Phoning It In

Just as I like to lurk on traditionalist liturgical sites to see what to disagree about, I often go to pro-choice blogs to see what the other side there is writing. It’s always interesting, believe me. Two questions from Kevin Drum via the excellent site Crooks and Liars:

1. (C)an anyone think of something similar on the Democratic side, where candidates are conspicuously afraid to be seen participating in a rally put on by some major liberal interest group? For example, are Democratic candidates shy about attending pro-choice rallies?

2. (W)hy do the pro-life forces put up with this? I can understand why they allowed Reagan to get away with it: the whole pro-life movement was still fairly new back then, Reagan was one of their first supporters, and they didn’t want to do anything to hurt him politically. But why have they allowed so many presidents and presidential nominees since then to thumb their noses at them this way? They’re a serious and well-established part of the GOP coalition, after all. Why allow politicians to get away with being evidently embarrassed to be photographed in their presence? Inquiring minds want to know.

What if the requirement for endorsement was a personal appearance at the March For Life? Here’s another question: how many Republican politicians (on any level) attended the event?