This column, posted Sept. 12, 2008, is Copyright © 2008 by Mary Meehan

Francis of Assisi or Attila the Hun? Or Both?

Mary Meehan

"We're Pro-Life Peace Voters. Where are our candidates?" That's the question a national network called Consistent Life has put on a bumper sticker. Based in Silver Spring, Md., the group is not a political committee, but its members have deep roots in activist causes.

Such voters have nowhere to go. Sen. John McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, is dovish on abortion; that is, he opposes it in most cases. But he is hawkish on war--not just the one in Iraq, but war in general. His running-mate, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, is even more dovish on abortion than McCain. With her family, Palin has "walked the walk" in an admirable way in defense of unborn children. Unfortunately, though, she largely shares McCain's hawkish position on war.

Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee is relatively dovish on the war in Iraq, but hawkish on the one in Afghanistan and also on abortion. As a state senator in Illinois, he even opposed a bill to require medical assistance to the rare infants who survive abortion. His running-mate, Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware, is somewhat less hawkish on abortion than Obama. But Biden initially backed the war in Iraq, and he's part of a foreign-policy establishment that often favors intervention abroad.

Many years ago, writer Julianne Loesch Wiley said that most congressional candidates then looked like "a cross between Francis of Assisi and Attila the Hun." So do most of today's candidates, both congressional and presidential. While many voters also fit that description, others do not. It's hard to tell just how many, though, because pollsters don't tell us what percentage of voters oppose both abortion and war. Perhaps they have such deep-down stereotypes of American voters that they never think of asking this question.

Groups like Consistent Life urge Americans to adopt a "consistent ethic of life" in opposition to violence. Ironically, the only presidential candidate this year who had a consistency approach was the conservative-libertarian Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.). Far more antiwar than either Obama or Biden, he says we should give up our empire around the world. He's also against abortion and the death penalty. Rep. Paul has said his campaign "morphed into something I never dreamed of." His new Campaign for Liberty group will support like-minded candidates, lobby, and keep working to "take back the Republican Party." Given Rep. Paul's own skills and the legions of young and energetic Paulistas, this is good news for the antiwar movement.

No one comparable to Paul challenges the Democratic Party on abortion. There is, though, a group called Democrats for Life of America which supports the roughly 30 Democrats in Congress who vote against abortion. But Democratic abortion foes need a candidate in presidential primaries the next time around--and many more candidates at the congressional level.

Democrats usually pride themselves on standing up for little people. The littlest people of all, utterly defenseless, are unborn children. And those who are poor, African American, or handicapped are far more likely than others to be aborted. Abortion is also terrible for born children who hear about it and feel threatened by the idea of parental violence. For many years, Democratic Party leaders have papered over these contradictions with euphemisms such as "pro-choice" and "the choice issue." An anti-abortion Democratic presidential candidate could cut through the rhetorical fog.

Such a candidate could make a strong case based on liberal principles and on pro-life feminism. Feminists for Life of America, rooted in a tradition that goes back to feminist leaders of the 1800s, are pro-woman and pro-child. They believe that both parents, having brought a child into existence, have an obligation to protect the child. But they also believe social institutions should lend a helping hand. They are campaigning to make college campuses more friendly to pregnant and parenting students. Other groups can and should run similar campaigns in the workplace.

In electoral politics, anti-violence efforts are still very tough, uphill efforts. Yet they have solid support in our Declaration of Independence, which names the right to life as first among our rights. The dead have no freedom of speech, press, or religion. No right of assembly or right to vote, and no equal protection of the laws. Every right we have depends on our right to life.

We need more candidates who understand this right and champion it for everyone. Including the many innocent civilians overseas who are threatened by our bombs and bullets. They have the same right to life that we have.