With this election cycle's early primary/caucus season, something is getting lost in the jumble.
We have already had the Iowa caucus (1/3/08), the Wyoming Republican caucus (1/5/08), and, last Tuesday, the New Hampshire primary (1/8/08).

Coming up this Tuesday, Jan 15th, there is the Michigan primary.
Saturday, Jan 19th is the South Carolina primary & the Nevada caucus.
Tuesday, Jan 29th is the Florida (primary), and Feb 5 is "Super Tuesday", when 22 states will hold their primaries or caucuses.

Looking at the above dates, we see a lot of Tuesday voting going on.  However, there is a big gap between the S.C./Nevada vote and the Florida vote.  10 days is the biggest gap in the entire nomination season.  There is a reason for this gap - next Tuesday is the "Prayer & Fasting Primary".

Jan. 22 is a National Day of prayer and fasting, as called for by the American bishops, because it is the date of the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion in this country.  This year is the 35th anniversary of the event that sparked the deaths of  nearly 49 million babies.  To put that number into perspective, the total number of people eligible to vote in the primaries and caucuses before Super Tuesday (according to 2004 numbers) was just shy of 27 million - in other words, 81% more people have been aborted than will possibly choose the candidates for President.  Another way of looking at it:  In 2004, John Kerry got 59,028,548 votes (a fifth more votes than the number of aborted babies) and George W. Bush got 62,041,268 votes (about a quarter more votes than the number of aborted babies).  We often hear complaints about the two-party system and how we need a 3rd party.  49 million people is enough to make up a very viable 3rd party in this country. 

Next Tuesday, when we fast as an act of "penance for violations to the dignity of the human person committed through acts of abortion" and we pray "for the full restoration of the legal guarantee of the right to life" (General Instruction of the Roman Missal, no. 373), let us make those 47 million voices be heard.

• Let us pray that God has mercy on our country for killing about 3 million more people than the equivalent number of people who voted in 2004 in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Texas, Florida, and California (the 6 most populous states) combined!
• Let's offer up our fast so that abortion, embryonic stem cell research, cloning, euthanasia, and all other sins against life will be driven out of our country.
• Let's not allow issues of life to get lost in the jumble of other campaign promises - the abortion issue is already the forgotten step-child of American politics, trotted out once every 4 years to make a candidate look promising, and then locked away in the attic for another 4 years.
• Let's make next Tuesday a "Primary of Prayer and Fasting", because "this kind [of demon] is not cast out but by prayer and fasting."  (Matt 17:21)

P.S. If we look at the least populous states, the number of aborted babies is a little more than the total 2004 voters of the following 37 states (nearly 3/4ths of the states) and the District of Columbia :

(State and total votes cast in 2004 election)
Alabama    1,883,415
Alaska    312,598
Arizona    2,012,585
Arkansas    1,054,945
Colorado    2,129,630
Connecticut    1,578,769
Delaware    375,190
District of Columbia    227,586
Hawaii    429,013
Idaho    598,376
Indiana    2,468,002
Iowa    1,506,908
Kansas    1,187,756
Kentucky    1,795,860
Louisiana    1,943,106
Maine    740,752
Maryland    2,386,678
Massachusetts    2,912,388
Minnesota    2,828,387
Mississippi    1,152,365
Missouri    2,731,364
Montana    450,434
Nebraska    778,186
Nevada    829,587
New Hampshire    677,662
New Mexico    756,304
North Dakota    312,833
Oklahoma    1,463,758
Oregon    1,836,782
Rhode Island    437,134
South Carolina    1,617,730
South Dakota    388,215
Tennessee    2,437,319
Utah    927,844
Vermont    312,309
Washington    2,859,084
West Virginia    755,887
Wyoming    243,428

Tags: abortion, 2008 Election, pro-life, primaries, Roe v. Wade, voter turnout, prayer, fasting