Religious people can be pro-choice, too

January 19, 2007

Time magazine White House correspondent Mike Allen is a real reporter. I’ve been following his work for a long time, and he’s generally a serious guy who, more often than not, does solid work.

Which is exactly why this was so disappointing.

Appearing on the January 17 edition of CNN Headline News’ Glenn Beck, Time magazine White House correspondent Mike Allen claimed that “probably” most people who watched Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) “say[] at the [2004 Democratic National] Convention, ‘We worship an awesome God in the blue states, too,’ ” are unaware that “Senator Obama had 100 percent [rating] from Planned Parenthood when he was in the state legislature.”

Allen’s comments referenced a January 17 Associated Press article noting that Obama’s “eight years as an Illinois state senator are sprinkled with potentially explosive land mines, such as his abortion and gun control votes.” Allen did not explain why voters might be surprised that Obama both claimed to believe in “an awesome God” and received a perfect score from Planned Parenthood as an Illinois state senator.

As Atrios put it, “Only atheists support family planning and reproductive health. Just shoot me.”

I can only assume that Glenn Beck’s misguided, right-wing ideology is so powerful, it temporarily affects his guests, causing them to say unfortunate things.

In the meantime, if reporters could stop suggesting that there’s a conflict between support for reproductive rights and religious faiths, it’d be helpful. It’s bad enough when the left has to fight conservative myths in the discourse; credible reporters shouldn’t help the right out.

Anybody know why CNN Headline News switched its format from 48 half-hour news cycles to all Glenn the Pig Beck all the time?

I’ve written CNN with my disapproval. What a horrible progamming choice to but that sack of crap on instead of straight news.

  • IIRC, Obama is a member of the United Church of Christ. Their take on abortion:

    If the full range of options available to women concerning reproductive health are compromised, then women’s moral agency and ability to make decisions consistent with their faith are compromised. Furthermore, poor women should have equal access to full reproductive health services, including abortion and information on family planning.

    Seems to make sense to me. And even though I’m not a religious kind of guy, if I was going to join a Christian church, the UCC would be it.

  • BREAKING: Fox News Obama smear campaign has kicked off –

    They claim that that Obama went to a “Madrassa” at age 6, and hence is a “possible sleeper cell extremist” [paraphrasing]. I kid you not.

  • The rightwing smear campaign tactic has become so predictable and its methods so toxic that I sincerely hope it will backfire and generate even more support for Obama than he had before.

  • Unholy Moses – You would like the UCC even more if you remember what they did after James Dobson bad mouthed Sponge Bob Squarepants. Their website had pictures of Bob in the office of Rev Thomas, general pastor and president of UCC. A church with a sense of humor – go figure!

  • In a nation where single women now outnumber married women, I’d think a candidate who is OK with the idea of contraception would do well in an election. Beck may actually be helping Barack.

  • Mike Allen may have been a credible reporter at one time, but this isn’t the first time he has slipped ratwing talking points into his articles. Reader, beware.

  • When will you guys understand that many many Catholics, who are with the Democracts on 99 percent of the issues, cannot abide its stance on abortion? We Catholics value consistency. I personally oppose abortion, the death penalty, war, torture, poverty, lack of health care, anti-environmentalism etc etc. It’s known as the “seamless garment”. Laughing off criticism with terms like “reproductive health” just doesn’t cut it.

  • When will you guys understand that many many Catholics, who are with the Democracts on 99 percent of the issues, cannot abide its stance on abortion?

    Well, since the Dems actual position is to reduce abortions through better access to birth control, seems to me there’s no way to win with Catholics on the issue.

    **shrugs shoulders**

  • morning’s minion @#10. what about all of the catholics who personally are opposed to the church’s stand on abortion, gay rights, sexuality, and still consider themselves to be catholic. or are you suggesting they should always toe the vatican line or they can’t be good catholics?

  • “When will you guys understand that many many Catholics, who are with the Democracts on 99 percent of the issues, cannot abide its stance on abortion? We Catholics value consistency. I personally oppose abortion, the death penalty, war, torture, poverty, lack of health care, anti-environmentalism etc etc. It’s known as the “seamless garment”. Laughing off criticism with terms like “reproductive health” just doesn’t cut it.”
    Comment by Morning’s Minion

    I don’t see too many people “laughing off” anything on this issue. And all the other issues you raise are just as serious, some even more serious than abortion. Problem is, some of us just don’t agree with you on your position on abortion, or with the level of importance it has with everything else facing this world, country, individuals today. I respect your position, but I disagree with it 100%. It has been my experience, however, that it is folks like you who refuse to respect opinions like mine, and who run around making erroneous statements that equate legitimate criticism with “laughing off” (or other much more vulgar terms). If you agree with the Dems on 99% of the issues, you should vote for the Dems 100% of the time, and then work to find common ground that takes into account all of its members’ views on issues such as abortion, with the idea or ultimate goal to be the significant reduction of abortions to a number as near to zero as possible. And a large part of achieving that goal can be met without an outright ban on abortions.

  • Morning’s Minion, you claim to be “consistent” and to value the “seamless garment,” yet you claim to agree with Dems on 99% of the issues and Rethugs on 1% – and you say you cant vote Dem. It seems that, absent anyone who you agrees with 100% on the issues (and none of us really can expect that, absent severe megalomania), honoring consistency would be voting with 99% agreement. Unless you are saying abortion is a more important value than death penalty, feeding the poor, torture, war etc. — which I would challenge you to logically defend.

  • Allen did not explain why voters might be surprised that Obama both claimed to believe in “an awesome God” and received a perfect score from Planned Parenthood as an Illinois state senator.

    Given that the ReThugs have worked long and hard to pound home the Democrat = Pro-Choice formula, there are perhaps four kinds of voters who could be “surprised.”
    1. Voters who hear it and think “So?” because they already like him/assumed he was pro-choice.
    2. Voters who would think, “Gee, I’m pro-choice, and I go to church. This guy is a lot like me.”
    3. Voters who wouldn’t vote for a brown person if their lives depended on it.
    4. Voters who wouldn’t vote for a Democrat if their lives depended on it.

    Net impact of this non-existent conundrum on his career: ZILCH.

    Next?

  • As a fellow Catholic, I’m not quite sure of morning minion’s comment. The Republican platform only agrees on the abortion issue, yet the comment seems to think Dems,despite agreeing on all other issues, disparage on the question of abortion. So is abortion the complete deal breaker or will other Catholics use their sense of understanding?

    No Dem wants to see abortion, but leaves it as an option for when there will be no healthy and welcoming family on the receiving end. Abortion is not a question of desire, only a question of last resort. If there are no abortions in this nations, by choice, Dems will be as happy, if not happier, than anyone. Dems are not pro-abortion, but tolerate it as an option when a pregnant woman is at the end of the line. Dems leave this debate to higher power. She will have to settle this issue with God.

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