Virginia’s ‘Moderate’ Governor Why are some Democrats so eager to demonstrate pro-choice absolutism? By James Freeman
https://www.wsj.com/articles/virginias-moderate-governor-11549063724
This column is trying to understand the current fad among Democratic state officeholders for enabling abortions right up until the moment of birth. Since the abortion market generally has been in historic decline and the demand for such procedures at the end of a pregnancy is extremely small, it’s as if politicos like New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo are determined to demonstrate a sort of ideological zealotry. Perhaps somewhere there is a misguided Republican seeking to affirm his love for the 2nd Amendment by supporting the purchase of bazookas without a background check, but it would hardly represent a strategy for winning elections.
Perhaps most striking about this new Democratic fad among state officeholders is that it is not confined to people considered on the fringe of the party. Take Virginia’s Gov. Ralph Northam. When he ran for the Democratic nomination in 2017, he was presented as the bland alternative to the real “progressive” in the race, former Rep. Tom Perriello.
Columnist E.J. Dionne of the Washington Post wrote that then-Lt. Gov. Northam’s “reputation is that of a temperate, well-liked public servant.”
After Dr. Northam, a pediatric neurologist, secured the Democratic nomination, former Al Gore campaign staffer Carter Eskew wrote in a Post op-ed that “Northam is cut from the same moderate Democratic cloth that Virginians have favored recently.”
Shortly before the November 2017 election, James Hohmann wrote in the Post about the concern on the left that Dr. Northam was “too low key and too moderate.”
Dr. Northam’s “moderation’ was on display this week when he was asked in a radio interview about possible legislation to lower the barriers to abortions conducted while the mother is already in labor. His response suggested that he’s open to the adults involved exercising choices even after delivery: CONTINUE AT SITE
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