It seems like an eternity ago. People around the U.S. were united in their outrage and disgust at legislation pending before the Virginia General Assembly.
Democrat Del. Kathy Tran, D-Arlington, was discussing her bill to remove restrictions on abortion when she was asked if the bill would allow abortion during birth.
“My bill would allow that, yes,” she said. The outrage that followed was only topped by Governor Northam’s even worse endorsement of the bill — which then prompted the Great Blackface Scandal of 2019.
Lost in the months of embarrassing headlines though was something remarkable — for all of the outrage around the bill, Democrats never withdrew their support for it. And that, as they say, has Republicans ready to pounce.
Republicans are pushing as many people as possible to a new website — UntilBirth.com, which hosts a 60 second version of the infamous testimony.
“When our people see this video, their desire to vote goes through the roof,” said one Republican consultant involved in the strategic planning. “They don’t believe us when we tell them it happened. We have to show it to them.”
Democrats continue to argue that Republicans are misrepresenting the legislation, but are oddly short on answers when it comes to how Republicans are doing so.
Of all the Democrats who put their name on the legislation as co-patron, only one had the good sense to take her name off — Del. Dawn Adams, D-Henrico.
Adams’ reason for pulling her name from the bill wasn’t a great one, though. The freshman delegate told her constituents that she hadn’t really read the bill and didn’t realize what it did. If she had, she wouldn’t have joined as a co-patron.
Delegate Tran herself attempted to walk back her testimony, saying she misspoke about what the bill did. But PolitiFact — not a known friend to conservative causes — took her to task, rating her claim that she wasn’t going to change the late term abortion rules “False.”
“The words in her bill make it clear; she did seek to change late-term laws,” the site wrote earlier this year.
Democrats have yet to address the bill outright in any significant way. Direct mail sent to moderate voters around Virginia in competitive seats more often than not echo their support for abortion in general, and an endorsement from Planned Parenthood and NARAL.
But none expressly embrace the contentious bill — most choosing to ignore it.
Republican candidates, however, have decided that’s not an option.