Here’s the latest Obama ad airing in Virginia, which shows Mitt Romney saying in a 2007 debate that he’d be “delighted” to sign a bill banning all abortions. Now, I hope you’re sitting down, because it leaves out some context, Romney’s follow-on comment, “But that’s not where we are. That’s not where America is today.” Good for all the news media for pointing this out, but I don’t think it matters.
Mitt was right in 2007, and he’s right now, that America isn’t there today, but the Republican Party is. Does anyone doubt that a Republican House and Senate would pass such a bill and Romney would sign it when it got to his desk? This is a Republican House that has members like Joe Walsh, who say it is “absolutely” never necessary to have an abortion to save the life of a mother:
“There is no such exception as life of the mother, and as far as health of the mother, same thing, with advances in science and technology,” Walsh said. ” ‘Health of the mother’ has become a tool for abortions anytime, for any reason.
Between all the healthy moms and illegitimate rape happening around the country, there’s probably no need for any exemptions.
By the way, predictions about the future are hard, but my guess is that Romney will try to drag in any and all domestic issues into the foreign policy debate, because he thinks he wins on those. So I hope Obama will counter with another multiple-choice Mitt moment if Romney brings up the Mexico City policy.
MattF
It’s sort of interesting scientifically that the function Mitt(t) has zero autocorrelation. Wouldn’t have thought that was possible for a functioning biological organism.
c u n d gulag
Well, based on his history with his ex-wife and kids, Joe Walsh is hardly the right person to go to when asking about concern for the life of the mother.
How about asking someone who’s not a sociopath that same question?
Maybe someone who actually loves his wife/girlfriend?
Of course, it will take some time to find someone who’s NOT a sociopath on the Republican side.
And that’s IF you can find one.
Hunter Gathers
It’s kind of hard to say that the ad is false since Mittens has taken every conceivable position on abortion.
Villago Delenda Est
Joe Walsh (the Rethug congressshitstain, not the rock star) is one of the most loathsome excuses for a human being on this planet at the moment.
c u n d gulag
@MattF:
Maybe in biological organisms.
But my understanding is that autocorrection and feedback loops may frequently malfunction in androids and cyborgs.
Napoleon
@Villago Delenda Est:
Trivia fact of the day, the agent of rockstar Joe Walsh is Rahm Emannuel’s brother.
Boudica
Would someone please explain to dum-dum Walsh (perhaps using powerpoint or pie charts) what an ectopic pregnancy is and technology doesn’t allow for that pregnancy to continue without killing the mother?
Todd
@c u n d gulag:
UFP Commander Geordi LaForge has demonstrated considerable success in shutting down and correcting cascade failures in the positronic matrices in the Soong line of androids.
Todd
@Napoleon:
Is it ever proper to refer to someone over the age of 60 as a rock star without putting the word “former” before it?
Smiling Mortician
@Hunter Gathers:
Heh.
dmsilev
@MattF: Strictly speaking, that’s not true. There’s a non-zero peak at t=0 of course, and it usually takes him at least 3 hours to contradict himself, so I would have to argue for an exponential falloff with a time constant of a few hours.
Also, when faced with the input of “should rich people pay taxes”, the correlation is very well established and has a coherency time of decades.
Mark S.
I would be delighted to sign a bill reinstituting slavery. But that’s not where we are. That’s not where America is today.
beltane
@Boudica:
In Joe Walsh’s mind, dead mother + dead baby=no alimony + no child support. Win win.
Balconesfault
I’m tired of the whole “r*pe and incest” clause thing.
A woman should have the right to determine what happens inside her body. The law shouldn’t be making a special set of rules delimiting that freedom.
If you believe that the zygote or embryo or whatever is a human being which needs protection from the woman who would have to carry it for the next 7 or 8 months, then it’s irrelevant if her boyfriend or creepy uncle or Jack the Rapist put the seeds inside her body.
And if you believe the government has no business determining that the zygote or embryo or whatever is has any right to protection from the woman who would have to carry it for the next 7 or 8 months … then again, the source of the seed is wholly irrelevant.
Patricia Kayden
Ryan has also made extremist comments about abortion and the woman’s health exception.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/22/paul-ryan-abortion-exception_n_1821547.html
Mike Lamb
So what exactly does the “context” supposedly provide? Recognizing that he probably can’t get a bill that to his desk that would ban all abortions doesn’t change the fact that he favors that position.
Imagine if Obama had said “I’d be delighted to sign a bill banning handguns. But that’s not where America is at right now.”
A) Would Anyone provide “context”?
B) Would Republicans act like it mattered?
Balconesfault
@Mark S.: Heh – fun game.
Imagine Obama saying “I’d love to sign a reparations bill giving land formerly owned by slaveowners over to black descendents of slaves. But that’s not where we are. That’s not where America is today.”
Then again, probably 70% of the GOP is sure that Obama has already said that during his political career.
amk
@Mike Lamb:
Yup. The fucker enthusiastically stated his desire for such a bill on live national teevee. His weaselly follow up comments are just that.
RSA
I’m thinking we need a new government program called No Congressman Left Behind.
mai naem
OT – I was watching Soledad Obrien(trying to give up my Mornin Ho habit) and she had the mom and cheerleader daughter with the lawyer on about the case about the bible phrases on the banners. I serioulsly couldn’t figure out who was the mother or daughter but I believe the one who was the mom had a skunk on her head. I’m reporting, y’all decide.
On topic, they had a segment on Wisconsin. One older but not ancient woman saying she was going to vote for Mittman because he was a bidnessman. Her daughter hadn’t decided.
dmsilev
@beltane: To be fair to Joe Walsh, in his mind “live mother and live child” also means “no alimony and no child support” as well.
(For those who don’t know, Congressman Walsh had for a while the dubious distinction of being the only Congressman whose wages were being garnished to pay delinquent child support.)
Balconesfault
@RSA: The only thing that shocks me is that Walsh isn’t a Republican member of the House Committee on Science and Technology.
hueyplong
Got your context right here:
I would be delighted to sign a bill outlawing all abortions. But that’s not where we are. That’s not where America is today.
Together, we can go back there. I’m asking for your vote to get that done and thwart the liberal feminist agenda before it destroys your life once and for all.
[applause]
Balconesfault
@mai naem: One older but not ancient woman saying she was going to vote for Mittman because he was a bidnessman.
Michael Milken for President!
But only because we can’t dig Ken Lay up.
mai naem
Joe Walsh(R-Nutjob) knows he’s going to lose his job and is trying to line up some post-election wingnut welfare/grifter gigs. That’s why he’s doubling down on dumbdown.
chopper
@Mike Lamb:
exactly. saying you’d love to sign a bill banning all abortions but dammit a bill like that just isn’t going to land on the president’s desk anytime soon is still a pretty strong statement against abortion.
sorry mittens, but ‘context’ doesn’t fix this sort of thing.
rikyrah
it will be interesting to see Willard try and bring domestic issues into a foreign policy debate.
rlrr
@mai naem:
she was going to vote for Mittman because he was a bidnessman. Her daughter hadn’t decided.
Is there anything in American history that suggests businessmen make good Presidents?
kay
Where this really gets palm-sweating scary (to me, anyway) is in the situation that hospitals call “miscarriage management”.
That would be where there was an earlier-term (but viable) pregnancy and the mother becomes gravely ill because of one or another complication and they really do have to choose whether to save “the pregnancy” (as it’s termed) or the mother.
If you’ve ever had a baby the conservative position on abortion should scare the shit out of you, because you could be a person who would never dream of having an elective abortion, and you could very easily find yourself in that situation.
You’re completely compromised and gravely ill, and unable to defend yourself. Radical pro-lifers are in charge, and making the call on whether to save “the pregnancy” or the mother.
Yikes.
This could happen to any woman, no matter their position on abortion. Blunt and uncivil and possibly shrill but true. Women really, really need to think this thru, in the context of pregnancy, not abortion.
Ash Can
Not only that, it’s pretty much all he has, not having been in any actual foreign policy situations other than showing his ass around Britain, Poland, and Israel for a few days earlier this year. Then again, I’d be willing to bet that he continues to hammer on Benghazi at the debate and make himself look like an even bigger idiot.
Romney is at a disadvantage going into this debate simply by nature of his situation (i.e., challenger with no foreign policy experience). There are ways of overcoming this kind of disadvantage, of course, but I wouldn’t bet on Romney having the smarts or talent to figure any out.
chopper
@mai naem:
isn’t it great, that some choad who spends all of 2 years as a congresscritter is going to be able to suckle at the sweet teat of wingnut welfare? real deep bench these guys are building here.
mai naem
@Balconesfault: Didn’t Mitt work at the same place as Michael Milken at some point and that’s where how the idea for Bain Capital came up? It may have been when he just graduated from HBS. I vaguely remember seeing that somewhere.
Birthmarker
Wouldn’t ad time be better spent pounding on Ryan’s positions on SS and Medicare?
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
Obama should update the ad and provide the context, and end it with: The only thing keeping Romney from signing an abortion bill is keeping him and Republicans from being in charge of your government.
Chyron HR
@Todd:
Does this mean you’re not going to buy a ticket the next time Several Members of Yes is in town?
Kirbster
@rlrr:
No. Businesses are basically dictatorships.
Donut
@Todd:
I have zero affinity and/or love for both the Eagles and guitarist Walsh’s solo output. Taste is subjective (duh). That said, it is an objective point that guitarist Walsh can put enough butts in the bleachers in every market in the US, if not the Western world, playing his version of rock, to gross millions and millions of dollars…that counts as rock star, IMO. Ymmv.
chopper
@rikyrah:
one reason obama is starting to run ads on abortion is that the domestic policy debates are over. unless mittens wants to cough up some total non-sequitur ‘clarifying’ his stance on abortion in the foreign policy debate, he has no way to stand in front of 60 million americans and say ‘no, the president is wrong on this’.
i wouldn’t put it past mittens tho. he’s certainly going to try to get another bite at the benghazi apple and i’m willing to bet it falls flat.
chopper
@Birthmarker:
obama can do both. but the abortion ad is targeted at women.
ColleenMary
@kay: As a Catholic woman, I’ve been clear on that for as long as I remember–to the point where, when we had an opportunity to move to a small town for a good job but the only hospital was Catholic, I flatly refused to go–because I knew we were planning on more children and the idea of giving birth in a Catholic hospital scared me to death. I knew that if anything went wrong during the birth, and there was a choice between me and the baby, I would lose. And I didn’t want to be at the mercy of people who would throw me away without a second thought. (and before some of the more well-known Catholic bashers get started, there’s a hell of a lot more to the tradition than misogyny, although God knows that part of it makes it damn difficult to identify publicly as a Catholic sometimes.)
EconWatcher
I’m worried that Bob Schieffer will try to fact-check Obama during the debate, to even the score after Candy Crowley. I’ve forgotten what it was, but i remember reading some quote. From Schieffer several years ago that placed him firmly in the wingnut camp.
Svensker
@kay:
This is what scares me too, Kay. It’s a real issue, with real consequences for real people. Well, only women, who aren’t quite real people, but close! Also, some menz might be sad if their wimmenz died, so that makes it really real.
Mark S.
I wonder if a guy who’d be delighted to ban all abortions would nominate Supreme Court justices who would do just that.
Seanly
They aren’t just after overturning Roe – they’ve made it very clear that they want to get rid of Griswold. There’s no safety for privacy, personal choice or any of related items until the Republican Party comes back to its senses or is destroyed.
mai naem
@Donut: Well, Joe Walsh the Rock Star does have the perfect song for Mittman’s life. Mittman should play it as is his theme song. “Life’s Been Good ”
I have a mansion, forget the price.
Ain’t never been there they tell me it’s nice.
I live in hotels, tear out the walls.
I have accountants pay for it all.
They say I’m crazy, but I have a good time.
I’m just looking for clues at the scene of the crime.
Life’s been good to me so far.
My Maserati does one-eighty-five.
I lost my license, now I don’t drive.
I have a limo, ride in the back.
I lock the doors in case I’m attacked.
Donut
@kay:
Most women I talk to are at least aware of this issue on some level, but I am sitting here in Jan Schakowsky’s district, which is chock full of well-educated and well-informed female highly-likely Obama voters. I see no TV ads around here whatsoever about what Mitt would do to destroy reproductive rights. I have seen the ads online, but my question is, is the Obama camp doing effective advertising in tipping point states like OH? Or do you think it’s one of those topics that works better for us when it’s face-to-face or person-to-person persuasion? I’ve sorta lived in a liberal bubble long enough that I admittedly have no real grasp at what the average suburban or ex-urban female thinks about choice issues right now. I wonder if pro-choice or lean-choice voters really buy Romney’s soft backpedalling or do they get the sense that this freedom is in serious jeopardy?
kay
@ColleenMary:
It’s real. The situations where women have been trucked to other hospitals when they’re gravely ill were not full-term pregnancies. They were 5 or 6 or 7 months, where there was an attempt made to “save the pregnancy” to the detriment of the mother.
I didn’t know this when I was hiring an OB or picking a hospital, but I know it now. I already told my daughter I need an interview with her OB if and when she ever has a baby. I have some (shrill and distasteful) questions. I had a birth where I “crashed”. There was absolutely no warning. It went bad in what seemed like 20 minutes. Everything turned out okay, but that experience is like nothing else.
Cervantes
@rlrr:
Is there anything in American history that suggests the electorate is aware of American history?
RSA
@Balconesfault: Good thought. The Web site of the House Committee on Science and Technology shows a vacancy on the Republican side, and Walsh would be in good company with Sensenbrenner, Rohrabacher, Broun, and Quayle. (Also, I notice that the site lists “Democrat Members”. Nice.)
amk
@Belafon (formerly anonevent): Agree. Nail the fucker to his crazy party. Don’t let him move to the center.
catclub
@Smiling Mortician: Inconceivable!
I don’t think that word means what you think it means.
hueyplong
“Is there anything in American history that suggests the electorate is aware of American history?”
The Confederate segment of the electorate is aware of the spankings they took in the 1860s and 1960s, and add an angry, crybaby insistence on reversing them under some impression that it’s what Authentic Americans should want.
Otherwise, I’ve got nothing.
Mumon
Don’t forget Mitt Romney’s 5 Point Plan!
rlrr
@Cervantes:
Is there anything in American history that suggests the electorate is aware of American history?
The 2004 and 2010 elections show Americans have little awareness of recent history…
BudP
RomneyBot source code:
if (Foreign Policy)
W. Mitt = George W.
if (Economic Policy)
W. Mitt = George W.
if (Social Issue)
W. Mitt < George W.
Bulworth
“I stand behind what I said that other time, whatever that was.”
gogol's wife
@kay:
Everyone should read Gail Kligman’s book on Romania. Doctors could be thrown in jail for the “wrong” treatment of a woman in distress. So often they’d just let her die.
SenyorDave
I no longer have any problem with taking a Republican’s words out of context. Frankly, I’m even on the fence about outright lying if we are 100% sure we can get away with it.
Balconesfault
@RSA: “Sensenbrenner, Rohrabacher, Broun, and Quayle”
How can you forget the inclusion of Todd “Certain Secretion” Akin!
hueyplong
Under Akin’s logic, wouldn’t the act of “certain secreting” at the end of consensual sex be murder?
His world is more complicated and filled with moral conumdrums than we libtards smugly suspect.
But it’s filled with chances to criminalize the behavior of wimmens.
WereBear
@kay: So excellent, Kay, and so true.
I use the example of ectopic pregnancy; no chance of the fetus developing or surviving, but under Republican thinking, they will let it kill you.
kay
@gogol’s wife:
It’s disturbing, because to find the information one needs to know the terms used. Once I knew to look for “miscarriage management” I began to understand what the issue is, how broad the ramifications might be, but the whole “abortion debate” is so carefully cordoned off from pregnancy (and miscarriage) that what should be an ordinary and logical connection becomes real work.
I’m sure that’s deliberate.
RSA
@Balconesfault:
Oh my God. Temporary blindness, I guess.
Gian
@rikyrah:
easy enough, remember the young woman from the UK evacuated with her new child from Afghanistan?
if it can happen once in 11 years it’s a trend that must be stopped.
Tone In DC
@Cervantes:
LULz. Sad but true.
kerFuFFler
I wonder if Republicans will ever figure out that policies like the Mexico City policy that make it harder for organizations to provide birth control in poor countries contribute to the population explosion that drives illegal immigration. I lived in Mexico thirty years ago, and the poorest women were constantly pregnant. Our neighbors maid had 13 kids, and her sister had 15. That was fairly normal for the very poor, and Mexico did not have a large middlle class. There just is no way an economy can grow fast enough to incorporate so many added people, so we see the inevitable influx of economic refugees.
The birth rate is a lot lower there now, but doing anything that makes it harder for women anywhere to get contraception is cruel and wrong not to mention short sighted.
Culture of Truth
I doubt it. Better just to keep hammering away Obama’s perceived failures – to stop Iran, to stop attacks on consulatess, to stop North Korea, to stop Yemen, to stop Pakistan, to stop Ashton Kutcher….
Culture of Truth
@EconWatcher: Schiffer said he was good friends with the Bush family, as I recall.
Culture of Truth
So we weren’t there in 2007. Are we there yet?
Robin G.
Walsh is slime. One of my good friends is going through hell right now; her gestational diabetes is so severe that she’s having to consider a second trimester abortion. She wants this baby, but she also wants kidneys that won’t fail in the next two years. I assume Walsh has an answer for her?
Slime.
Lojasmo
@Todd:
Shut your whore mouth. Joe Walsh was the only light in the othewise pittiful band The Eagles.
Just Some Fuckhead
@Lojasmo:
He is quite the performer and personality and he steals the live shows, certainly, but the others are very good as well.
Lojasmo
@Birthmarker:
Depends. If O needs to bolster the women vote in VA, this may be very smart. My guess is that this is very smart.
chopper
@RSA:
fixed.
Lojasmo
@Just Some Fuckhead:
I used to love the eagles (in the eighties, when I was an adolescent) but now I see all the other members peddling mostly maudelin crap.
Mike Lamb
@Mumon: How is the 5 point plan much different than Cain’s 7-7-7 policy?
The Other Chuck
@Robin G.: “Die” would be my guess.
I am not a kook
@chopper: Can we please not spread that vicious monomaniac’s “tumbrel” line. Repeatedly calling for any people who disagree with you to be carted to the guillotine is like hanging a fucking noose in your office.
chopper
@I am not a kook:
yeah, that’s exactly what i’m doing. your name is supposed to be ironic, isn’t it?
blondie
Walsh, hateful and stupid is no way to go through life.
Villago Delenda Est
@I am not a kook:
No.
For some people, like Joe Walsh, death is the only solution. You cannot reason with them, you cannot talk to them.
This is serious stuff. These fascists will, if allowed, sacrifice the lives of millions of women for their precious zygotes.
I’m not willing to let them have the chance. Are you?
TenguPhule
No, the GOP have successfully scuzzed the media into dropping that and the amount of time and money needed to bring it back up absent Ryan saying something outrageous would be better spent hammering on Romney.
And by hammer, I mean turn Romney’s name into a metaphor for taking a dump.