Liberal culture warriors are furious at socialist senator Bernie Sanders over his unapologetic support and endorsement of pro-life Omaha, Nebraska, mayoral candidate, Heath Mello.
“Absolutely, and I want him to win,” Sanders told NPR Thursday.
Over the last week, Sanders has a held a series of rallies to support Democratic candidates across the country as part of a Democratic National Committee (DNC)-sponsored “unity tour.” Ironically, the man standing beside Sanders at these rallies, newly elected DNC Chair Tom Perez, is doubling-down on his party’s hard line pro-abortion stance, distancing himself from both Sanders and Mello. So much for “unity.”
“The Democratic Party’s platform states clearly our support for every woman’s right to make their own choices about their reproductive health and to have access to safe abortion services,” Perez said in a statement released shortly after liberal activists took to social media to blacklist pro-life Democrats. “As DNC Chair, I stand by that position unequivocally, as I have my entire life.”
Longtime Democratic Senator Dick Durbin shared similar sentiments Sunday when he suggested that abortion was an untouchable sacred cow of the Democratic party.
“I am committed to women’s rights under the law, reproductive rights certainly, and our party is [committed],” Durbin stated during an interview with CNN. “We’ve made that part of our platform and position for a long, long time. I know within the ranks of the Democratic Party there are those who see that differently on a personal basis, but when it comes to the policy position, I think we need to be clear and unequivocal.”
As The Daily Caller noted, “The 28 percent of Democrats who oppose abortion have no place in the Democratic party, according to two of the party’s leading figures.”
Pro-abortion group NARAL went even further, calling Sanders and other Mello allies “politically stupid.”
“The actions today by the DNC to embrace and support a candidate for office who will strip women – one of the most critical constituencies for the party – of our basic rights and freedom is not only disappointing, it is politically stupid,” Ilyse Hogue, the president of abortion rights advocate NARAL Pro-Choice America, said in a statement. “Today’s action makes this so-called ‘fight back tour’ look more like a throw-back tour for women and our rights.”
One thing is clear. For many Democratic donors and party leaders, there’s no compromising when it comes to abortion.