Will Abortion Cloud Iowa Governor's Race?

There was a David Yepsen editorial in the Des Moines Register today that I think is worth a little discussion.  The title:  "Will Abortion Cloud Blouin's Run For Governor?"
By most normal measurements, Mike Blouin ought to be a perfect Democratic candidate for governor of Iowa.

He's a former member of the Iowa House and the Iowa Senate from Dubuque. He's a former member of Congress from northeast Iowa. He's run the chambers of commerce in Iowa's two largest cities, Des Moines and Cedar Rapids.

He's served as state economic development director during some good economic times. He's got a gregarious personality, good connections, and has been a deacon in the Roman Catholic Church for almost 20 years.

Trouble is, he's a pro-lifer.

And the Democratic Party is decidedly pro-choice.

Blouin goes on to tell Yepsen this view of governance:
"If it's contradictory to Roe V. Wade, I think I've got an obligation to uphold the Constitution" and veto it. He added: "If I can leave a mark, I'd like to create an environment where the need for abortion gradually disappears. Then you've accomplished the same thing" as enacting a legal ban on the practice.

But on other issues, he said "if bills are passed that come to me I'll look at them from the perspective of someone who is pro-life and if it's constitutional, I'll be inclined to be supportive of it. If it's not, I don't believe in putting the state through the futility of a process in court that has no meaning at all."

I agree wholeheartedly with that philosophy.  In my somewhat limited time in the Iowa political scene I have never met anyone who believes in driving up the abortion rate.  I do know that the decisions involved are literally life changing, and I am very fortunate to never have personally faced those types of decisions.

I believe that if we eliminate - as a society - the uncertainty and fear of being unable to support a child financially or emotionally, abortion will become almost non-existant outside of health and safety issues.

Having said that, it would be a mistake to look at voting for a governor based strictly on the issue of abortion.  Iowa has many,  many other issues that must be addressed - primarily economic issues, quality of life issues, and the issue of just what Iowa's future should look like.  If the 2006 election becomes a culture war election - Iowa's citizens will lose.

I have my own reasons for opposing Blouin in a primary election (primarily the use of the "Iowa Values Fund"):  Blouin's labeled "pro-life" stance is not among them.

This is obviously a tough issue - and I welcome your comments.