Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan are having trouble distancing themselves from the most conservative platform in GOP party history, which includes a Human Life Amendment that bans abortions in all cases.
- Romney says he supports an exception for rape and incest, but here’s a clip of him saying he’d be “delighted” to sign such a law.
- And here’s Paul Ryan struggling to explain why he cosponsored a bill with Todd Akin about “forcible rape.” As Greg Sargent noted yesterday, Ryan’s extreme anti-abortion record has left him in a bit of a bind.
- Mitt Romney is trying to dodge all questions related to Todd Akin’s offensive comments. On Thursday the Denver CBS affiliate reported that, as a condition for a one-on-one interview with Mitt Romney, they had to pledge to not ask Romney about either Todd Akin’s recent comments or the topic of abortion.
TRANSCRIPT:
Reporter: “And political specialist Shaun Boyd just finished an interview with Romney, just literally a couple of minutes ago. Shaun’s with me now. And Shaun, you were one of only four local reporters to get to talk to him. And, what did you ask him?”
Reporter Shaun Boyd: “You know, I had about five minutes with him, and we got through a fair amount of material, actually, in that five minutes. The one stipulation to the interview was that I not ask him about abortion or Todd Akin – he’s the Missouri Republican who created a firestorm after saying women’s shut down in a legitimate rape to prevent pregnancy. I did ask him about health care, the female vote, and energy.”
- The DNC is out with a new web video: “The Romney-Ryan-Akin Platform for Women”
Thursday morning Obama for America released a new ad featuring former President Bill Clinton discussing the clear choice Americans face in this election. While Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan want to take us back to the failed top-down economic policies of the past, President Obama is making the investments we need to rebuild America from the ground up.
Planks are intentionally vague (about exceptions to abortions) to gain the enthusiasm of all GOP factions concerning the abortion issue. It’s a basic marketing strategy.
Below is the current Abortion Plank wording from
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/23/full-gop-platform-statement-on-abortion/comment-page-2/
“Because the abortion plank has become a source of controversy and debate in the presidential race this week, we’ve posted the full language here for those interested in reading the entire passage.”
“THE SANCTITY AND DIGNITY OF HUMAN LIFE
Faithful to the “self-evident” truths enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, we assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed. We support a human life amendment to the Constitution and endorse legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment’s protections apply to unborn children. We oppose using public revenues to promote or perform abortion or fund organizations which perform or advocate it and will not fund or subsidize health care which includes abortion coverage. We support the appointment of judges who respect traditional family values and the sanctity of innocent human life. We oppose the non-consensual withholding or withdrawal of care or treatment, including food and water, from people with disabilities, including newborns, as well as the elderly and infirm, just as we oppose active and passive euthanasia and assisted suicide.”
Most of the cosponsors to H.R. 3 were Republicans.
Rep Paul Ryan cosponsored HR 3 which made exceptions for rape, incest, and the mother’s life.
http://thomas.loc,gov enter H. R. 3
“Section 308 Treatment of abortions related to rape, incest, or preserving the life of the mother ”
Please see The Liberal OC article
Orange County’s Todd Akin – Ed Royce (Aug 22, 2012)
You have no credibility here Chris. Nobody with 1/2 a brain buys Romney being tied to Akin on policy. Republicans don’t like Romney because he has a proven record of being too liberal/moderate as Governor.
I am pro choice and I don’t worry about Romney at all when it comes to this issue.
I am more worried about the 2 parties refusal to deal with the deficit. That will do more damage than people talking abortion. Abortion is a state issue and not a federal one. The only impact they will have on abortion rights is who gets to pay for the abortions.
It’s a nice try jumping in with the liberal media to try an convince us that Romney is a right wing nut case.