Faith-Based Democrat Not So Democratic

Sharlet: I’ve been following the career of Senator Mark Pryor ever since the faith-based Democrat of Arkansas told me that through his participation in The Family — a bizarre network of politicians and businessmen dedicated to a fundamentalist theology of “Jesus plus nothing” — he’d come to realize that the wall of separation between church and state is “too high.” Apparently, he also thinks the 14th Amendment, equal protection for all, is “too strong” — Pryor was one of a handful of conservative Democrats who just backed Senator David Vitter’s successful amendment to an Indian health care bill that permanently prohibits the use of federal dollars to fund abortions for Native American women. Of course, under the Hyde Amendment, that prohibition extends to the entire country — but it must be renewed every year, leaving it open to debate and the democratic process. Not for Native American women, not anymore.