It was a little frustrating in the immediate aftermath of the 2006 elections to hear the media characterize many of the new incoming Democrats as being center-right on the ideological spectrum. There was, however, a silver lining to an otherwise misleading spin: the “center” was on the move for the first time in a while.
All of a sudden, if you’re pro-choice, critical of the war, support federally-funded stem-cell research, and believe in some semblance of fiscal sanity, you’re not only a Dem, you’re a moderate Dem. In James Dobson’s church, you’re Karl Marx incarnate, but in the American electorate, you’re in the middle. For Dems hoping to highlight how mainstream the party’s agenda is, this characterization was surprisingly helpful.
What’s more, as the NYT noted today, the Dems’ drive to govern from the center isn’t just about economic and domestic policy; it’s also about social issues.
In their first days in session, Senate Democratic leaders reintroduced a bill that they said was indicative of their new approach: the Prevention First Act, which seeks to reduce the number of abortions by expanding access to birth control, family planning and sex education.
In the House last week, Democrats showcased a vote on expanding federal financing for embryonic stem cell research, which, despite fierce opposition from many conservatives, has won bipartisan support among lawmakers — and voters — who are otherwise divided on abortion.
The mantra, for many Democrats, is the search for common ground. On gay rights, lawmakers and advocates said the most likely legislation in the new Congress would focus on hate crimes and employment discrimination, issues expected to be much less polarizing than the debate over same-sex marriage that was front and center in the Republican Congress.
In other words, to be a mainstream Dem is to embrace pregnancy prevention, stem-cell research, and tolerance for diversity, including in the workplace.
As mcjoan put it, “I agree. This is the middle. It has always been the middle. But it’s good that the media is finally catching up.”
Of course, the inverse is true, as well. If Dems have the new center, Republicans are well to the right of the mainstream. They oppose reducing abortions by focusing on prevention, they prefer to see embryos in IVF discarded rather than used for life-saving medical advancements, and believe gay people can be fired, regardless of job performance, simply for being gay.
The Dems are moving the needle — and the right isn’t happy about it.
Conservatives are skeptical that such a search for common ground is much more than a shift in tactics.
“I can tell you what I expect,” said Douglas Johnson, legislative director of the National Right to Life Committee. “I think the Democratic leadership will seek to advance the policy agenda of the hardcore groups but do so under the cover of deceptive rhetorical campaigns.”
And by “deceptive rhetorical campaigns,” Johnson seems to mean, “characterizing a popular agenda in a way Americans will like.”
Dems have been on the defensive on social issues for far too long, and now, thanks in large part to their new congressional majorities, they can tackle these controversial issues in a far more productive way. What’s the GOP left with in terms of a social agenda? Unsuccessful attempts on an anti-gay constitutional amendment? Please.
“We, for a very long time, left the definition of ourselves as Democrats to others,” said Representative Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, an abortion-rights supporter and one of 55 Catholic Democrats in the House who signed a Catholic Statement of Principles last year, essentially saying that their faith involved more than their position on abortion. “But I think people finally felt enough. Enough. It’s about who we are, where we come from, what our culture and environment has been.”
It’s about time.