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Title: That was then, this is now: Scott Walker suddenly a hard-liner on abortion as he vaults to 2016 GOP front-runner status
Source:
Daily Mail Online
URL Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art ... ts-2016-GOP-runner-status.html
Published: Feb 23, 2015
Author: David Martosko, U.S. Political Editor
Post Date: 2015-02-23 12:05:21 by cranky
Keywords: None
Views: 2888
Comments: 17
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is learning that major leagues pitchers throw harder than in the minors, as journalists are piling on the newly minted Republican front-runner – first with gotcha questions and now with questions about an abortion flip-flop over a period of just four months. The New York Times highlighted on Monday a campaign ad Walker made in October as he fought through a tough re-election contest. 'I'm pro-life,' he says in the video, but Walker also announced his support for 'legislation to increase safety, and to provie more information to a woman considering her options. The bill leaves the final decision to a woman and her doctor.' SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEOS FRONT-RUNNER: Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has surged to the front of the GOP presidential pack, opening him up to instant media slaps about inconsistencies in his political record FOUR MONTHS AGO: Walker made a campaign ad in October 2014 saying he supported legislation that would keep abortion legal, albeit 'safer,' although he insisted he was pro-life POLITICAL MINEFIELD: Pro-life partisans make up a large part of the Republican electorate that will decide who is nominated for president next year – and they could stay home on Election Day if a pro-choice candidate is named But last month, according to a witness who spoke with The New York Times, Walker met privately with potential donors to his nascent presidential campaign and boasted that he supported a 'personhood amendment' – which holds that human life begins at conception and practicaly bans abortions along with so-called 'morning after contraceptives.' His evolution from a blue-state governor to a potential GOP primary winner is similar to that of Mitt Romney four years ago: Walker must straddle between his moderate positions at home and the need to appeal to the Republican Party's evangelical Christian base. Abortion is one of America's most hotly contested and emotionally charged political issues. Entire lobbying industries have sprung up to defend abortion clinics – especially those run by the moneyed Planned Parenthood – and to push a rollback of the 1973 'Roe v. Wade' Supreme Court decision that enshrined the practice in American law. Walker delivered a breakout Jan. 24 speech In Iowa, crescendoing on a boast that he had 'defunded Planned Parenthood' in hist state's budgets, something that GOP conservatives wand to see replicated at the federal level. But in October he dodged questions from The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about his support for a proposed 'partial birth' abortion ban – a law that would prohibit terminating a pregnancy that was more than 20 weeks old. The Times reports that Walker has also expressed a preference for abortion bans even in cases of incest and rape. In his Iowa speech, he he drew loud applause from a red-meat audience when he recalled signing 'pro-life legislation.' AMERICAN CROSSROADS: The battle over abortion continues to hold Americans' attention and generate protests more than 40 years after it came to a head in the Supreme Court WALKER'S HOME STATE: University students and staff braved cold weather this month to protest Walker's proposal to cut state spending on higher education Walker is learly a front-runner, more than 16 months from the Cleveland, Ohio convention that will annoint a GOP presidential nominee. One surprise poll result, published Monday, has him in a statistical tie for the lead with Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in the lone-star state, one of America's largest and most conservative political strongholds. Cruz attracted 20 per cent of support from Texas Republicans, followed by Walker with 19. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, favored by moderates and already lapping the field in fundraising, was a distant third with just 9 per cent. Uber-conservative doctor Ben Carson came in with the same number. Walker is expected to give Bush a run for his donors' money, potentially representing a political consensus between the establishment and the right wing FLIP-FLOPPER? Walker isn't the only public figure to have a change of heart on abortion: Norma McCorvey, the 'Jane Roe' in 'Roe v. Wade' who sued for her right to have an abortion, is now an anti-abortion activist 'I think he’s going to make the case we nominate the most conservative person possible who has the ability to win in a general election,' Republican Party of South Carolina chairman Matt Moore told the Times. Walker's team is already learning how to make hay when reporters ambush him with emotionally charged questions deigned to throw him off-balance. Fundraising emails went out shortly after The Washington Post cornered him on Friday by asking if he thought President Barack Obama is a Christian. By Sunday night his appeal for money pledged that Walker 'refuses to be distracted by the small, petty, and pale ideas that the "gotcha" headline writers for the Liberal Media want to talk about.'
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#4. To: cranky (#0)
Abortion "safety" is a code word for what Rick Perry did in Texas to force abortion clinics to comply with the same regulation as any hospital would. Better staffing, more emergency equipment, etc. It has the effect of forcing many of these clinics out of business. I'd say Walker is just hopping on Perry's bandwagon. As with many other things in the GOP at state level, the approach was pioneered by Mitch Daniels as governor of Indiana.
Nope! Kansans for Life is been at the forefront for many years pushing stringent standards for abortion clinics. Many of these clinics are sewers at best.
Daniels passed the first such "safety" laws (which got set aside by courts before Perry pushed them through an even stronger version in Texas). And given the history with Tiller's abortion mill, Kansas has a lot of makeup work to do anyway.
#8. To: TooConservative (#7)
And given the history with Tiller's abortion mill, Kansas has a lot of makeup work to do anyway So! Daniels wasn't even elected to be governor of Indiana until 2004. Kansans for Life is the largest state pro-life group in the nation. We started the battle to mandate all abortion clinics be required to have high standards back in the early 90s. Your comment regarding Tiller is completely unwarranted. Kansans fought hard against Tiller's clinic, with over 1600 being arrested during Operation Rescue’s 1991 “summer of mercy.” I was a VP in KFL during that time.
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/LatestIn October the Wisconsin governor pledged to support legislation focused on 'safety' during abortions
#6. To: TooConservative (#4)
As with many other things in the GOP at state level, the approach was pioneered by Mitch Daniels as governor of Indiana.
#7. To: GarySpFC (#6)
Nope! Kansans for Life is been at the forefront for many years pushing stringent standards for abortion clinics. Many of these clinics are sewers at best.
Replies to Comment # 7. Daniels passed the first such "safety" laws (which got set aside by courts before Perry pushed them through an even stronger version in Texas).
End Trace Mode for Comment # 7.
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