My friend and colleague David Gibson has a very important story at Religion News Service detailing how pro-life activists are dealing with the return of “Moderate Mitt.” During the debate the other night, Romney backed away from his previous support of the Blunt Amendment which would have permitted any employer, not just religiously affiliated employers, to opt out of the HHS contraception mandate. The week before he told the Des Moines Register that he did not think anti-abortion legislation would be part of his agenda, a statement the campaign walked back subsequently. And, now the Romney campaign is running an ad that touts Romney’s support for contraception and his support for exceptions in cases of rape, incest or the life of the mother from his general opposition to abortion.
Marjorie Dannenfelser of the Susan B. Anthony List had this to say: “It’s not just saying, ‘Suck it up and move on – vote for him,’…Mitt Romney is a human being, and it’s important to be an asset and a friend to him, to say the best possible things about him. I know Romney’s weaknesses. He knows his weaknesses. Our role is to provide good counsel to this guy.” Of course, Ms. Dannenfelser did not adopt this pragmatic stance when it came to pro-life Democrats who supported the Affordable Care Act. Her organization led the often disingenuous campaign against Bart Stupak, Kathy Dahlkemper, Steve Driehaus and others. Why was she unwilling to ‘say the best possible things” about them?
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