Is a Blank Slate Common Ground?
From advocates of “common ground” on reducing abortion, the unifying talking point on Sotomayor was that she is no pro-Roe ideologue (protestations from the religious right notwithstanding) and is therefore proof of Obama’s intention to forge “common ground.” David Gushee, the Christian ethicist and frequent spokesperson for the “evangelical center,” did not seem particularly concerned about Sotomayor’s lack of a record on abortion. “I think the fretting from NARAL and others indicates that Obama really did pick someone who is pretty much a blank slate on this issue,” he said. Common-ground promoters are pleased that Obama didn’t nominate a fire-breathing advocate for women’s full reproductive freedom and justice. That would have been so divisive! Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne, a longtime cheerleader for finding “common ground” that dodges — rather than resolves questions — of reproductive justice, wrote, “In picking her, Obama sent another signal that he is serious about see
