After much confusion, pressure, and waffling earlier this week over his Hyde Amendment stance, 2020 presidential candidate Joe Biden announced Thursday that he had officially reversed course on his long-held position on the 43-year-old pro-life amendment.
To recap:
“If I believe health care is a right, as I do, I can no longer support an amendment that makes that right dependent on someone’s ZIP code,” he said.
The Hyde Amendment is a four-decade-old ban on federal dollars being used for abortions except in cases of rape, incest or when the woman’s life is in danger.
[…]
Biden told the crowd Thursday night he had changed his mind because Republican state lawmakers have enacted “extreme laws in clear violation of constitutional rights” protected by the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision, making access to abortions more difficult for women who cannot afford the procedure or travel to obtain it.
He said he makes “no apologies” for his previous support for the Hyde Amendment.
“But circumstances have changed. I’ve been working through the final details of my health care plan like others in this race and I’ve been struggling with the problems that Hyde now presents,” Biden said.
Naturally, Biden is receiving a lot of justifiable criticism from conservatives over his politically convenient flip flop, but perhaps none will leave as deep a burn as the one issued by GOP Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, who tweeted this Thursday night:
After weeks of confusion on where he stands, Joe Biden just endorsed unlimited taxpayer funding of abortion.
Biden should've just plagiarized his position from Planned Parenthood’s website from the start like he's been doing for his other policy positions.
— Ronna McDaniel (@GOPChairwoman) June 7, 2019
Ouch.
McDaniel was referring to plagiarism allegations that have long plagued Biden’s political career, most recently over his climate change plan.
In spite of that, and in spite of the numerous unwanted touching allegations he faced earlier this year, Biden has consistently been ahead by double digits in Democratic presidential polling – even well before he jumped into the race.
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—Based in North Carolina, Sister Toldjah is a former liberal and a 15+ year veteran of blogging with an emphasis on media bias, social issues, and the culture wars. Read her Red State archives here. Connect with her on Twitter.–
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