The social conservatives ain’t done yet

The social conservatives ain’t done yet

by digby

Over at Salon today, I wrote about Jeb’s phony moderation on women’s rights and the GOP’s complicity in the latest Planned Parenthood video sting. Here’s an excerpt:

This attack on Planned Parenthood is just the latest skirmish in the long abortion-rights war in this country. And it appears to have been coordinated (or at least with the knowledge of) Republicans in Congress. At least two members of the Pro-Life Caucus in the House admitted to CQ Roll Call that they were aware of what this group was planning. Rep. Trent Franks (R-Az) said that he knew about the video a month ago but was waiting to get all the information in place so he could alert the authorities before the media. And Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA) said he saw the video weeks ago and then backtracked saying “this interview didn’t happen.” His spokesman later said that he wanted to do his “due diligence” before he investigated on his own. If they truly believe a crime was being committed, they had an obligation to inform the authorities immediately. The fact that they didn’t indicates that this is a partisan political act designed to stoke enough public outcry to defund Planned Parenthood.

Indeed, there was at least one “loose lipped” Congressman who couldn’t keep their clever plan to himself:

When the speaker opens up on it, and the chairman of the Judiciary Committee opens up, that means that the members who want to move on this, they’ve got license now,” Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) said. “It isn’t like me pushing a rock uphill like Sisyphus. It’s the other way around. This is a downhill roll. […]

King, for example, was one of the first lawmakers to urge the defunding of low-income housing group ACORN, which went belly up following similar undercover videos suggesting criminal activity.

To this day, he keeps a tiny acorn in his pocket to remember his crusade. Now, he’s got his eyes on another organization.

“This represents ACORN’s scalp,” King said off the House floor Thursday, pulling the acorn out of his pocket. “Ask me after the appropriations cycle and see if I have a talisman in my pocket for Planned Parenthood’s.”

One would think that Democrats would never go along with the de-funding of Planned Parenthood, since the ramifications for millions of low income women would be so dire. But the ACORN precedent is instructive. When those doctored videos were released, the Democrats had a majority in congress and the first African American president had just been elected. And ACORN was not just another community organizing institution, it was essential to voter outreach among an important Democratic Party constituency. Yet the Democrats in Congress simply crumbled like a cookie made with way too much white flour.

(The GOP enjoyed doing it so much they kept “defunding” it year after year, despite the fact that it didn’t exist.)

[…]

After the big “autopsy” of the last election, the important people in the Party decided that some politicians’ and pundits’ unfortunate propensity to deride women as sluts for using birth control, or to proclaim that “some girls rape easy,” wasn’t really working for them. The idea was that they would take a more measured approach toward women’s rights.

One would think that Big Money Jeb would be the candidate most likely to carry out that vision, but he seems to be going with the clown car on this. He jumped on the Planned Parenthood story with the same hyperbolic language, tweeting ”this is a shocking and horrific reminder that we must do so much more to foster a culture of life in America.” He also believes in a ban on abortions after 20 weeks and supports the junk science based “Pain-capable Unborn Child Protection Act”. The only reason he’s considered a “moderate” in the field on these issues is that while he believes that abortion should be banned altogether, he still thinks that there should be an exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother. That’s now the official “compromise” position.

More at the link.
They seem to be doubling down on abortion. I’d guess it’s because they have to find some way to appease the social conservatives who are demoralized over gay marriage. Going after women is evergreen.