So, it has been too long for me as well since I last posted, but I thought that this op-ed from Judith Warner was interesting (if not a little old). It's no secret that I'm in love with Judith Warner, her progressive pro-choice pro-LGBT stance has always been eloquently discussed with finesse and a little spice that I think everyone here can appreciate.
Her latest op-ed in the New York Times highlights an interesting new trend in the Democrats' communication, chiefly around the topic of abortion rights. Recently, Democrats have been extending the olive branch to the evangelicals in an effort to win the White House in November.
At first, I was a little skeptical. Is this simply ANOTHER case of pandering to the right of center and scaling down firm stances on issues of choice and reproductive health? After reading this op-ed, I'm inclined to believe that this is NOT SO, and that it is a brilliant and long over-due communications strategy. Warner says,
If there is any sort of olive branch on offer to the anti-abortion community right now, it seems to me to consist chiefly of this week’s spin campaign, which gave cover to evangelicals and Catholics who have come out as pro-Obama (or as willing to talk to Obama) and now may well need to save face.
The issue here is not scaling down an affirmative stance on abortion rights, but rather, providing a much broader picture than the old rhetoric offers. Instead of the old dichotemy, Democrats are suggesting a paradigm shift in which they discuss our common goals of reducing the number of abortions keeping women and children healthy.
It's a no brainer that we all cherish these goals and the Democrats, with Obama at the helm have embraced a new communications strategy of rejecting the 10 second media soundbite and REALLY getting into the meat of the discussion and addressing what's really at stake.
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