Victory That Means Something

Principled Americans of all stripes can certainly agree with Senator Harry Reid's recent comments, "The way we feel about it is that abortion should be rare, that anything we can do to prevent unwanted pregnancies, it’s a step ahead." Indeed, it sometimes seems like issues like abortion are unnecessarily divisive when many Americans agree on the basic principles. At the same time progressives are concerned that recent efforts by Congressional Democrats including Sen. Clinton to appeal to the so-called values voters will lead to selling-out our principles.

Not everyone loved or cherished this dash toward the middle, even if it only confirmed that the senator (Clinton) is planning a White House 2008 bid. What some regard as inevitable political moderation for Clinton, or even a strategic repositioning for the party, others see as treachery.

While it is both strategic and positive to attempt to share our goals and positions with the broadest possible array of citizens in a way that reaches and appeals to them, we cannot and should not give up our principles. That has to be the bottom line or victory means nothing.