NARAL Fallout, Obama's probable nomination, and the old rift between women's rights and civil rights
NARAL, the political leader of the pro-choice movement chose yesterday to endorse Barack Obama instead of Hillary Clinton. This has caused a firestorm of protest. NARAL let comments about the matter be voiced here.
There are nearly 3,000 comments, most of them are filled with disappointment and even vitriol about the matter. The executive director of Missouri's NARAL branch, Pamela Summers, went so far to release what amounts to an "I'm-sorry-don't-blame-us-we-disagree" robocall within two hours of hearing about the national endorsement. The text is below:
THIS IS PAMELA SUMNERS, DIRECTOR OF NARAL PRO-CHOICE MISSOURI. AT 11 A.M. THIS MORNING, I LEARNED SOMETHING YOU MAY ALREADY HAVE HEARD—THAT NARAL PRO-CHOICE AMERICA’S PAC HAD VOTED TO ENDORSE SENATOR BARACK OBAMA.
I HAVE RECEIVED MANY COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS DECISION OF OUR NATIONAL OFFICE, WHICH OPERATES INDEPENDENTLY OF US AND WHICH DOES NOT SHARE MEMBERSHIP DUES WITH US. WE HAD NO PART IN THIS DECISION.
I TOLD NARAL PRO-CHOICE AMERICA THAT IN MISSOURI, WE THINK WE HAVE TWO PRO-CHOICE CANDIDATES STILL RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT. MANY OF OUR MEMBERS SUPPORT SENATOR CLINTON. WE THINK IT HONORS HER PERFECT PRO-CHOICE RECORD, HONORS OUR MEMBERS WHO SUPPORT HER, AND HONORS THE VOTERS WHO HAVE YET TO HAVE THEIR SAY TO LET THIS NOMINATION RESOLVE ITSELF WITHOUT NARAL’S ENDORSEMENT. WE’D FEEL THE SAME ON BEHALF OF OUR MEMBERS WHO SUPPORT SENATOR OBAMA IF THE ROLES WERE REVERSED. I HOPE THAT IF YOU ARE A HILLARY CLINTON SUPPORTER, YOU WON’T HOLD A DECISION THAT WE WERE NOT PART OF, AND WHICH WE WOULD NOT HAVE MADE, AGAINST NEUTRAL NARAL PRO-CHOICE MISSOURI.
Whether or not NARAL should have endorsed Hilary is not the issue here (though her record concerning women's issues and supporting pro-choice is admittedly stronger), but some larger cultural implications are in play.
Do some people believe that a woman's vote for Obama somehow "betrays" the female struggle for equality? Do women's rights issues still resonate with younger women who tend to support Obama more than Clinton? And, by endorsing Obama, is the national NARAL PAC just stating the obvious, or will it succeed in addressing its stated goal of trying to heal a growing rift between women's rights activists?
As the nation heads towards one of, if not the most historic presidential election in history, will the Democratic Party survive unscathed from this massive, and passionate bifurcation of its core voting blocs?
