Rep. Congressman Calls Rep. Anti-Abortion Bill "Staggeringly Stupid", Frustrated With His Party

[JPZenger]

http://www.mcall.com/news/local/mc-pa-charlie-dent-abortion-20130619,0,1167074.story

Excerpts:

"Lehigh Valley Congressman Charlie Dent is tired of being branded by the words of others in the Republican Party. He is sick of his colleagues' letting advocacy groups' congressional scorecards dictate how they'll vote. And that is why, he says, he very publicly aired his frustrations, labeling a bill restricting abortions as "staggeringly" stupid and select individuals in his party as "uninformed."

That Dent was one of only six Republicans to vote against the bill to ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy was not surprising given he usually supports abortion rights. But his attacks on his own party displayed a candidness atypical of professional politicians.

The abortion bill was, for Dent, the tipping point. He's annoyed because his party bows to interest groups at the expense of getting its work done. What triggered his initial reaction was a colleague saying no exceptions for rape or incest are needed because pregnancies rarely result from rape. "I just felt it had to be responded to more forcibly," Dent said in an interview Wednesday. "I've run out of patience with some of these 'Akin eruptions'."

[Arkansas Granny]

1. "Akin eruptions"!!! I love it.

It's good to see some seeds of dissent in the party.