I know, I know…it’s all unity and historic with the Democrats right now, according to them.
Both the chief abortion ghoul and the Clinton camp have been assuring the public that Dame van der Cankles and her alleged Altar Boy are on the same page when it comes to abortion.
Someone should have asked Tim Kaine.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) might be Hillary Clinton’s freshly-minted running mate, but he made clear Friday that he doesn’t agree with the Democratic nominee on a key abortion rights issue—at least publicly.
After representatives for Kaine and the Clinton campaign jointly confirmed to Bloomberg that Kaine has privately told Clinton he would support repealing the Hyde Amendment, which reproductive rights advocates say limits abortion access for low-income women, Kaine insisted his support for Hyde has not changed.
“I have been for the Hyde Amendment, and I have not changed my position on that,” Kaine told CNN’s Alisyn Camerota on Friday. When Camerota asked again if he still supports the amendment, Kaine reiterated, “I have not changed my position. Have not changed my position on that.”
Kaine is a Catholic who has said he personally opposes abortion but has drawn a line between his personal and political beliefs, maintaining a pro-abortion rights voting record while in the Senate.
We’ll just set aside the fact that the Roman Catholic Church doesn’t really provide Kaine the option of drawing a line between his personal and political beliefs on matters of faith. That’s a post unto itself.
In a normal election year, even casual political observers would have to wonder how long it would be until Kaine capitulates on this issue. After all, if you’re going to have the “historic” champion of women at the top of the ticket and both Planned Parenthood and NARAL giddy you can’t really have the bloody papist running around mucking up the fun with his “no taxpayer-funded abortions” stance, can you?
Alas, as has been noted 50 million times or so, this is not a normal election year.
Donald Trump isn’t exactly a pro-lifers dream candidate. In normal years, it would be a lot to expect a Republican presidential candidate to effectively attack the Democratic ticket on an obvious area of vulnerability like this because they’re usually horrible at that. Barack Obama got a second term because Mitt Romney is a nice guy.
Although willing to attack, Trump isn’t good with focus unless the subject is Donald Trump. Add to that the fact that abortion isn’t a real issue for him and it isn’t likely that he will press the advantage on this. Sadly, that may let them get away with it.
Another scenario is that the rabid pro-abortion people who are getting louder by the day will not let the issue rest. After all, to them any restrictions whatsoever mean a return to “back alley abortions.” In that case, however, the rift won’t be exploited for good, it will be used to force Kaine to “evolve.”
The press, and even the GOP, have been spinning this as Kaine being somewhat “conservative” on abortion, which is ridiculous. He is merely compartmentalizing to make himself feel better. A politician with a 100% rating from both NARAL and Planned Parenthood can in no way be construed as “conservative” on life issues.
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