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Welch should denounce Monroe County Democrats

By Scott Tibbs, December 12, 2011

In the state of Indiana, it is a felony to have sexual contact with anyone 13 years old or younger. So why did the Democrats on the Bloomington City Council and the Monroe County Council vote to give a total of $10,000 to Planned Parenthood in order to distribute birth control to girls as young as 13?

When a 13 year old is pregnant, that is prima facie evidence that a felony has taken place. That should bring an immediate investigation from law enforcement. But if a 13 year old gets taxpayer funded birth control from Planned Parenthood, sexual predators are able to cover up their crimes. Perhaps neither Planned Parenthood nor the Monroe County Democratic Party intend for this to happen, but in the real world there are consequences for bad decisions.

In the 2012 election, this is an issue for Monroe County voters as we choose who will serve on the county council, but it is also an issue for Morgan County voters, who have recently been drawn into District 60. Bloomington Democrat Peggy Welch currently represents that district. Morgan and Monroe County voters will choose between Welch and the eventual Republican nominee for who represents them in the state legislature.

Welch has campaigned as a staunchly anti-abortion, socially conservative candidate and has managed to win a district with a large Republican majority seven times in a row - usually by a large margin. Morgan County voters should hold Welch to her stated socially conservative views by demanding that she denounce her fellow Democrats on the county council and city council, who unanimously supported this welfare to Planned Parenthood.

Disagreement is not enough. We are talking about a vote to spend taxpayer dollars to subsidize felony child abuse. Welch needs to denounce her fellow Democrats for this abomination. If she really wants to show she is serious, she should advocate that the Democrats running for county council be defeated in the 2012 general election.

This is a new district, and Morgan County voters are unlikely to want a Bloomington Democrat representing them in Indianapolis. The outrage perpetrated by the city and county councils in 2010 should raise questions about why any socially conservative candidate would be a member of the Monroe County Democratic Party.