Pro-life Democrat Kristen Day says 2020 presidential candidate Pete Buttigeig gave voters “a reason to vote against him” when he told her that her views were not embraced by the Democratic party.
The pro-life Democrat and Democrats for Life member said in an interview with the Daily Caller News Foundation that Democrats who stand against abortion “wanted a reason to vote for him,” but “instead they got a reason to vote against him.”
Her comments come after she questioned Buttigieg on Democratic inclusion of pro-life Democrats during a Sunday evening town hall with Fox’s Chris Wallace.
“I’m a proud pro-life Democrat,” she said Sunday. “Do you want the support of pro-life Democratic voters? There are 21 million of us. And if so, would you support more moderate platform language to insure the party of diversity and inclusion does include everybody?”
Buttigieg responded by saying that though he respects her views, he is not going to try to earn her vote “by tricking” her.
“I am pro-choice,” he said. “I believe a woman ought to be able to make that decision.” (RELATED: The Clintons Coined The Phrase ‘Safe, Legal And Rare,’ But Abortion Activists Say This Is Stigmatizing)
Day protested that Buttigieg had not addressed her question and pointed out that the Democratic platform “contains language that says we don’t belong.”
“I support the position of my party that this kind of medical care needs to be available to everyone,” Buttigieg told her.
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Day explained to the DCNF that she was surprised by his answer.
“He comes from Indiana, which is pro-life state,” she said. “We have tried to reach out to his campaign since December, because a lot of our members thought that he had more moderate views. He’s painting himself as a more moderate candidate, so there might be an opening there for him to include us in the big tent at the party.”
Day said a meeting with Buttigieg never materialized, and so when she got the opportunity to ask him directly, she took it.
“Instead of answering the question, he doubled down on his strong support for abortion,” Day said, adding that it was “hugely disappointing to see him just double down like that and not even address the fact that, you know, there are 21 million pro-life Democrats and we want to be part of the party.”
Pro-life Democrats don’t have many voting options right now, Day said, noting that 2020 presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard is the only candidate who has said she opposes late-term abortion. (RELATED: Tulsi Gabbard Comes Out Against Third Trimester Abortions Except If Mother’s Life Is At Risk)
“We’re just waiting for that one candidate to say, ‘Hey, I want your vote. Come vote for me. I want you to support me,'” she said. “But they are all so afraid of the abortion lobby that no one will come out and say that.”
The abortion lobby has tremendous control over the Democratic party and the party’s ability to fundraise, Day warns. “It’s the worst I’ve ever seen it,” she said, explaining that this is why she felt the need to question Buttigieg at the Fox News town hall.
“We were just in Kansas yesterday talking to some Democrat Democrats and there’s an issue coming up there and a lot of them are being threatened with primaries unless they vote the right way on this issue,” she said. ”
Up until this point, pro-life Democrats have been “very good Democrats” and worked with their party, Day explained. The group met with Chair of the Democratic National Committee Tom Perez right after he was elected chairman in February 2017 to explain their views, point out that there are 21 million Democratic voters who are pro-life, and make sure he understood that “we need to be included and we need to be left alone to vote our conscience on this issue.”
“And his answer was, well, you can be pro-life,” Day said. “You just can’t vote that way.”
Perez’s comments showed her that now is the time to stand up and speak out, the pro-life Democrat said. People often encourage both Day and her pro-life Democratic peers to leave the party, but Day refuses to leave the party and allow “the abortion industry control the party and harm women.”
“We cannot stand for this anymore,” she said. Perez did not yet respond to a request for comment.
Day has no intention of telling pro-life Democrats who to vote for, but said her organization only supports Democrats who are pro-life.
“When it comes to going to the voting booth, people have to make their own decisions,” she said, noting that many pro-life Democrats decided not to vote for former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton based on her progressive abortion stances. “They may not go to the polls and vote for that candidate who supports abortion rights, but I think that’s what they need to do to make a change, we have to feel that our vote matters.”
Day did not directly address whether she would vote for President Donald Trump, saying that “when it comes to the polls, people have to make their own decisions,” and adding that her organization only supports pro-life candidates who are Democrats.
“So it wouldn’t be Trump or whoever the Democratic nominee is,” she said. “We’ve never been able to endorse a presidential candidate thus far. We hope that we will be able to in 2024.”
“We need to build our army now,” she adds. “We need to fight back. It’s gotta be pro-life Democrats fighting within the party to push the party back because it can’t be pro-life Republicans fighting against abortion rights Democrats, cause that’s not going get us anywhere. We need to push our party for the good of the life issue. It needs to be us staying in the party and fighting and pushing back and winning.”
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