We will now see how organized Biden's campaign is.....

[brooklynite]

The Hyde Amendment story is the first land mine of the campaign. Can he and his team clarify his position (opposed by apparently every other candidate) and put this behind him quickly?

[hlthe2b]

1. That position is very damaging for the primaries; ironically it would probably help in the General

But pragmatism aside, setting barriers to the poor for a legal health procedure-- above and beyond those faced by all other women-- is just wrong. One of those historical areas of "appeasement" Dems made to try to placate the anti-choice RW under the very mistaken belief it would deter them from further decimation or direct overturn of Roe. It did not and now we are where we are...

[RedParrot]

3. Elizabeth Warren is going to eat him alive

Warren is on MSNBC town hall tonight at Elkhart, Indiana. Biden’s position on Hyde Amendment is certain to come up.

[crazytown]

11. You know it

those two go way back. I hope she doesn’t go personal.

[still_one]

4. I agree with the first part that it is damaging for the primaries, but for the GE, I don't think it

would matter one way or the other, which is why I believe this has to be one of the most inane things to come out of his campaign.


There is absolutely no defense for this draconian POS law, and is suspect he will deservedly get pushback on this.

[hlthe2b]

5. It wil give Sanders some ammo, since he (while a Congressman) apparently voted NO

https://votesmart.org/bill/votes/8932#.XPg0WPZFyZ8

[still_one]

7. I want to know where they stand today, and I personally think he screwed up big time on this one

I am not sure if it will help Sanders that much outside of his base, but I think it has a chance to help some of the other candidates start getting traction, perhaps from current Biden supporters who are not very happy about his position on this, and I was one of those Biden supporters who is now undecided

[Mr.Bill]

2. How many of the other candidates were serving in Cogress when the

Hyde amendment was passed?

[hlthe2b]

6. apparently only Sanders. See my post upstream

[ancianita]

9. Sanders didn't get in 'til '91, I think.

[hlthe2b]

10. I provided a link to his recorded vote on the Hyde amendment upstream (#5).

He was a Congressman then.

[ancianita]

13. He didn't vote on the original Hyde of 1976. Yes, he voted on later versions after 1991. He did

support abortions before Roe v Wade. He has ever since, I believe.

https://www.newsweek.com/bernie-sanders-joe-biden-hyde-amendment-abortion-rights-1442412

[hlthe2b]

17. This is pertinent since it added rape and incest to Hyde exceptions & Clinton signed.

On October 22, 1993, President Clinton signed into law the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1994.[7]?The Act contained a new version of the Hyde Amendment that expanded the category of abortions for which federal funds are available under Medicaid to include cases of rape and incest.[8]

[ancianita]

12. Gillibrand, Harris, Booker were kids; the rest weren't in Congress 'til the 90's, or not born yet.

Do they even know what the Hyde Amendment stipulated?

That Biden voted for expansion of categories of abortion that could receive federal funding? He voted during five unified Congresses (Dems controlling both houses).

And women were hardly a presence during all those Congresses.

Media and these candidates can only ask Biden if he's evolved his position on Hyde.

Media and candidates may not use any unfair benefit to claim he FAILED when the world he was in as an adult, they were still children in and don't even know what mainstream values were that guided congressional voting in those days.

[hlthe2b]

14. Dems were forced to make a lot of compromises during that era--

While I was not happy to see it then, there was a context that is not being discussed.

I strongly suspect Biden may modify his stance in coming days.

[ancianita]

18. Biden's probably Bernie's foil, since Biden tended to follow Catholic dogma, as did other congress-

men from the 95th Congress onward.

[JI7]

16. the problem is that he supports it even today

[ancianita]

19. He hasn't said outright, and will let everyone know when asked directly. Not all topics have been

covered on his campaign trail. But they will.

[stuffmatters]

8. To me The Hyde Ammendment has always been an outrage against women.

Biden better walk this disgraceful position back multo rapido.

[ancianita]

15. He will. Times have changed and the nation's values, too.

It's his baggage of times past and a long career, but his past doesn't have to be denigrated as disgraceful, only if he maintains past outlooks on abortion, which were mainstream for their day.

Which he hasn't said anything about yet.