Why does a White House abandon its allies? Because it can.
Kate Michelman and Frances Kissling write in today's NYT:
The Democratic majority has abandoned its platform and subordinated women’s health to short-term political success. In doing so, these so-called friends of women’s rights have arguably done more to undermine reproductive rights than some of abortion’s staunchest foes. That Senate Democrats are poised to allow similar anti-abortion language in their bill simply underscores the degree of the damage that has been done....We have got to find a way to get the real women's advocates together with the real gay advocates, immigration advocates, civil liberties advocates, etc. and present a united front to this administration and party. We're getting screwed, one by one. And that's the plan. Take us community by community, backtrack on their promises, and then say "tough luck." And unless we organize, they're going to keep doing it on issue after issue until the end of this presidency.
This, then, is where we stand as party leaders celebrate passage of the House bill. When it comes to abortion, they seem to think all positions are of equal value so long as the party maintains a majority. But the party will eventually reap what it has sown. If Democrats do not commit themselves to defeating the amendment, then they will face an uncompromising effort by Democratic women to defeat them, regardless of the cost to the party’s precious majority.
In the meantime, the victims of their folly will be the millions of women who once could count on the Democratic Party to protect them from those who would sacrifice their rights for political gains.
