Alito hearings prove it: pro choice is the politically popular position

[Inland]

Putting aside the question of consitutional law and the confirmation of Alito, there seems little doubt that the anti abortion senators know that their position is unpopular.

There's a reason why Alito won't comment on abortion, a reason why the republican senators....who ask for Roe to be overturned and are anti abortion....won't press him, and it isn't because Alito would lose the confirmation if he says he is going to reverse Roe.

The republicans want plausible deniability of whatever Alito does. If he votes to reverse Roe, they want to avoid the deluge of democrat electoral victories that will occur at every level of government for the next twenty years over choice issues by not having an explicit vote for an explicit Roe reverser. If he doesn't, and I think they hope he doesn't, they can shrug their shoulders at their nutbag supporters and milk the anti abortion fervor for another twenty years.

Compare the dems, who are staking out explicit positions. They aren't scared of being seen as having abortion rights AS A LITMUS TEST for the high court. They know that abortion rights are a winner for them. They aren't hedging.

So take the logic to it's conclusion and INSIST, INSIST, INSIST that dems go on the record as demanding assurances from Alito or filibuster. IT's a no lose proposition.

[AndyTiedye]

1. Pro-Choice Is Popular Among The People. No-Choice Is Popular Among the...

VOTING MACHINEZ

[leftstreet]

2. Repubs Senators can only send signals/codes to the "wackos"

(as Abramoff and Scanlon referred to their piggybank base.)

They know that pro-choice is the popular position.
That's why they can't pressure him for assurances he'd overturn Roe.

Actually, it's hard to know if he would. It's such a RW explosive issue. The only reason he's sitting in that interview chair is his agreement to make the base "perceive" he's anti-choice.

[Inland]

3. It may be a ruse to the anti choice base

After all, all we can really tell is that Alito and the repugs aren't being completely honest with SOMEBODY. Clearly they are letting the base think he is anti choice. Clearly they are pretending that they don't know.

Somebody is being lied to. But who? The conservatives expect their reps to be duplicitous, because they know they are the minority. But if Bush et al will like to us, why wouldn't they lie to them?