It is no secret that the Democratic Party nationally has moved to the left over the last two decades, with that trend accelerating in the last several years.
No issue illustrates this shift more than the issue of abortion.
Ever since the 1990s, due to a judicial decision, Minnesota state taxpayers have paid for abortion through our Medicaid program. Medicaid is a federally-funded program for lower-income Americans, and while the federal program prohibits abortion funding, about half the states supplement the federal program to cover abortion.
Because of this, Minnesota state tax payers fund well-over 4,000 abortions per year in Minnesota, handing abortion providers in the state over a million dollars in taxpayer funded revenues.
Republicans of under Tim Pawlenty didn’t get rid of taxpayer funding for abortion, but they were able to pass the Positive Alternatives grant program, first implemented in 2007. In the last reported grant-year, 2016, the program provided several dozen pro-life centers with roughly $3.5 million in grants, stretched out over three years.
According to some, the Positive Alternatives program brought about a supposed truce. The moderates in the GOP wouldn’t push to end the taxpayer funding of abortion in Minnesota (it is rarely talked about in GOP circles) but the Democrats would allow the meager Positive Alternatives grant program in return.
Yet last legislative session, state Democrats—usually loath to cut any program’s government funding—tried to cut that already-meager Positive Alternatives grant.
Senate Republicans stopped that from happening. But it is telling that Minnesota Democrats have become so extreme that they are completely unwilling to stomach a tiny program that promotes abortion alternatives, mostly by providing mothers economic and emotional assistance.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz joked that he was “so pro-choice, Nancy Pelosi asked me if I should tone it down.” Walz consistently opposed bills that would protect infants born alive, who survived an abortion attempt.
Most Democratic State Representatives, like Ryan Winkler and DFL Majority Leader Melissa Hortman, are also “pro-choice”—without any exceptions (pro-infanticide).
Minnesota’s federal politicians are no better. U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith are both against any abortion restrictions whatsoever, including up to and after the point of birth.
Already-infamous Congresswoman Ilhan Omar—who seems to have no self-awareness—took to the House floor to slam “religious fundamentalists” on the right for wanting to end or limit abortion.
The problem is that most Americans tell pollsters that they are for abortion restrictions, especially of the most gruesome abortion procedures. And especially once the baby is able to live outside of the mother’s womb. One wonders how long the DFL can keep this up. Minnesota is a church-going (religious) state, relatively speaking, and many old-school Democrats are either uninformed about, or turning a blind eye to, the Party’s post-Christian tilt on abortion. If the voters are uninformed, which is likely, the establishment Minnesota media is a likely culprit.
***
Do you like Alpha News? Help us reach more people in 2019 by donating today.
Willis Krumholz
Willis L. Krumholz is a fellow at Defense Priorities. He holds a JD and MBA degree from the University of St. Thomas, and works in the financial services industry. The views expressed are those of the author only. You can follow Willis on Twitter @WillKrumholz.
