Issue you disagree with the other party on the most

[Blue Rectangle]

The Democrats need to make it picture clear that they are not for abortion, but for abortion rights. We also need to stop being fake about what we try to do. Kerry is not an openly religous guy. I'd rather see him not discuss it all then do it in the phony way he did. We do pander too much to the African-American community, but do we have a choice? Could we win PA, MI, OH (theoretically), MN, FL, WA without large Black Democratic turnout in Philadelphia, Detriot, Cleveland, The Twin Cities, Miami/Jacksonville, and Seattle?

Phony: a good name for Kerry's abortion stance.  He was fine when he claimed the ol' "I personally oppose abortion, but I don't think it is the government's business" line.  When he then said that the government should then pay for abortions, he contradicted his earlier "it's not the government's business" claim.

The abortion issue is not a 50/50 wedge issue.  It is a 33/33/33 wedge issue.  There are three roughly equal positions:
1. Abortion is wrong and it ought to be illegal.
2. Abortion is wrong, but in a religious sense--therefore the government should not ban it.
3. Abortion is an unfortunate fact of life and is not "wrong" in any sense.  The government should protect, and even provide, access to abortion.

If Republicans strongly support #1, they lose 2 to 1.  Kerry's mistake was analogous.

[Blue Rectangle]

Abortion

That's definitely an issue in which the Democrats need to get their message out better.

I hate the fact that we don't seem like we care about abortion or want to reduce it at all.

For the feminists, abortion is sacred, and their whole movement is centered around it.  With the stranglehold that those people have on the Democratic party, how could the party get across a message that says that abortion should be reduced?  That would suggest that it's not desirable, a thought which is anathema to the radical feminists who form such an integral part of the Democratic base.

Lots of us like abortion.  Should we be unrespresented?  The Democrats will never win by becoming GOP wannabes, abandoning our base to try to win a sliver of the religious fanatic vote. 

You like abortion?  Huh.  I guess I should make that catagory #4, representing 1% of the electorate.

Thank you, opebo, for providing us with a strawman.

[Blue Rectangle]

I'm not sure how against abortion the black community is. I know much of them are against gay marriage, but blacks have a disproportiantly higher unwanted pregnency rate than the rest of society, so wouldn't they be liberal somewhat on that issue? Poor inner-city people know first hand how damaging it can be to live in an unsupportive household.

I imagine there is a huge difference between urban and rural blacks on this issue.  Your point about urban blacks and abortion is probably accurate.  Rural blacks, especially those in the south, are on the opposite side.  The positions on abortion that work with the black community in New Jersey or New York won't work in Arkansas and Virgina (or to a lesser extent, Ohio).