The always excellent Jonathan V. Last at The Weekly Standard has a remarkable piece about the corrupting influence of abortion on the left’s mindset—how elevating it to primacy status in the political arena has thoroughly distorted the thinking of otherwise smart people, forcing them to adopt positions that would be simply ludicrous if they weren’t so horrifying.
Professor Stephen Schneck is a conundrum. He’s a Catholic who works for the Catholic University of America (CUA). But he’s involved with the group Catholics for Obama—despite the church hierarchy’s view that the president is attacking the religious freedom of Catholics. He’s pro-life. But he supports Democratic politicians universally—even though the party has become manifestly hostile to pro-lifers. Schneck’s most puzzling contradiction is this: He claims that while Democrats support abortion rights, it’s really Republicans who cause abortions.Schneck is very specific about it. He has numbers. At an event in Charlotte earlier this month during the Democratic convention, Schneck spoke on a panel hosted by Democrats for Life. He asked the audience, “Can one vote for Romney if it means a 6, or 7, or, God forbid, 8 percent increase in the number of abortions in America?”
So, as an academic, Schneck has the data to back up his predictions, right? Well, no, Last discovered. Schneck’s numbers are merely an extrapolation of his (il)logic and prejudices:
One third of deliveries are now paid for by Medicaid. So if President Romney cuts the program by 40 percent, those same people who can’t get the government to cover their kids’ births will not practice birth control. Instead, they’ll still get pregnant…and have abortions!
No wonder liberal academics feel superior to ordinary people. They infantilize them.
Read the whole article. Last uses a scalpel instead of a sledgehammer, and the effect is all the more devastating.
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