Abortion and the Death Penalty (was Re: abortion litmus test)

[Katha Pollitt]

Wojtek suggests that abortion is a hot issue now "suddenly" because the
ruling class wishes to distract people from its economic plundering. 
this is awfully conspiratorial for me. Also, I think there's a great
deal of evidence that large sections of this country's ruling elites
want very much for abortion to go away as a political issue, because it
is marginalizing the Republicans among sane conservative people,
especially women, and forcing the party into dependence on 
unpredictable crackpots.  this is why you find people like william
Bennett arguing AGAINST a constitutional ban on abortion--the holy grail
for anti-choice hard liners -- and in favor of smaller "stealth"
measures (consent laws, waiting periods, denial of reimbursement, bans
on particular procedures) that attract less attention and about which
people are more ambivalent.

But in any case, abortion is not "suddenly" a big issue.  It's been a
big political issue since roe v wade -- twenty six years!  It only looks
sudden to those who have not been paying attention.   

best, katha