) vote for Pelosi rather than Hastert or DeLay. That counts for something. (And getting rid of Hatch is a good thing.)

Is there a primary? All other things being equal, I'd probably vote for someone pro-choice in a primary.

I don't live in Utah, though. It's rare we get a 100% pro-life Democrat in WI, although we do occasionally get those who support parental notification, late-term bans, etc.

[Hippo_Tron]

15. Hatch is in the Senate and the same could be said of Zell Miller...

His ONLY usefulness to the democratic party is that he votes for Daschle instead of Frist.

[in_cog_ni_to]

8. Never would I vote for

any person who doesn't support a woman right to choose.

[Doctor Pedantic]

9. I'm a pro-life Democrat

I'm a screaming liberal on most issues, and, e.g., think we should absolutely have gay marriage, take "In God We Trust" off of our currency, and continue to keep prayer out of the public schools. I'm vehemently against capital punishment and most, if not all, modern wars. I'm also an Evangelical Christian. And a member of the ACLU. (Conflicted much?)

Having said all that, I'm also a lawyer, and I think Roe v. Wade, as piece of constitutional anlysis, is a piece of crap. I don't believe there's a constitutional right to abortion, and I think that this is an issue that should be decided on a state by state basis. I personally think that there are solid policy reasons for not wanting abortion to be legal, and therefore I would be inclined to vote against abortion. I know other people who think the idea of a constitutional right to abortion is preposterous, but who think there are solid policy reasons for voting on a state by state basis to keep it legal.

The point is, there are many traditional Democratic values that should be upheld, and there should be room for differences of opinion as to individual issues. It's the Republicans who have mastered mind control and loyalty oaths...we shouldn't play that game.

[Hippo_Tron]

13. I don't think it's a constitutional right...

But at the same time there's nothing that says that the government has the power to dictate what women do with their bodies.

[Cleita]

10. In Utah like many middle American states, you

would have to make compromises I am sure. Getting rid of Orrin Hatch though doesn't mean you should replace him with some one like him or worse.

I have a problem with pro-lifers, especially male pro-lifers because to me they are anti-women. They don't trust women to be able to make the right choices for themselves. It's a form of controlling of someone who is weaker or with less legal power than they have for emotional reasons that are not very rational. The same laws they want to impose on women are laws that wouldn't touch them so I don't think they should be allowed to do that.

I don't believe anyone who was born without a uterus should be able to make laws governing those who were born with one.

[librechik]

11. D! Must have D!

and a somewhat open mind, if possible...

[liberalmuse]

12. No way.

No religious group should have any right to say what women can or can't do with their own reproductive systems. As much as I abhor Hatch, I don't think Democrats should stoop to small-minded bigotry just to get votes. However, I have voted for a pro-life Dem for Congress (not much choice here in Utah) simply because his Republican opponent was much worse, and the Green didn't even poll at 1%. If this election weren't so close, I would have voted Green. Anyway, no conservative Dem will beat Hatch. Conservative Utahns love Hatch and won't switch to anyone else just because he/she has similar views. A raging liberal would get more votes than a conservative Dem running against Hatch.

[redqueen]

14. Ahem.

I'm pro-life, not religious (spiritual, but not part of any group), and am not small-minded nor a bigot.

Just fyi...

[Hippo_Tron]

17. If hatch is pro death penalty, they might...

Possibly switch to a dem.

[DemBones DemBones]

20. Sure, if he was a pro-life progressive like me! I always vote for the

most progressive guy, which means voting for pro-choice candidates most of the time. If abortion were less commonly used, due to better use of contraceptives and greater motivation to avoid unwanted pregnancy, I think there would be fewer people trying to outlaw it.

Decreasing the need for abortion is a logical, progressive way to decrease the number of abortions performed, which will please anyone who is concerned about abortion. Decreasing need is done by better sex education and availability of contraceptives.

Democrats could say that we support Roe v. Wade but we want to help women prevent unwanted pregnancies so that fewer will have to go through the process since even minor surgery isn't the best way to spend time or money.

In other words, Dems don't have to be anti-abortion. If they would just stop talking like abortion is a sacrament, they'd alienate fewer voters. The hard-core anti-abortionists (the "Never, not even to save the mother's life" folks) alienate people, too. This is an area where Dems need to move to a more middle ground or continue to lose the votes of many who agree with us on other issues but are troubled by our hard-core pro-abortion stand.

If we value the lives of people condemned to death by the judicial system, should we not also value the lives of fetuses and work to decrease the need for, and thus the numbers of, abortions?

[tsipple]

21. You Mean an Anti-Choice Candidate?

If there's an anti-choice Democrat running against an anti-choice Republican, sure, the former is preferable. (Knowing only those basic facts.)

[IndianaGreen]

22. "If he/she could outst Orrin Hatch?"

My answer was "NO" until I read the part about ousting Orrin Hatch. Sure! Whatever it takes to defeat that scum!

[neebob]

24. Anything to get rid of Boring Snatch

I'd like nothing better than to see him go back to being a bad composer. But I don't live in Utah anymore. Given the choice between ousting Snatch and retiring the Frighthorse, I'd have to go with ousting Snatch.