Our friend Ally has a reflection on the how the liberals are “shocked, shocked I tell you, to discover” that Alito is pro-life.
She is absolutely right - this shoudl surprise nobody.
However, before the liberals get their collective panties in a bunch, they ought to look at Alito’ record. Unlike O’Connor, Alito rules based on a principled view of the Constitution - thus his dissent on Casey did not revolve around an attempt to impose his own personal beliefs but his attempt to meet O’Connor’s undue burden test.
Anyhow, lest you think that I am actually agreeing with Ally (’ware the flying pigs indeed!), the purpose of this post is to ruminate on whether the liberals and conservatives are being hypocritical with their abortion stances.
A conservative is typically suspicious of government power. They generally want to limit the federal government to the powers enumerated in the Constitution.
A liberal generally supports the use of government power to help the less fortunate and powerless.
Pro-life folks want the government to regulate one of the most important personal decisions you can make. While they wave the states’ rights banner in order to overturn Roe v. Wade, don’t doubt for a minute that, if they ever achieve the pipe dream of overturning Roe, that they won’t turn around and demand a national ban that will override the pro-choice legisislatures of blue states.
Pro-choice folks say that the government ought not to intervene in our personal lives. Pro-choice people express concern for the powerless, but I can’t think of anything more powerless than a fetus post-Roe.
The flip-flops of the “conservatives” and “liberals” can be explained by the fact that the terms no longer have identify political viewpoints as much as they identify membership in the superfactions that Madison so feared in Federalist #10. The “conservative” superfaction is all for individual responsibility and economic freedom, but also reached a mutually-rewarding deal with the religious right in which the religious folks support tax cuts and an interventionist foreign policy in return for government meddling in our sex/reproductive/marriage lives.
Liberals, who generally support the use of federal power to protect/create/advance the rights of the least fortunate among us, but have spun 180 degrees to keep the feminists within their superfaction.
I just wish both sides would ealize that it is a dead issue. Roe is so established by Stare Decisis that it is unlikely to ever be overturned. And the pragamtists who actually hold power in the Republican party don’t even want to overturn Roe: Witness Bush’s appointment of Justices who support Stare Decisis. Neither Roberts or Alito will challenge Roe.
And liberals should stop getting so worked up over the issue.
Attention pro-lifers: The Republicans are using the issue as a tool to distract you from real issues (much like flag burning and gay marriage).
Attention pro-choicers: There is no real threat. The Democratic interest groups want to scare you to drum up donations and support.
Attention both sides: There can be no meaningful debate. Either you believe that the soul exists at conception or you don’t. And that belief is not amenable to persuasion because it is faith-based rather than empirical.
So:
Can’t we just find a way to concentrate on real issues facing the country?
