The Daily Howler - 10/11/05

KEEPING KANSAS! Buchanan says Bush doesn’t want to dump Roe. It makes an intriguing speculation: // link // print // previous // next //

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2005

OOPS: Jury duty! And we almost forgot! We had planned to limn Louis Freeh this morning. We’ll postpone until tomorrow.

KEEPING KANSAS: In our view, the most interesting speculation about the Miers nod was voiced by Pat Buchanan on this week’s Meet the Press. Bush may not want to overturn Roe, the pundit resignedly said:

BUCHANAN (10/9/05): Tim, on abortion, I am not sure the president the United States wants to see Roe v. Wade overturned. His wife does not, his mother does not. He refuses to say whether he wants to say whether he wants to see Roe v. Wade overturned. There are a number of Republicans, moderate Republicans, who say, "Well this would be a political disaster." I'm not sure the president of the United States wants the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Leave aside Bush’s wife and mother; Roe v. Wade has been the great GOP political organizing principle of the past thirty years. What’s the Matter with Kansas? was all about it; Roe v. Wade gives the GOP something to organize red-state voters around. Meanwhile, if Roe ever gets overturned, many centrists will be newly angry with the GOP; presumably, that’s what Buchanan meant when he said that some moderate Republicans see Roe’s overturn as “political disaster.” If Karl Rove is involved in the selection of Court nominees, this sort of Machiavellian political calculation would surely be part of the stew.