Obama selects vocal pro-abortion leader as Communications Director

Washington D.C., Nov 23, 2008 / 11:50 am

As President-elect Obama builds his new administration, his list of new appointees makes it even more apparent that he is comfortable with the pro-abortion lobby. This became even more clear on Saturday when Ellen Moran, executive director of EMILY’s List, was named White House   communications director.

Moran currently serves as executive director of EMILY’s List, where she oversees the national   staff and charts the overall strategic direction of the organization. 

EMILY's List, one of the most important Democratic constituency groups, says it is "dedicated to building a progressive America by electing Democratic pro-choice women to office."

Moran is being tapped during her second stint at EMILY’s List, rejoining the organization from the AFL-CIO, where she coordinated Wal-Mart corporate accountability activities and served in the Political Department. In 2004, she took a leave of absence from the AFL-CIO to direct independent expenditures for the Democratic National Committee, overseeing the allocation of $100 million in presidential advertising and direct mail and phone efforts.

Moran's political experience includes managing campaigns for governor, U.S. Senate, and U.S. House; working  on the national campaign staff of Tom Harkin’s 1992 presidential  campaign; helping plan both Clinton inaugurals.

Moran also oversaw EMILY’s List’s first attempts at increasing voter turnout in 1994.  Hailing from Amherst, Massachusetts, Moran received her education in political science and English literature from Wheaton College.

EMILY's List - which stands for "Early Money Is Like Yeast" (It makes the dough rise) -was formed more than two decades ago to support pro-choice women candidates. Over the years they'd raised millions for them. They helped, among others, political soldiers like Diane Feinstein, Jennifer Granholm and Clinton (during her Senate run) reach their desired end.

EMILY's List also states being "committed to a three-pronged strategy to elect pro-choice Democratic women: recruiting and funding viable women candidates; helping them build and run effective campaign organizations; and mobilizing women voters to help elect progressive candidates across the nation."

For a candidate to be considered for funding from EMILY’s List there are three requirements: The candidate must be a woman; she must be a Democrat; and she must support unrestricted access to taxpayer-funded abortion-on-demand.

The List’s support for abortion-on-demand is so strong that it has cut funding from politicians who voted against extreme pro-abortion positions. Two examples of this are Senators Mary Landrieu from Louisiana and Blanche Lincoln from Arkansas who lost funding from EMILY’s List when they voted to ban the gruesome practice of partial-birth abortion.