I saw the headline in the Sioux Falls Argus Leader this morning and I had to just shake my head.  It was so...it was so...well, it was so liberal. 

It reeked of that liberal elitist mindset that regular Americans have become so unpleasantly familiar with in the last 30 years or more.  You know, the one that implies those who are not members of the liberal elite are slow children who don't understand the complexities of the world and must be constantly monitored, lest they impinge on the self-actualization goals of others or perhaps plunge the planet into the sun.

It was there in the headline: "Group to remind lawmakers abortion ban proposals fail."

Ya reckon they forgot? 

After all, the election was two long months ago and only one of the top South Dakota (and national) news stories of the year.

We knew liberals had a pretty low opinion of average Americans, but apparently they assume our elected representatives are dullards, too.  We have to remember, though, that Republicans retain the majority in the South Dakota legislature...which means that to the liberal elites in the pro-abortion movement, the majority of our elected representatives ARE dullards.

(I will give the pro-abortionists one thing: they put the pro-life community to shame with their dedication and determination.  If the pro-life community was half as determined to save innocent human life as the pro-aborts are to kill human beings in the womb, legalized elective abortions would have come to an end long ago.)

Yes, it's true that the people of South Dakota have rejected two abortion bans in the last two elections. 

They rejected the one in 2006 which was the most logically consistent one and would have protected the most innocent lives.  And though polls in 2006 showed 75% of South Dakotans would support a ban with exceptions for rape, incest and the health of the mother, they allowed abortion-on-demand proponents to fool them into rejecting a ban in 2008 which contained those very exceptions. 

But there are certain issues which are too important to simply abandon.  Certain issues that involve foundational issues of right and wrong must never be capitulated.  Certain issues that involve what Thomas Jefferson called "the first and only object of good government" must never be forsaken.   

Just as some people in the 19th Century failed to understand that black people were human beings, too, and that they were entitled to equal protection under the law, so many still fail to understand that human beings in the womb are in fact human beings, and are also sacred human life.

And as the abolitionists in the 19th Century refused to give up just because many people failed to accept the truth, so protectors of human beings in the womb today will not stop because of a few political failures.

Our elected representatives in Pierre are elected to represent the views of their district.  But they are also elected to be leaders. 

A leader cannot lead if he is following pop culture.  A leader cannot lead if he is sticking his finger in the wind as a guide to right and wrong.  A leader cannot lead if he is only listening to one vocal segment of society.  A leader cannot lead if he is following the mob. 

A leader must sometimes point others in the direction of what is right. A leader must follow the dictates of conscience and must promote what is right over what is popular.  A leader must sometimes make unpopular decisions.  A leader must sometimes educate the public on right and wrong, especially when some members of the public are bereft of a moral compass.

And if an elected representative's constituency disagrees with their leadership, they may be voted out of office at the next election.  But this possibility does not absolve the leader of their duty to do the right thing.

Better to do the right thing and have the morally confused reject you, than do the wrong thing for popularity's sake...and have the harm done from that decision on one's conscience and inflicted on society.