McCrory’s signing of the 72-hour wait for abortion bill is about protecting his right flank. Last week, he angered social conservatives and many in the legislature when he vetoed SB 2, the magistrates bill. He has to do something to placate them.
So why did he choose to sign the abortion bill and not the magistrates bill? It’s because the GOP base is very much pro-life. And unlike the gay marriage issue (where we see younger Republicans supporting it at much higher rates than their older counterparts), opposition to abortion is pretty uniform across age lines.
In the modern GOP, being seen as pro-choice – or at least, not in favor of increased restrictions on abortion – is a bad place to be. The base knows that Roe v. Wade is the law of the land; they want their politicians to chip away at it through any legal means possible. While liberals and possibly even a majority of the state don’t agree, the three-day wait for abortion measure is seen by the GOP base in North Carolina as a commonsense measure that will prevent hasty decisions and hopefully reduce the number of abortions.
Thus, McCrory found himself between a rock and a hard place. Veto it or not sign it and he further distances himself from the base. Sign it, and he gets vilified by the Left. Now, there’s nothing extremely controversial or politically toxic about the bill itself, but McCrory did promise that he wouldn’t sign any bills with future restrictions on abortions. Did McCrory break his promise? Well, it depends on how you define “restriction.” One can argue that the bill doesn’t technically restrict abortions, but voters care little about technicalities.
The bottom line is that it’s a tough balancing act for McCrory. At least he can credibly claim that he’s stepped on the toes of both the left and the right, but that’s not always a good thing. Far from being an “Eisenhower Republican” embraced by the middle, the governor could find himself in no man’s land – constantly in the face of barbs thrown from the left, with no one on the right willing to defend him. Nevertheless, it’s probably a risk the governor has to take if he wants to run a successful reelection campaign.
John Wynne is the “conservative voice” at PoliticsNC, where he also provides polling analysis and commentary on legislative campaigns. When not writing about politics, he enjoys gardening and listening to opera. Contact: johncwynne@gmail.com.
Of course all that is true, but two things show. The right wing doesn’t have anyone other than McCrory, so it costs less of the left to point out the spirit of the attacks on women’s rights codified in law treating them all as if they were children.
The legislature is going to truly wreck the image of NC that was attractive to those of other states and it is those who have driven any increased investments. Hodges got the money for RTP from Yankees, not from the Cannons.
Movie people leaving as soon as the bribes run out means the industry is just as immature Above the Line, as it was 17 years ago when I did the original features for Reel Carolina. In fact it is worse.
Ignorance and intolerance is too well loved in NC government.
I feel that the university system is cowering in fear, as they want money and figure appeasement will mean less whittling away at their awards. They fired Tom Ross to make all fearful.
I am assured that the Research is being sold at high prices, but want to see the figures to make sure.
Can’t wait until we are rid of the odious One Term Pat.
I think signing the 72 hour bill will have little effect on McCrory.
I believe there are more than a few of us who, while we have always been “pro-choice”, still believe that abortion is a last resort “choice”. We rarely get involved in the abortion debate because we DO believe it is a personal choice. But we also would like to see LESS of it rather than more.
So even those of us who aren’t “social conservatives” won’t object much, if any, to this law. The far left won’t vote for McCrory under any circumstances, the far right will. That’s a given. But the rest of us will examine the whole body of work and make a decision. This signing likely won’t be much of a factor.
“This signing likely won’t be much of a factor.”
When you have the GOP controlling the State House and Senate, competing to get to the top of the political/financial heap by making waves with likes of Art Pope and the Koch brothers, this will eventually become a disturbingly increasing factor. I guarantee you as long as these folks are in charge, they’re far from finished.
Gerrymandering, voter restrictions, trying their best to making abortions illegal, tax breaks for the rich and tax hikes for the poor and middle class, issues with education, teachers’ salaries, unemployment payments, healthcare, etc., they know they are on a roll, and, with the help of Citizens United, they don’t have much to worry about.
Yes, you can examine the whole body of work and make a decision, but I wouldn’t get too comfortable by brushing this issue and others off. That’s what they want constituents to do: Say it’s not a big deal, go asleep at the wheel until it’s too late, where you end up having a rude awakening. Damage done, screw the voting citizen, I got mine and that’s all that matters. Remember, this is the same group that came up with a bill calling for an official state religion. This isn’t the political system of thirty or so years ago, where you had some common sense and decency among those on both sides of the political aisle. Big money, massive egos and influence are of today’s America, so now is not the time to be dismissive when it comes to the rights of citizens.
And it gets even worse for the citizen voter, his vote is tabulated by machines that have been shown to be easily and undetectably programable to alter the true vote count and ‘trade secret protections’ make it illegal to force the machine’s vendor to verify that the machine tabulations accurately reflect the will of the voting public. This explains how republikan candidates, no matter how vile their actions or comments, continue being elected or re-elected to public office. To the detriment of the voting public, the citizens for some odd reason fail or resist making this all too obvious connection when pondering how ruthless republikans continue winning election after election, though nothing else can adequately explain how the ‘pro-corporate/austerity for the people’ party continues wining improbable election victories, all while brazenly flouting the concerns and welfare of the average citizen!
“…there’s nothing extremely controversial or politically toxic about the bill itself”
That depends on your definitions. The 72 hour provision is a tweak to an already controversial bill from a few years ago, meaning, if they aren’t stopped, Republicans will continue to tweak the rights of women to choose until those rights are purely theoretical. And the 72 hour thing wasn’t the only addition. Here’s another:
(b1) A qualified physician who advises, procures, or causes a miscarriage or abortion after the sixteenth week of a woman’s pregnancy shall record all of the following: the method used by the qualified physician to determine the probable gestational age of the unborn child at the time the procedure is to be performed; the results of the methodology, including the measurements of the unborn child; and an ultrasound image of the unborn child that depicts the measurements. The qualified physician shall provide this information, including the ultrasound image, to the Department of Health and Human Services pursuant to G.S. 14‑45.1(c).
Governor McCrory might think he’s pleasing his base by signing this bill, but people don’t generally stay pleased with a liar for very long, even if he’s on the same team.
“He has to do something to placate them.”
What, his signing the 2013 abortion restriction bill, the voter suppression bill, the 2013 trickle-down tax “reform” bill, the 2014 budget bill that gave no pay increase whatsoever to veteran teachers, and the 2014 kid-glove coal ash waste bill isn’t enough kowtowing by McCrory to “placate” his right flank??
“It’s because the GOP base is very much pro-life. ”
The Republicans don’t mind doling out poverty, inadequate food, poor education, mandatory criminal sentences, death sentences, high levels of guns without adequate background checks or limits on their locations of use, so they are NOT pro-life at all. Prolife is just Frank Lutz-speak for “we’ll decide when and how to kill folks after they’re born.”
“It’s because the GOP base is very much pro-life. ”
No, the Republican base is anti-abortion. Any group who opposes expanding Medicaid and supports capital punishment is NOT “pro-life.”