The new brand is pretty much the old brand
Starting at noon today, congressional Republicans will continue their laser-like focus on
jobs and the economy appeasing their fundamentalist base by bringing legislation to ban abortion to the floor of the U.S. House.
The bill was proposed by Rep. Trent Franks, who last week decided to reenact the Todd Akin experience by offering pearls of wisdom about rape and pregnancy. But just in case you're a Republican political consultant worried that your party is sinking deeper into the abyss, never fear—because thanks to deft political maneuvering on the part of House GOP leadership, Trent Franks is now out, and the legislation now has a new face.
Aware of the risks inherent in abortion politics, Republican leaders have moved to insulate themselves from Democrats’ criticism that they are opening a new front in the “war on women.” Representative Marsha Blackburn, Republican of Tennessee, will manage the debate on the bill when it reaches the House floor, a role that would customarily go to the sponsor, Representative Trent Franks of Arizona.
Brilliance! Because as long as the person managing the floor debate is female, American women couldn't care less about whether abortion is banned or not. So clearly, problem solved. But just to make sure they don't get in a tight spot again, Republicans made one more move:
And in a last-minute revision, House leaders slipped in a provision that would allow for a limited exception in cases of rape or incest, but only if the woman had reported the crime.
The provision requires women to go to law enforcement before having an abortion to report the rape or incest. Enforcing it would require medical care providers to verify that the rape or incest had been reported. Effectively, that means rape and incest victims would need to report the abortion to law enforcement.
So the moral of the story is that Republican rebranding comes down to this: They're still for banning abortion, but now they want a woman to be the face of their legislative efforts, and they want an "exception" for victims of rape and incest ... as long as the victim has previously reported the crime and doesn't mind having a third party notify law enforcement that she is going to have an abortion. Well, that sure is some rebranding.