The Democratic National Committee yesterday released an attack ad and letter taking on Mitt Romney’s support for a so-called “personhood” amendment that would ban some forms of birth control and abortion. Yet they also paint him as a flip-flopper. Can they have it both ways?
Realizing that Mitt Romney will most likely clinch the Republican presidential nomination, the Democratic National Committee yesterday released a commercial and letter lambasting Romney’s support for Mississippi’s “personhood” amendment, which defines a fertilized egg as a legal “person,” thereby eliminating abortions and certain types of birth control that prevent fertilized eggs from attaching to the uterus.
From DNC executive director Patrick Gaspard’s letter: “When asked on Fox News whether he would have supported a “personhood” constitutional amendment, Mitt said, ‘Absolutely.’”
“Personhood” amendments are the notorious measures now being considered in states like Mississippi, Florida, and Ohio, that would elevate a fertilized human egg to the status of a legal person. They would ban IUDs, the morning-after pill, in-vitro fertilization, and all abortions — with no exceptions for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest or in cases where the life of a woman is at stake.
In other words, a leading candidate for the GOP nomination for president is on the record in favor of a law that would classify literally all abortions — and even many forms of birth control — as murder.
The letter, sent to Democratic voters, coincided with a video, included below, featuring pedestrian and medical reactions to the “radical” amendment that Mississippi voters will weigh in on next week. The overall effect is a scorching rebuke of Romney’s right wing position on the matter.
It’s a shrewd move, one that helps raise awareness of these extreme and callous laws, five more of which are being considered around the nation, while also painting Romney, one of the more moderate Republican candidates, as an extremist dead set on courting his party’s most fundamental voters.
“If Romney wants to take the position that abortion and birth control are equal to murder, that’s up to him,” Gaspard concludes. “But we’ll hold him accountable for it, and not let anyone forget that he’s made the choice to go this far to the right on this issue.”
Yet, at the same time, Democrats are readily admitting Romney’s a political opportunist. “Romney, who has held a variety of positions on abortion in his 17 years of running for public office, presumably understands the implications of criminalizing birth control and abortion,” writes Gaspard.
Senior Obama advisor David Plouffe also paints Romney as a flip-flopper, and said last week on “Meet the Press” that Romney “has no core.”
“You get the sense with Mitt Romney that, you know, if he thought he, it was good to say the sky was green and the grass is blue to win an election, he’d say it,” Plouffe declared, echoing an argument made by Obama re-election guru David Axelrod, who said, “There is a sense there is no core to him.”
Former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, an Obama supporter, also blasted Romney’s legendarily fair-weather abortion politics on “Meet the Press:” “Romney’s the one who should apologize to his base because he’s–he, I mean, he’s flipped on core issues. I mean, this is not about more information on abortion or stem cells.”
Can Democrats truly have it both way? Is it effective to say that Romney is both extreme and a flip-flopper? Such tactics, it seems to me, are self-contradictory and may make the Democratic Party look just as wishy-washy as Romney himself.
In the end, though, this attack is not for all Democratic voters; it’s aimed primarily at women, a population with whom Romney’s quite popular and Obama’s struggling.
If Democrats can siphon them away — or at least raise doubts about Romney — they’ll do a big favor for Obama, who has been losing support among women, a group he needs as much as he needs millennial voters.
November 04, 2011 at 9:56 am, Notnow said:
Yes they can.
November 04, 2011 at 9:56 am, Loki said:
Yeah, and the Grand Obstructionist Party considers Exxon/Mobil to be a “person”, as well.
November 04, 2011 at 9:58 am, Maureen said:
Sounds more like a sharia law to me.
November 04, 2011 at 10:00 am, Brian said:
Uh, what? Romney used to be moderate on abortion, and has now flip-flopped to the extreme to satisfy the conservative base. I’m not sure how you see this obvious thing as contradictory.
November 04, 2011 at 10:02 am, Bsmoore666 said:
Go Romney!!!
November 04, 2011 at 10:04 am, amused said:
I think its funny that the political wing that attempts to extend human rights to animals is so offended by the attempt to extend human rights to pre-birth humans….
November 04, 2011 at 8:40 pm, =^-^= said:
Well, animals have conscious thought, can experience fear and pain, and are autonomous. So there are difference between animals and “pre-birth” humans. Furthermore, there exists issues concerning sustainability of the food supplies, health concerns, and cruelty towards life which do not apply to unplanned and unwanted childbirth.
So for the majority, the position of pro-animal rights and pro-reproductive rights are not contradictory in nature, ironic, or funny. Nice try though.
November 04, 2011 at 10:09 am, Sten Deadio said:
Next up on the GOP agenda: Everything but jobs.
November 04, 2011 at 10:10 am, JJJ4 said:
I don’t know what Mitt Romney said specifically, but he has said all along that such decisions should be left up to states. If he says he doesn’t support it, he can’t get the GOP nomination due to the crazy right-wing base. But in reality, he is smart enough to know that such a law is destined to be declared unconstitutional. Back in 2008, President Obama was saying all sorts of things in order to get elected. His devotees simply told themselves he didn’t mean what he said and elected him anyway. Mitt Romney, on the other hand, does not have the advantage of a press that coddles him and will do whatever it takes to promote him, like Obama had.
November 04, 2011 at 11:53 am, Renna said:
thank you for a reasonable and objective reaction to the lies and distortion techniques of the left. Let us hope that voters realize this and respond to the election of a “serious” man for President – Mitt Romney
November 04, 2011 at 8:33 pm, =^-^= said:
I agree that he’s doing this for political momentum; however, it will likely label him as a flip flopper. And it’s sad if this sole issue destroys his chances because, in my opinion, this isn’t the most important issue to tackle right now. And I doubt Mitt Romney really cares to make much – if any – changes on the topic of contraception.
It is also bothersome that liberal leaning news shows would exaggerate his position.
November 04, 2011 at 10:10 am, T.J. said:
Really? If we start taking cues from Mississippi this whole country is going to hell in a hand basket.
November 04, 2011 at 10:11 am, Bwilson said:
Of course they can have it both ways.
They can point out that he’s an opportunist and, at the same time, hold him accountable for the things he says he believes in. I’m not sure why you are confused.
November 04, 2011 at 10:14 am, Anonymous said:
Demon-crats’ attack on Romney is just a diversion maneuver. They want us to think they are afraid of their agent and spy, so we vote for him on the primaries and they have two candidates for presidency in 2012 (Hussein and Romney).
The Tea Parties already know that Romney and Perry are just demon-crat spies. We won’t vote for them. If the press, the demon-crats, and the Republican traitors at the top GOP establishment keep pushing for Romney and Perry they will have us creating a third party and taking over the congress and the presidency with a third candidate. Then our revenge against the traitors of the United States will be way harsher… Don’t thread on the American people represented by the Tea Party or you going to cry tears of blood…
November 04, 2011 at 1:39 pm, Pnevma4 said:
The tea party has no chance of overrunning anything but the republican party, as most americans actually think about their beliefs and the consequences of those beliefs before speaking. Even within the republican party they are aware of the nonsense spewed by the tea party platform. Tea party is by and large anti-American, as they do not promote democracy with their anti-compromise attitudes, nor do they promote the general welfare of the American people, as demonstrated by their positions of being against government assisstance in all circumstances. Except for corporations of course. Nobody from the tea party has any complaints of corporate welfare. Oh and one more thing, how can you be for limited government, and for government prohibition on gay marriage and abortion? You want to talk about not making sense…
November 04, 2011 at 10:16 am, hb said:
I really doubt that is his actually his position
November 04, 2011 at 10:16 am, Flyover Country Lawyer said:
I think the logic of such an amendment would not be to classify such abortions etc. as “murders” but rather as homicides. Then, under our law, the next logical question is whether the homicide should be outlawed. Sometimes we don’t outlaw homicide, e.g., when the killing is in self defense or in defense of others. In the extreme case of a rape situation, this might be an approach to the question. But why should it be regarded as radical to consider the abortion to be the taking of a human life. If the parents are human, how is the life they create not human. And if the unborn child weren’t still living, no one would object to the procedure for the mother’s health that removed the child from the uterus. The unborn child is human, it is alive and so isn’t it reasonably viewed as a “person?”
November 04, 2011 at 10:28 am, JJJ4 said:
Of course, if you declare them a person at conception, you have to investigate all miscarriages as possible homicides–or at least manslaughter. It is inconceivable that the government or the majority vote should be able to decide whether a 13 year-old victim of rape is required to give birth to that child no matter what. Also, consider tubal pregnancies–where the fertilized egg attaches inside the fallopian tube, has no chance of live birth and threatens the life of the mother. On the flip side, if we become accustomed to doing away with legally defined “persons” it sets a clear legal precedent for killing an ill organ-donor in order to give their spare parts to a recipient. It’s a bad law all around.
November 04, 2011 at 10:22 am, Anonymous said:
So let me get this straight-if a women takes the pill, which in many cases works by inhibiting a fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus-she is guilty of murder. What’s extreme about that? Next thing you know, you will have a problem with a raped girl who aborts the rapist’s offspring going to jail for murder. Come on-how are we going to ever get back to treating women like the chattel they are if we get all wishy washy on stuff like this?
November 04, 2011 at 10:24 am, reaching said:
Just because he is currently supporting a highly extreme view does not mean he does not flip-flop or say what is politically advantageous at any time. This article makes no sense.
November 04, 2011 at 10:34 am, Fliegenschwein said:
The bill is wrong and so is Romney. Period.
November 04, 2011 at 10:36 am, Fliegenschwein said:
Romney is a complete asshat and any bill like that one belongs in a wastebasket.
November 04, 2011 at 10:43 am, Mandrell62 said:
I don’t see a problem with calling out Rommie on both issue’s. He is totalling against women and their rights! It’s there body and they should have full control, not the goverment!
Plus He is a Flip-Flopper. He has shown repeatly that He has no core.
He is a cult follower!!! What is good in the moment, He stands on shifting sand.
November 04, 2011 at 10:44 am, Anonymous said:
Funny article, according to which (by implication) if you’re a serial flip-flopper you’re not really responsible for any of the positions you take.
There is no “hav[ing] it both ways” here.
Being someone who changes their deeply held convictions the way we change our underwear doesn’t mean you are exempt from being held accountable for the things you say.
November 04, 2011 at 11:43 am, Tomsprowls said:
I am also against abortion but the women of the U.S. wanted this right. Who was in charge of Congress when this passed? I do not like religious radio stations becoming political advocates to only one party. Can you ever say any thing good about our christian president? tom the potter.
November 04, 2011 at 12:42 pm, whttevrr works said:
Absolutely the wrong way to go for our country.
November 04, 2011 at 2:42 pm, gw said:
So is it murder if the mother and fetus dies because the pregnancy caused her death and she couldn’t get an abortion?
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November 06, 2011 at 12:09 am, Won said:
so how did corporations become fertilized? in order for the Supreme Court to gramt them the rights of Personhood?
February 10, 2012 at 11:51 am, Daryl Thanpaeng said:
Look… I have been won-over by the fiscal tin-foil-hat-wearers with regards to the marketplace. Has someone found a glimmer of hope in this “recession”?
February 12, 2012 at 3:14 am, Christoper Victorin said:
I realize exactly what you suggest about the financial system. The inflation isn’t good and we also can easily see it’s going to exacerbate. oof.
February 12, 2012 at 7:04 am, Marcelo Inglis said:
If you tune in to half the call-in shows, most are continually pushing precious metals as a fail-safe measure to the dilemma. However ,, my experience is that the sales agents hardly ever quit phoning and bothering you, and the marginis actually lousy unless you go to a local coin shop.
February 18, 2012 at 10:00 am, Slaves and unborn children are people, they are not property. « A. J. MacDonald, Jr. said:
[...] In other words, a leading candidate for the GOP nomination for president is on the record in favor of a law that would classify literally all abortions — and even many forms of birth control — as murder.” Source: http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/157172/in-personhood-attacks-on-romney-democrats-want-it-all/ [...]