DCCC Caving To Pressure On Abortion Litmus Test

Two weeks ago, DCCC Chairman Ben Ray Luján told The Hill that his committee will not impose a pro-choice litmus test on House Democratic candidates in 2018. Given the magnitude of the ensuing backlash from extreme pro-choice groups, it’s not surprising that the DCCC is already backtracking on their litmus test stance.

While Democrats for Life of America reached out to the DCCC and offered to work together, the DCCC gave them the cold shoulder. In a statement to The Atlantic, the DCCC spokeswoman said the committee had “no interest” in working with these pro-life Democrats:

“The organization also seems intent on distancing itself from pro-life activists. Kristen Day of Democrats for Life of America, a nonprofit organization that bills itself as the pro-life ‘wing’ of the Democratic Party, told me the ‘lines of communication are open’ between her group and the campaign committee, and she believes they’ll be able to work together. But Kelly pushed back against that idea: ‘The DCCC has no interest in working with Democrats for Life of America, despite their attempts.’”

The DCCC’s flip-flop is also bad news for the few House Democrats that still identify as pro-life. One of them, Congressman Dan Lipinski (D-IL) told The Atlantic, that the DCCC’s abortion litmus test flip-flop could hurt House Democrats politically:

“Now, some pro-life Democrats are arguing that expanding their ranks within the party could be key to victory next year. ‘We are going to need pro-life candidates in some of the districts that we need to win the House,’ Illinois congressman Dan Lipinski, who identifies as pro-life, said in an interview.”

The DCCC’s unwillingness to work with Democrats for Life of America is part of a broader trend within the Democratic Party. Increasingly, the Democratic Party is moving to the far-left and away from the positions that most Americans hold. In addition to moving to extremes on abortion, Gallup recently found that members of the Democratic Party have become “significantly more liberal on economic issues” in recent years. Pretty soon the Democratic Party will have lost touch completely with the views that people outside of their liberal enclaves hold.