Saturday, January 24, 2015

AHA and RHINOS


The fact that House leaders pulled the "Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act " to appease proabortion Republican women has rightly been denounced. However, I can't help thinking that there's an ironic parallel with AHA.

When Republicans are in the minority, it's easy for nominally prolife Republicans to cast free votes restricting abortion. Since they know the proposed bill has no chance of passage, it costs them nothing politically.

When, however, Republicans are in the majority, the same nominally prolife Republicans suddenly buckle. 

Now for the comparison. With respect to AHA, nothing is easier than to take an "uncompromising" stand when it has no chance of happening. In that respect, AHA is like Republicans who are rhetorically prolife, rhetorically uncompromising. There's no price to pay. No real-world consequences. It's just self-congratulatory talk. 

Incrementalism actually makes a difference. 

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