considering there are very few abortion clinics in a lot of states (such as Mississippi, which only has one). heck, even in Maryland, women from the rural parts of the state are forced to travel 2-3 hours to Baltimore to get an abortion. add to this the terrorist campaign of the ultra right-wing groups that has scared more and more younger doctors out of performing abortions.

abortion is legal, sure, but it's not accessible to a majority of American women. they've already won, overturning Roe v. Wade will just enshrine it in law.

Most American pro-choicers that I've met are not passionate pro-choicers.  They do not make abortion the single issue like many of the pro-lifers that I've met.  I think that overall, pro-choicers not being as dedicated to the single issue is a good thing (while the pro-lifers' adherence to their single topic is not) as it is an issue that is overemphasized.

The apeal can be made on an economic level, so long as the right words are used.  I agree that "economic fairness" is too ambiguous to be the right words, but there are other ways of stating things.

i think the words that ppl are looking for here is not "economic fairness" but "JOBS", Dems win when they run on Jobs, Healthcare, and Education.  In 2006 dems need to frame the debate and not let Republicans push hot button issues like abortion and gay marraige to turn out single issuse voters that vote against there own economic and political interst in their stirred up ferver.  And if we have to kick Lieberman out of the party to set an example then go Ned Lamont.  

Well, what I meant by "economic fairness" is 'all of the above' that you mentioned. I recently heard a figure that CEOs in the United States are paid on average some obscene number around 400 times the average worker's salary, where in Europe the difference is closer to 11 times.

The positive aspect of this is that in America, we do not have the longer history of class resentment of France for instance, and Americans generally don't like the idea of holding others back with excessive taxes. This is why Democrats lose with 'class warfare' language.

What needs to be done is to avoid putting forth a negative agenda of 'sticking it to the rich' and equality for the sake of equality (i.e.; we must in Clintonian fashion 'triangulate' those objections away from the Republicans), but rather a positive vision which shows how much more the country could be flourishing and revitalizing 'the American dream' for all by means of greater economic equalization.

Bill Clinton summed it up in the plain-folk moral that "if you work hard, and play by the rules, you should get ahead in America". The Republicans are violating this principle of 'the folk' left and right and that is where we should strike.