The career of the Illinois congressman Dan Lipinski is an object lesson in the centrality of abortion politics in today’s Democratic Party, and the shrinking space in the party for someone with a pro-life voting record.
In an incident that shows the party’s willingness to hang him out to dry, earlier this month Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) chairwoman Cheri Bustos pulled out of a planned fundraising appearance with Lipinski, after a backlash from progressives in the party. The DCCC said it still plans to support Lipinski (pictured at the March for Life) should he win the primary, but the contretemps sent a strong message about who the party’s leadership was listening to.
