March 26, 2010

The Plight of Marginalized Democrats

I predict that the recent passage of the health care bill will lead to the marginalizing of two groups in the Democratic party. As this is amongst the worst offenses that can be done to a group according to modern liberal thought, I felt I ought to point it out, since these predictions, based on the implications of the recent votes, seem to have been largely missed.

The first group to be marginalized will be pro-life Democrats in the House. They actually had a chance to make real changes to the legislation, but they decided instead to go ahead and pass legislation which contained none of the concessions they had been granted earlier. It is unlikely they will ever be in such a prime position to wield influence again. After this, their party leadership will also be less likely to offer them concessions, knowing that they can be cajoled and pressured into following the party line.

It could be argued that the pro-life democrats got what they wanted with the president's executive order that no federal funds will be used for abortions. I do not think this is nearly sufficient. First of all, since the president has been agreeable towards such moves as lifting the Mexico City policy, which allowed federal funds to be used for abortions abroad, I doubt the sincerity of the executive order. Secondly, even giving the president the benefit of the doubt, an executive order is something that could easily and unilaterally be overturned by the next president, whereas a law can only be overturned by many people.

The second group to be marginalized will be pro-life constituents of the Democratic party. It has now become clear that they were the biggest obstacle to a major policy goal of a Democrat-controlled Congress, and that their beliefs are an impediment to being a good Democratic party member. After this vote, pro-life Democrats in this unenviable situation face tough choices. Will they continue the good fight against their own party's leadership? Will they set aside their principles, at least until later, like their elected representatives? Or will they have to migrate to a new party or form another?