Obama campaign claims Romney would outlaw abortion
The claim first surfaced in a document posted to the campaign’s website Wednesday titled, “5 Things You Need To Know About Mitt Romney.” The last bullet point — which has been retweeted by Barack Obama and his campaign staffers over the past 24 hours— says, “He’d get rid of Planned Parenthood and outlaw abortion.”
A review of the Republican’s conflicted abortion record reveals that claim to be a stretch, at best. While Romney has undergone a long, public evolution on this issue over the past two decades — straining, at times, to defend his pro-life credentials to suspicious conservatives — he’s never called for an outright federal ban on all abortions.
Rather, Romney’s current position advocates overturning Roe v. Wade and allowing states to make their own abortion laws. He has also supported ending federal funding for Planned Parenthood — tough positions to sell in the general election, perhaps, but nowhere near the Obama campaign’s characterization.
Blowback
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That alone would put Mitt right up there with Reagan & Washington in the Presidents’ Hall of Fame.
itsnotaboutme on April 14, 2012 at 8:04 AM
Maybe it’s a revenge meme for the drudge headline.
Steven McGregor on April 14, 2012 at 8:05 AM
Geez, they are like a dog with a bone.
ctmom on April 14, 2012 at 8:10 AM
Like so many of the Leftist Themes, Worn and Tired.
But they don’t have any successes to run on, so pulling out the old, tired, no longer believed, memes is all they’ve got.
Yep. Leftism. When you keep trying things that don’t work over and over. Hoping that they’ll work THIS time, because you said it in a deeper voice….
It’s just insane.
ProfShadow on April 14, 2012 at 8:19 AM
A president does not have the power to overturn Roe v. Wade. Only the SCOTUS can do that. You’d think an “expert” in constitutional law like Barry/Baraka Soetoro/Obama would know a thing like that.
AZCoyote on April 14, 2012 at 8:19 AM
It’s a plea to his base to show up on Nov 2.
Stay focused on offense.
Saltysam on April 14, 2012 at 8:19 AM
Team O is in major trouble, its one thing to spout talking points, but these guys are believing their own propaganda, that my friends is an excellent portent for 2012.
rob verdi on April 14, 2012 at 8:21 AM
They are losing their touch on how they go about lying.
forest on April 14, 2012 at 8:22 AM
This is gonna be tough for the left/media, on the one hand they want to crow the Tea Party is dead, on the other hand they want to say Romney is a right winger, should be interesting to see what they come up with.
rob verdi on April 14, 2012 at 8:22 AM
Yeah, while Obama will turn over our national security advantage to the Russians as he continues ruining our economy.
BuckeyeSam on April 14, 2012 at 8:24 AM
Too hard. I think they will go for a new distraction.
forest on April 14, 2012 at 8:26 AM
God willing he would, but alas the President doesn’t have the power to do so.
I don’t understand why it is that the side burdened with having to defend consistently and universally unlikeable militant feminists is so eager to wage a “war over women,” but yeah keep it coming…
Gingotts on April 14, 2012 at 8:30 AM
They’re still living in the ’08 bubble.
Go RBNY on April 14, 2012 at 8:30 AM
forest,
True, what can be the next distraction?
1. The Fluke controversy backfired and Rush is more popular the ever.
2. OWS was a humiliating joke.
3. The attacks on Big Oil fell flat.
4.The Buffet rule leaves people shrugging their shoulders.
rob verdi on April 14, 2012 at 8:30 AM
He says that like it’s a bad thing.
single stack on April 14, 2012 at 8:34 AM
I’m not sure if I understand your point, but I think I disagree.
This is not tough for the Left media. This is the blueprint for the campaign. It is their directive straight from the campaign.
Energize the base, while knocking Romney off in the battle for the minds of the ignorant, so-called “independents” and “moderates”. It is going to be a tough haul for Romney.
Don’t kid yourself.
Saltysam on April 14, 2012 at 8:34 AM
Seriously, they’re coming out with this so early?
What next? Lighting themselves on fire at the Lincoln Memorial? I’m having visions of Vietnamese monks.
BuckeyeSam on April 14, 2012 at 8:35 AM
He would stop the state sanctioned killing of unborn babies? What an outrageous scandal.
How rotten our times must be, that something like that counts as a serious “accusation”.
Valkyriepundit on April 14, 2012 at 8:41 AM
Say whatever you want ogabe. noone will hold you to it.
tom daschle concerned on April 14, 2012 at 8:42 AM
They’re just playing to their base. Do you actually think Lefties and Dem voters across America know how their government (a constitutional republic) actually works? Do you think they actually know it’s even a constitutional republic?
After decades of failures (just look at what the Left has done to our public education system) all the Left has to go on are ad hominem attacks, the race card, strawmen, red herrings, and “look, a pony!” platitudes.
visions on April 14, 2012 at 8:48 AM
Let’s be honest. Romney is a liberal at heart. Romney is not going to outlaw abortion, nor would he even appoint SCOTUS justices that would overturn Roe. It’s simply not going to happen.
Now if he did, he’d be my hero. But I ain’t holdin’ my breath.
Stoic Patriot on April 14, 2012 at 8:53 AM
I can’t believe the Obama campaign would do this….
Aren’t they suppose to be an intelligent well oiled campaign?
NO one believes this,this makes them look desperate.
corujodp on April 14, 2012 at 8:55 AM
Saltysam,
Romney’s win is supposed to be the defeat of the Tea Party, if that is the case why would Mitt be a “severe conservative” unless he was a reflection of the Tea Party, thats where I was going.
rob verdi on April 14, 2012 at 8:55 AM
Anita Dunn: Here, I want you all to tweet this, Mitt Romney would outlaw abortion.
If anyone wants to understand why there is so much lameness coming out of the Obama Campaign, look at who the DNC hired- Anita Dunn and Hilary Rosen. These are the smart ones the Obama campaign thinks should be in charge of messaging.
Dr Evil on April 14, 2012 at 8:58 AM
This is no sign of desperation. This is smart campaigning. You define your opponent in terms favorable to you and you do it early and as much as possible. What’s more, they intend to use this to disenfranchise Romney from either the social cons or the moderates.
Just like Romney’s doing to Obama with guns.
Never mind that Obama actually does want to get rid of guns and that there isn’t a chance in hell Romney would work to overturn RvW, that’s not the point. It’s drive a wedge between Romney and some part of the electorate.
beatcanvas on April 14, 2012 at 9:03 AM
In a way, this is good news for us. If Obama is trotting out these hamhanded pander moves (e.g. Trayvon Martin and now abortion), that means he’s having as muvh trouble energizing his base as we’re having. The problem is that Obama’s base has probably been watching the GOP primary and will probably have a hard time reconciling Obama’s pander with what they’ve actually seen of Romney. It smacks of desperation on Obama’s part.
Outlander on April 14, 2012 at 9:03 AM
I think judicial apppintments are one area GOP conservatives could push for conservative nominees, and be successful. They got Bush to walk back from Miers. The Dems know Ginsberg is old and sick, and might not make it another four years.
Conservative federal judge Janice Rogers Brown might be a good first choice for Romney. Let the Dems vote against the first black woman on the court. The RINOs wouldn’t object to Brown.
Even if Ginsberg’s replaced by a conservative, there might not be five votes to overturn Roe. Kennedy was going to be in the majority to do that in Casey, and then Souter and O’Connor got him to flip.
Wethal on April 14, 2012 at 9:06 AM
Watch Willard walk right into this trap, and say something really stupid to prove he’s cool with abortion, too.
james23 on April 14, 2012 at 9:07 AM
They need to show up and get to vote twice on Nov 7. However, if the show up early, they can only vote once.
ProfShadow on April 14, 2012 at 9:08 AM
if only.
unseen on April 14, 2012 at 9:17 AM
true at it will work too. Because people like you and I know that romney would never do such a thing, but the dem base voters do not and will believe he would. So it doesn’t help Romney with the base at all and it will get some of the dem base onboard. Now if it were true and Mitt would outlaw abortion at least then some of us might support the invisible Mitt. I look for Obama to do this for all conservative positions. He will paint Mitt as a rightwing crusader, the gop base will laugh it off because we know it isn’t true so it doesn’t get us fired up to vote for the idiot but the dem base might or might not know it isn’t true and those that don’t will believe and work to keep Mitt out of office. win win for Obama.
Of course Mitt is left with few choices. He could embrace the meme trying to rally his base which will probably not work for the used car salesman or he could deny the charge which will drive his base further away. lose-no advance for Mitt.
It is in Obama’s best interest to do this.
unseen on April 14, 2012 at 9:24 AM
I think Romney will be fine on judges. We have a deep bench of good, solid conservative judges & judicial candidates with appropriately non-controvesial records. Romney would likely delegate the nomination process to his White House Counsel’s office, which will be staffed with a bunch of Federalist Society people (just like his campaign judicial advisory board is) who will absolutely hook us up.
Outlander on April 14, 2012 at 9:25 AM
sadly this is most likely
unseen on April 14, 2012 at 9:26 AM
The Road We’ve Traveled indeed. He has NOTHING to show for his failed years so he needs to scare people into voting him. This is sooooo satisfying.
thebrokenrattle on April 14, 2012 at 9:27 AM
Remember when the Fascist-Democrats would decry “fear-mongering” by the GOP on terrorism? They are now shamelessly trafficking in it wholesale. No president can outlaw abortion.
rbj on April 14, 2012 at 9:36 AM
A lot of assumptions there…
thebrokenrattle on April 14, 2012 at 9:39 AM
“Hey look!!! Over there!!!! Something shiny!!!”
Great job panderer in chief Obozo…..meanwhile YOUR Secrete Service just got busted for DWI, 2nd murder and diddling prostitutes……stay classy Baraka.
KMC1 on April 14, 2012 at 9:51 AM
Some people do want to outlaw abortion… Me too. But romney is not one of those people, based on some past comments he made…
And I don’t see people saying, eliminate planned parenthood. Just cut off taxpayer funding. Doubt romney would do that either though.
Sachiko on April 14, 2012 at 10:05 AM
There is only one way to play this.
Stay on offense.
When faced directly with the assault, he needs to respond aggressively in the fashion of:
“If this is Obama’s defense for his promotion of killing babies lucky enough to have survived an abortion attempt, it is not going to work.”
He needs to remain relentlessly on offense in any defensive maneuver or he will get steamrolled.
Saltysam on April 14, 2012 at 10:26 AM
Isn’t that what the Romney folks fretted that Santorum was going to do?
Is Axelrod now employing the “versus-Santorum playbook” against Romney just because the game-planned for it?
Right Mover on April 14, 2012 at 10:41 AM
That might be the plan.
Right Mover on April 14, 2012 at 10:44 AM
Last I heard, the Presidency is not an imperial position. 1) He can’t create a law to outlaw abortion without the help of the legislature (unconstitutional even if they try). He can’t even overturn Roe v Wade. Even if Roe v Wade is overturned by the Courts, all it does is put it back in the individual States’ purview. 2) He also can’t shut down a private business. He can levy all kinds of regulations on an industry (see: power plants, oil companies, etc.) that would make it nearly impossible to do business. But he can’t shutter the doors.
Mitoch55 on April 14, 2012 at 10:55 AM
The Obama administration is even incompetent at lying….shocker.
HumpBot Salvation on April 14, 2012 at 11:24 AM