THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 27, 1996 TAG: 9609270004
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A16 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: 28 lines
When 70 Democrats vote to override their own president's veto with less than two months to go in the presidential election, you've got to wonder what is going on.
While President Clinton chose to side with the pro-abortion minority by allowing partial-birth abortions to continue unabated, many Democrats seem to be taking a more common-sense approach.
That is, what better way to diffuse the abortion issue come November than to vote like the vast amount of Republicans? Many Democrats did so with welfare reform and it seems to be happening with abortion as well.
Politically, it makes sense: They won't be alienating their pro-choice base as they are not even close to banning all abortions, and they can appear moderate by distancing themselves from that small but ever so vocal minority who see any and all abortion as some type of ``victory'' for ``women's rights.''
Democrats should vote to override President Clinton's misguided veto. Pragmatically speaking, Democrats can't lose. Constitutionally, the ban is perfectly consistent with Supreme Court decisions. And morally, it is simply the right thing to do.
MIKE A. BURNAT
Virginia Beach, Sept. 21, 1996 by CNB