The Democrats Are Still Pro-Choice...Right?

Why won't any Democrat mention abortion except to say that everyone thinks it's not an ideal outcome, and talk about the new, pointless, "abortion reduction" plank in the platform?

This is just another classic example of the political axiom of the last 15 years: It's the Republican's field, and the Democrats are lucky they get to play on it. Why let them frame this debate?

This is how to frame the debate: You know what John McCain wants to do? He wants to imprison women who get abortions, and\or doctors who perform them. Do you know anyone who's had an abortion? I bet you do. He wants to charge them with a crime. Think that's a good idea? You think prohibition against abortion is going to work? How'd it work with alcohol? How's the War on Drugs going? What in the whole wide world makes you think that this will work any better and be any more enforceable? Remember: He's GOING to throw women and their doctors IN PRISON. Is that what you want? This should be repeated at every conceivable opportunity, all the time, by everyone in the Democratic Party.

Watching Democrats be weak on this position fucking infuriates me. It would be one thing if this were an electorally untenable proposition, but every poll I've ever seen on the issue puts the support for overturning Roe v Wade at around 40%. I'm pissed off even thinking about it.

McCain's Pro-Choice Kabuki

Everybody is all atwitter at the idea that McCain might pick a pro-choice figure to be his number two. I can’t begin to say how unlikely I find this kind of talk. It’s kind of absurd on the face of it. After McCain has spent so much time reversing himself on so many issues important to the conservative base – voting against his own immigration reform bill, reversing on off-shore oil drilling – it’s unthinkable he’d endanger all that goodwill by picking a pro-choice candidate – especially not after his staunchly pro-life performance at Saddleback.

No, I think a reader over at Marc Ambinder’s blog has it right: McCain is simply throwing this out there so that the media will report it and it will further the idea among independents and weakly aligned Democrats that he’d consider a pro-choice candidate. McCain is far more conservative than he’s public image implies, and this is part of shoring up that image. All of this discussion is simply to get the media to play further into McCain’s “maverick” image.