Thursday Open Thread [3.6.14]

“Ninety-nine percent of all of the white people in here are going to raise their hand that they are against abortion. On the other hand, 99% of the whites who are sitting in here now, if their daughter got pregnant by a black man, they are going to make their daughter have an abortion. — Alabama State Rep. Alvin Holmes (D), quoted by the Birmingham News.

Damn. And I bet he is right. Speaking of abortion, CNN is out with a somewhat confusing poll.

According to the poll, 27% say that abortion should be legal in all circumstances, 13% say it should be legal in most circumstances, 38% say that it should be legal in few circumstances, and 20% say abortion should always be illegal.

What does most circumstances or few circumstances mean? Right now, the current pro-choice law is what I would call “few” circumstances, i.e. pretty much only in the first trimester, and then in the second trimester, the state has an interest in heavily regulating how you can have an abortion, if at all. And then in the third trimester, the woman’s life and/or health better be at stake.

“Most” circumstances implies to me that there are few instances during the pregnancy where abortion can be denied. That is simply not the case under our current law, nor has it really ever been the case under Roe v. Wade and her progeny.

So assuming my assumptions about the definitions of “most” and “few” are correct, the polling shows a shocking and widespread support for the pro-choice position: 78% want abortion to be legal. 20% do not.

If, on the other hand, the poll defines “few” to its most restrictive sense, in that abortion should only be allowed if the health or life of the mother is at stake, then support for the status quo pro-choice position falls to 40%, while those who want to ban it or severely limit it grows to 60%.

So we need those words defined. I suspect those 38% support the current law, which increasingly restricts the right to have an abortion as the pregnancy nears viability, and pretty much outlaws it after, save for life and health exceptions.

A new Washington Post-ABC News poll “underscore the degree to which the contest for the GOP nomination in 2016 is as wide open as any in the modern era.”

* The poll did not pit Republicans against one another, nor did it test hypothetical general-
election matchups between individual Republicans and Clinton. [Rather, it tested the level of opposition to or support for 10 candidates (9 GOP, 1 Dem)].

* Three in 10 of all Republicans say they would not vote for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie if he ran for the White House. The 30 percent of Republicans who say they definitely would not vote for Christie is the highest percentage for any Republican tested.

* 50% of registered voters, say they “definitely would not” vote for Jeb Bush for president — a possible hangover from the presidency of his brother George W. Bush.

* Just 9 percent of Republicans say they definitely would vote for Christie, while 50 percent say they would consider doing so. Eleven percent say they have no opinion.

* 24% of Republicans would not vote for former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee. 23% would not vote for Mitt Romney. 21% would not vote for Texas Gov. Rick Perry. 20% would not vote for Sen. Ted Cruz and 18% would not vote for Jeb Bush.

* Among conservative Republicans, who make up about two-thirds of the party and who play a significant role in primaries, Christie’s problems are more acute. Just 8 percent of them said they definitely would vote for Christie for president. Only Perry fared worse, at 7 percent.

* In an ironic twist, Romney received the strongest backing from conservative Republicans, with 37 percent saying they definitely would support him. Trailing him were Huckabee, Bush, Paul, Rubio, Walker and Cruz, who all stood between 19 percent and 11 percent of firm support. Other than for Romney, Huckabee and Paul had the most solid backing among Republicans who described themselves as “very conservative.”