×

Democrats’ tenuous grasp of ‘morality’

Articles about the left’s hypocrisy and appalling double standards are barely newsworthy these days. Even so, the Democrats have displayed new lows on that score this week, throwing around the word “morality” as if they are the nation’s arbiters of it.

On immigration, for example, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi denounced President Trump’s call for heightened border security, including a border wall, as “an immorality.” Pelosi never defined the term. Nor — unsurprisingly — did she address the “morality” of the consequences of open borders, including Americans killed by illegal immigrants. There are too many names to list, but according to the Ohio Jobs & Justice PAC, here are a few, to get a sense of the magnitude of these avoidable tragedies: Pierce Corcoran, Cpl. Ronil Singh, Rocky P. Jones, Sabrina Starr, Steven Marler, Aron Hampton, Justin Lee, Blake Zieto, Mollie Tibbitts, Chrishia Odette, Sarah Root, Peter Hacking, Grayson Hacking, Ellie Bryant, Shayley Estes, Officer Dominic Durden, Edwin Jackson, Grant Ronneback, Kristopher Eggle, Terry Wendover, Kenneth Mahr, Jamica Williams, Michael Furlow, Kaybrin Ingoldsby, Halle Ingoldsby, Officer. Kevin Will, Sgt. Brandon Mendoza, LaDonna Brady, Robin Shelhammer, Barbara Shelhammer, Whitney Meinke, Brandy Lee Thorne and her unborn child, Sgt. Corey Wride, Dennielle Schermock, Joshua Wilkerson, Eric Zepeda, Jamiel Shaw, Jesse Benevides, Emily Cortez, Sviatlana Dranko, Spencer Golvach, Margaret Kostelnik, Kathryn Steinle, Bob Barry Jr., Michael Grubbs, Jamie Oxendine, Mary Ann Oxendine, Shane Oxendine, Parker Moore, Amos Jones, Naomi Mercury, Brittany Williams, Dep. Michael Davis, Dep. Daniel Oliver, Delilah McDaniel, Officer Daryl Raetz, Diann Jones, Arnett Chandler.

Where is the “morality” in the deaths of these Americans — and countless others — at the hands of people who should never even have been in this country (and in many cases had been previously deported)?

Newly elected California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced this week that his state will expand its sanctuary policy to “all who need it” and offer state-funded health care coverage to more illegal aliens. San Francisco is already a cesspool of human feces and dirty needles. Los Angeles’ Skid Row is just as bad, with thousands of the homeless and mentally ill living in the streets. Where is the “morality” in allowing our cities to deteriorate to the standards of Third World countries? How is it “moral” to invite millions more impoverished, uneducated people to pour across our borders when our own citizens have basic needs unmet? How is it “moral” to gouge American citizens with ever-higher taxes to pay for services for citizens of other countries who find their way here?

And then there is abortion. Dr. Leana Wen, the new president of Planned Parenthood, pushed back against the headline from her interview with BuzzFeed, which read, “Planned Parenthood’s New President Wants to Focus on Nonabortion Health Care.” Wen tweeted a correction in response, saying, “our core mission is providing, protecting and expanding access to abortion and reproductive health care.”

“Core mission” is a curious turn of phrase for an organization that has previously claimed that abortion constitutes only 3 percent of its services. But it is certainly more accurate when it comes to sources of income; abortion represents anywhere from 20 percent to one-third of Planned Parenthood’s annual revenue. And the desire to “expand” abortions is also a sad commentary. Planned Parenthood is already the single largest provider of abortions in the United States; nationwide, its offices performed over 321,000 in 2017. How many more abortions does it want to take place? Whatever happened to “safe, legal and rare”?

Where is the “morality” in killing hundreds of thousands of children in the womb every year? Where is the “social justice” when more black babies are aborted than are born alive in New York City, or when black women represent 13 percent of the U.S. population but received 36 percent of abortions in 2014?

No discussion of the Democrats’ odd relationship with morality would be complete without mentioning the disgusting case of Democrat megadonor and activist Ed Buck, at whose apartment a black man was found dead on Monday. This is the second time in less than two years that a black man has been found dead at Buck’s apartment. Gemmel Moore, 26, was found dead of a drug overdose in July 2017. Moore’s diary explicitly implicated Buck in his drug use. But Buck was never prosecuted.

The Ed Buck case is no outlier. Harvey Weinstein — who became the poster boy for #MeToo retribution — is accused of being a notorious abuser of women, and he escaped retribution for decades. Weinstein, too, was a big donor to the Democratic Party.

And this nudge-nudge-wink-wink practice goes back decades for Democrats — particularly, although not exclusively, in California. Murdered former San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk (now lauded as a LGBT-rights hero) had a predilection for young teenage boys that has been glossed over. Cult leader and mass murderer Jim Jones (of Jonestown infamy) had strong ties to and support from the Democratic Party, including Harvey Milk, Jane Fonda, former First Lady Rosalynn Carter and former California Gov. Jerry Brown. That shocking historical tidbit has been buried as well.

So it’s curious — and disingenuous — when Democrats accuse others of “immorality.” They don’t seem to know the meaning of the word.

——

Laura Hollis is a nationally syndicated columnist.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.38/week.

Subscribe Today