Less than a week after Emily’s List broke with its protocol and endorsed netroots heroine Donna Edwards over corporate Dem incumbent Rep. Al Wynn, NARAL Pro-Choice America responds by formally endorsing Wynn:
“In the 15 years that he has represented his district in Congress, Rep. Wynn has voted pro-choice 126 times on 127 votes that dealt with women’s reproductive health,” NARAL President Nancy Keenan said in a statement.
NARAL could have joined ranks with the broader progressive and netroots groups propelling Edwards. Instead, they are endorsing a man with the following track record of corporate activism:
Wynn voted for the resolution authorizing Bush to use force in Iraq (aka the AUMF) He voted for the odious bankruptcy bill He voted for the 2005 energy bill, which was little more than a huge mess of subsidies for Dick Cheney’s oil buddies He co-sponsored the anti-net neutrality COPE Act and also voted against Rep. Ed Markey’s pro-net neutrality amendment to the bill
One of these groups seems to understand what movement building means; the other clearly doesn’t.
I personally wanna see Donna Edwards beat Al Wynn next year and was very disappointed when she lost last year.
That said: aren’t you making a little too much of this. Aren’t these two groups just out to further their own interests, therefore NARAL goes with the guy that has gone with them 99% of the time and Emily’s List goes with Donna because they want to see more women elected.
Don’t you think that if gender roles were reversed here (the incumbent a woman, the challenger a man) that Emily’s List would unequivocally stand behind the incumbent?
I know Emily’s List wasn’t behind Donna’s candidacy last year. I think they’ve endorsed her this year because they don’t want to see a Democratic woman elected without their support. I don’t think it has anything to do with building a movement. It’s just interest group politics.
Is about electing pro-choice women. NARAL is about electing pro-choice people period. Hence the reason Emily’s List is endorsing Hillary over the pro-choice Obama, Edwards and every other Dem in the race.