During Sunday’s morning newscasts, NBC’s Sunday Today was talking about how Democrats had to define Republicans as extreme on abortion while ABC’s Good Morning America asserted that the GOP was extreme. Meanwhile, the broadcast networks have almost completely ignored the Democratic Party’s support for abortions up until the day of birth and a failed attempt to legalize infanticide in Virginia.
Host Willie Geist brought on Meet the Press moderator Chuck Todd and immediately touted how, “The 2020 field on the Democratic side, obviously, this week, Chuck, was quick to jump all over the law that was signed by the governor of Alabama, which makes no exception for rape or incest.”
“What’s the impact here politically, Chuck? We can take abortion as a debate on its own, but the politics of it, that Democrats are going to look at this issue and say, ‘Alabama, that is the Republican Party right there,’” Geist said.
Todd felt that even though “they're going to have a lot of activists forcing this issue front and center, right and left”, there was no fear that the Supreme Court would overturn Roe v. Wade. “[T]his 5-4 conservative majority, I don't think Roberts is likely to try to overturn Roe with five justices.” Todd later warned that if President Trump was reelected, the conservative majority could grow to six or seven.
Meanwhile, on ABC, Clinton lackey George Stephanopoulos claimed that the pro-life laws Republican legislatures and governors were enacting showed they were the “extreme” ones.
“Basically abortion tends to work against whichever party is seen as more extreme on the issue,” he said. Admitting: “That’s why you saw with the President back in the State of Union address was trying to focus on Democrats' support for late-term abortions. That's where they want the focus to be.”
“But this Alabama law, the Missouri law, these other laws, fetal heartbeat laws that have been passing flip that equation, because they don't have those exceptions for example for rape and incest, which most Americans completely disagree with,” Stephanopoulos continued.
First off, Stephanopoulos was intentionally misleading viewers as to which bills restricted what. Most of the heartbeat bills and laws did have exceptions for rape, incest, and life of the mother. Even the Alabama law allows abortions for the life of the mother.
Stephanopoulos’s argument basically confirmed that the media takes the side of Democrats because as the NewsBusters study linked above proved, the media were reluctant to talk about extreme abortion laws on the Democratic side.
As the study showed, between May 7 and 16(morning), the networks dedicated over an hour to condemning the pro-life laws while ignoring New York’s abortion up until the baby’s birthday and shrugged off an attempt to legalize abortions on “delivered” babies.
Then on Thursday evening, NBC Nightly News celebrated New York’s barbaric law. And on Saturday, ABC’s Terry Moran declared that states that protected unborn life had “clearly failed their people”. So, according to ABC, wanting to protect life was more extreme than killing babies. Sick.
The transcripts are below, click "expand" to read:
ABC’s Good Morning America
May 19, 2019
8:16:34 a.m. EasternDAN HARRIS: Let's talk about the politics of this abortion story. Obviously, the President is going out of his way to tout his pro-life bonafides on Twitter, but how does this issue cut for him? I know it helps with the base, but could it alienate some suburban woman who he needs to win?
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Basically abortion tends to work against whichever party is seen as more extreme on the issue. That’s why you saw with the President back in the State of Union address was trying to focus on Democrats' support for late-term abortions. That's where they want the focus to be.
But this Alabama law, the Missouri law, these other laws, fetal heartbeat laws that have been passing flip that equation, because they don't have those exceptions for example for rape and incest, which most Americans completely disagree with.
And you also have this issue with abortion of “be careful what you wish for”. If indeed the Alabama law gets to the Supreme Court and the Supreme Court decides to overturn Roe v. Wade, that's far more likely to energize Democratic voters next fall than Republican.
NBC’s Sunday Today
May 19, 2019
8:08:32 a.m. EasternWILLIE GEIST: The 2020 field on the Democratic side, obviously, this week, Chuck, was quick to jump all over the law that was signed by the governor of Alabama, which makes no exception for rape or incest. The most restrictive abortion law in the country. Others have rolled out, in places like Kentucky and Missouri this week, Georgia with its heart bill – heartbeat bill. What’s the impact here politically, Chuck? We can take abortion as a debate on its own, but the politics of it, that Democrats are going to look at this issue and say, Alabama, that is the Republican Party right there.
CHUCK TODD: Well, I think what it means is that -- I think there are a lot of Democratic candidates who prefer to be campaigning on other issues for president. Whether it is the economy, education, health care, or just Trump. But I think what this means they're going to have a lot of activists forcing this issue front and center, right and left.
So, I do think because the left side of the Supreme Court has two justices over the age of 80, this 5-4 conservative majority, I don't think Roberts is likely to try to overturn Roe with five justices. But after the next election, you could, if the President wins re-election, then suddenly the conservative majority could get to six or seven and then you have it there.
Throw in the fact that there is a key Alabama Democratic senator on the ballot, two in 2020, I just think both in Senate elections and in the presidential race, abortion which was a -- not a top five issue in 2018, will be because of the acute awareness of the activists, left and right, that rose really on the ballot in 2020.
GEIST: President Trump was tweeting overnight saying, “I'm pro-life, but I believe in exceptions for rape and incest.” We should point out, on your show, Meet the Press in 1999, President Trump said, quote, “I am very pro-choice.”
TODD: “Strongly,” I think he used.
