Obama Selects Pro-abortion Activist as White House Communications Director Ellen Moran, whom President-elect Barrack Obama selected on Saturday to be his White House communications director, is the head of a well-known abortion activist group. Moran is the executive director of EMILY'S List, an organization whose mission is to "elect pro-choice Democratic women to office by raising money for their campaigns." Pro-life groups are upset with the pick – and what it says about the upcoming administration's ties to the abortion lobby. "Obama is taking the leader of one of the most radical of abortion groups and giving her this very prominent position," said Douglas Johnson, legislative director of the National Right to Life Committee. "I think that's an indication of what we can expect in the wave of other appointments and policies." Clark Forsythe, senior counsel for the pro-life law firm Americans United for Life, said Moran's appointment should come as no surprise. "I think it reflects (Obama's) intimate contacts with the abortion PACs (political action committees) in the nation and his strong ties to them and his need to reward them for their strong support of his candidacy," Forsythe told CNSNews.com. EMILY's List -- which is an acronym, "Early Money Is Like Yeast" (it makes the "dough" rise) -- has raised millions of dollars to recruit and campaign for pro-abortion women candidates. In 2008, it helped mobilize women voters to elect not only Obama as president, but new pro-abortion liberal candidates to Congress -- including Ann Kirkpatrick of Arizona; Suzanne Kosmas of Florida; Dina Titus of Nevada; Debbie Halvorson of Illinois; Chellie Pingree of Maine; Betsy Markey of Colorado and Marcia Fudge of Ohio. EMILY's List also helped elect former New Hampshire Gov. Jeanne Shaheen to the U.S. Senate and North Carolina's Kay Hagan to replace Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.). "EMILY's List has been one of the biggest money machines on the pro-abortion side," Johnson said. According to Change.gov, the president-elect's new Web site, Moran has worked with the AFL-CIO and the Democratic National Committee. In 2000, she headed the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's $50 million issue-advocacy campaign. Her past political experience includes planning both inaugurals for President Bill Clinton and managing campaigns for governor, the U.S. Senate and House. She worked on the national campaign staff of Tom Harkin's 1992 presidential campaign. Moran was a supporter of Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) throughout the presidential campaign until her concession in June. According to The New York Times, Moran previously worked with both David Plouffe, Obama's campaign manger, and David Axelrod, his newly selected senior advisor. Pro-life groups, meanwhile, expect other pro-abortion activists to be selected for posts in the Obama administration. "We're seeing that (Obama is) an extreme proponent of abortion," Katie Walker, communications director at the American Life League, told CNSNews.com. "Not only will he support abortion access, he will do anything he can to advance the agendas of organizations like EMILY's List, NARAL (National Abortion Rights Action League) and Planned Parenthood." Contact: Tiffany Bell Source: CNSNews.com Source URL: http://www.cnsnews.com Publish Date: December 3, 2008 Link to this article: |
December 3, 2008
Pro-abortion Activist Selected as White House Communications Director
