Inside The Senate GOP's Self-Made Debacle On Sex Trafficking And Abortion

[DonViejo]

WASHINGTON — It's common in Congress for the parties to rip each other apart over the contents of a bill. But it's exceedingly rare for one party to accuse the other of trying to sneak a law into existence without telling them.

An overwhelmingly bipartisan Senate bill to combat human trafficking hit a wall last week after Democrats said they discovered a provision to impose new limits on abortion rights, and threatened to filibuster the bill unless the provision is removed.

Senate Republican leaders now find themselves caught between wanting to show they can pass even the most noncontroversial legislation and the passions of the pro-life base they roped into the battle by making it a high-stakes proxy war over abortion.

The provision expands the restrictions on government funding of abortions beyond those contained in the decades-old Hyde Amendment, Democrats complain. In a statement, the National Right To Life Committee insisted that Republicans keep the abortion language, declaring that "a vote to remove the Hyde provision from S. 178 would be a vote in favor of direct federal funding of abortion on demand" and threatening to include the vote when it calculates its score of how committed individual lawmakers are to the anti-abortion cause.

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http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/senate-trafficking-debacle

[Xyzse]

1. Unfortunately, that though I agree that it is a debacle by the Republicans, I also think that

They have no downside in it.

It is about Sex Trafficking and abortion, both issues they are supposedly against. In one bill, they can basically paint the Democrats as being for those two issues by declining to support that bill.

Even if it is just the abortion issue that they decided to sneak in to the legislation.

It is digusting of them to do, but I can see how they will spin it against the Democrats showing how they are unwilling to sign in to law something that combats sex trafficking. Even when, it is pretty much their fault in doing this.

I can see this as another way to whip up their base, and to demonize Democrats.

Also, don't get me wrong, I am hoping that the more discerning individuals can see the truth of the matter, but seriously, all they really want is to rally their base any how.