Out in Greene County, Iowa

The presidency of Barack Obama will be better for America, and Iowa, in every way except one

By CHUCK OFFENBURGER
November 10, 2008
COOPER, IOWA

After nearly a week reflecting on it, I have come to believe that the presidency of Barack Obama will be much better for America, and for Iowa, than a presidency of John McCain could have been, in every way but one – abortion.

And that is the reason I did not vote for Obama.

It was painful to me not voting for him. The Offenburger family’s commitment to civil rights and the advancement of black people and other minorities has been firm and enduring for more than 40 years. We have both talked the talk, and walked the walk, as they say.

Obama’s general credentials and experience are excellent, in my view. He has national and global appeal in an era in which the United States really needs that in its president. I think he understands the global economy, energy possibilities, the economy and certainly today’s technology at a depth that McCain could not rival. The campaign that Obama ran – nearly all long-time political observers say it’s the best they’ve ever seen – tells you a whole lot about what a leader he is. It demonstrates that he knows how to put together a good team, and then get the job done. I have no hesitancy in placing my faith in Obama in the crucial areas of international relations, defense and energy independence.

He is also new, fresh and inspiring, the right person coming along at the right time when the U.S. was ready to make a generational transfer of power.

And how nice it is going to be having a president who is an orator!

So, in many ways, I celebrate the coming Obama presidency as much as my wife Carla Offenburger does – she voted for him – and many others of his most ardent supporters.

But the hard-earned, well-deserved and great victory Obama now savors is also a staggering defeat for the pro-life movement in this country.

Many of us had placed great hope that we would soon see the U.S. Supreme Court overturn the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion in 1973. I think the highest accomplishment of the administration of President George W. Bush was his appointments of Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, who lean pro-life. That brought the pro-choice majority of the court to 5-4.

As Obama himself said in the final presidential debate: “Roe v. Wade probably hangs in the balance,” on the outcome of the election.

Why?

Five of the nine Supreme Court justices are 70 or older. USA Today reported in an October 28 story: “The eldest justices on the current court, John Paul Stevens, 88, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 75, are among the most liberal.”

The fact is that President Obama, who has been one of the most zealous defenders of abortion rights, will in all likelihood appoint several pro-choice Supreme Court justices. And with the U.S. Senate controlled by the Democrats, confirmation is almost certain.

It would appear that any hope of Roe v. Wade being overturned – at least in the current political environment – is gone.

So does that mean the pro-life movement is dead?

Well, my hunch is that my Republican Party is no longer going to make it a key plank of its platform. It’s too controversial, many think. It drives people away. There’s no chance of the GOP winning if it is rigorously pro-life, many of the party leaders already seem to be saying.

And we can expect no help from the Democrats in outlawing abortion.

Here is the best of what Obama probably plans to offer, from his nomination acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention in September: “We may not agree on abortion, but surely we can agree on reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies in this country.”

Now there's a bold, courageous position.

But what of the future for the pro-life position?

My feeling is that the anti-abortion movement, right now, is at about the same stage of maturity and effectiveness that the civil rights movement was in the late 1950s, or the anti-war movement was in the mid 1960s, before either came into full bloom. The anti-abortion movement has been stirring for years, and is growing slowly. But it has not yet had its pivotal “I have a dream” moment on the National Mall, or its own march on the Pentagon.

It is in need of the next level of moral leadership that can explain what is happening to a still-largely-uninformed audience.

The civil rights movement came up with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., among others. The anti-war movement came up with Rev. William Sloane Coffin, among others.

The pro-life movement must find a leader with similar moral authority, knowledge and communication skills.

I’d like to think such a leader might come from my Catholic Church. I am intensely proud of the firm stand the church has taken against abortion on the national, state and diocesan levels.

I am not happy with the suspect position I’ve seen and heard my own parish priest, Rev. Don Ries, staking out at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Jefferson. He used the church bulletin on October 26 to reassure people that it is indeed O.K. for Catholics to vote for a Democrat. Of course it is. But I believe he misinterpreted the position of the church when he did so. And I called him up and told him that.

Catholics voting for Democrats is certainly not new. Here in Iowa, Obama carried heavily-Catholic Dubuque County 56-39 percent and also carried heavily-Catholic Carroll County 51-48 percent.

My question to you, if you are a Democrat and pro-life, which many people are, is this: What are you going to do about it now?

Come to think of it, let’s put the same question to pro-life Republicans: What are you going to do about it now?

I’ll tell you where I think the future is. Remember, up above in this column, where I said there is “a still-largely-uninformed audience” out there?

I don’t think most people have any idea or understanding what the real toll is of 35 years of legalized abortions in this nation. I’ve never felt that Barack Obama has demonstrated any real awareness or concern about the numbers and the impact.

Is it 40 million? Fifty million? We know that it dwarfs the loss in human life that came with the Nazi holocaust that launched World War II.

The figures in Iowa, as reported by the Iowa Department of Health, are about 6,000 abortions per year. I don’t think most Iowans have any idea it’s that bad. How would they? What politicians ever detail the numbers? Have you ever seen the Des Moines Register or other major media in the state do any reporting on the impact of abortion in Iowa?

Actually, I’m giving up on most people my age – we Baby Boomers and those just older – to do much of anything to stop abortion. We’ve been authorizing and even encouraging abortions for 35 years.

My greatest hope is in the generations born since 1973. You may have noticed that a whole lot of them for the first time have just become political and social activists, thanks largely to Barack Obama and his well-organized campaign.

I have great faith that, when young people come to a full understanding of what abortion has done to their generations, there is going to be hell to pay.

It won’t happen just in the Democratic and Republican Parties. It will happen in the streets of America, with the same kind of outrage and action – hopefully non-violent – that made both the civil rights and anti-war movements successful a long time ago.

Go for it, you younger people, and tell me if I can help.


If you would like to read Chuck Offenburger’s January 22, 2008, column reviewing his own evolution on the abortion issue, click here.

You can write the columnist at chuck@Offenburger.com.