Inside Politics host Dana Bash joined Tuesday’s CNN This Morning to recap her Monday interview with California Gov. Gavin Newsom where Newsom was unwilling to endorse any limits on abortion by claiming “almost all Democrats do not support” late-term abortions.
Bash explained that “because Republicans are coming at them and they're trying to make it an issue, we saw that with the former president over the weekend, but he was just adding on to a lot of Republicans saying, ‘oh, Democrats want to have abortion on demand and abortion until after birth’ and all of those things, which, let's be clear, almost all Democrats do not support that. So I thought maybe he would say, “my state of California, the law is viability, that’s where I stand.”
At the same time Bash could not completely ignore what Newsom’s answer, “He did say it is his personal opinion and that's generally where it should be, but when it comes to the law of the land, when it comes to what the government should and should not do, you saw there, he didn't want to go there. He wants to -- he wanted to make it clear that this is a medical issue and not a legal issue.”
Newsom’s response is not unique to him. The Democratic Party platform states, “Democrats oppose restrictions on medication abortion care that are inconsistent with the most recent medical and scientific evidence and that do not protect public health.”
Nevertheless, Bash continued, “And I honestly wasn't sure which way he was going to go on that, but he did lean into that and, look, when you look at the polls and more importantly look at what happened in 2022, there is an energy among Democrats and even some independents to say “stay out of my doctor's office” and so that's likely why he was going—”
That would suggest that Democrats do support late-term abortions because it doesn’t matter what Newsom’s says his “personal opinion is.” If a Republican governor came out and said he personally doesn’t find the need to own an AR-15, but supported other people’s right to own one, CNN would not claim that governor opposes AR-15s.
Host Phil Mattingly then interrupted to claim, “I just thought it was very cautious. And I thought it was a great back and forth. I think it was illuminating both because of where he personally stands but gets at why when people ask Democratic leaders to take a more firm stance on a specific timetable, there's a reason why they don't and that’s interesting given the political energy behind it inside their party.”
Wrapping up the abortion part of the segment, Bash added, “But, he's not wrong that Republicans are trying very hard to turn the tables on Democrats on abortion because they got their clocks cleaned politically on this in a way that they didn't expect in 2022.”
It wouldn’t be as hard if journalists could just admit that Democrats support late-term abortions after conducting interviews with them where they refused to endorse restrictions on them.
This segment was sponsored by Bath Fitter.
Here is a transcript for the September 19 show:
CNN This Morning
9/19/2023
6:49 PM ET
DANA BASH: Obviously most Democrats support abortion rights. But because Republicans are coming at them and they're trying to make it an issue, we saw that with the former president over the weekend, but he was just adding on to a lot of Republicans saying, “oh, Democrats want to have abortion on demand and abortion until after birth” and all of those things, which, let's be clear, almost all Democrats do not support that. So I thought maybe he would say, “my state of California, the law is viability, that’s where I stand.”
He did say it is his personal opinion and that's generally where it should be, but when it comes to the law of the land, when it comes to what the government should and should not do, you saw there, he didn't want to go there. He wants to -- he wanted to make it clear that this is a medical issue and not a legal issue.
And I honestly wasn't sure which way he was going to go on that, but he did lean into that and, look, when you look at the polls and more importantly look at what happened in 2022, there is an energy among Democrats and even some independents to say “stay out of my doctor's office” and so that's likely why he was going-- you were surprised?
PHIL MATTINGLY: I just thought it was very cautious. And I thought it was a great back and forth. I think it was illuminating both because of where he personally stands but gets at why when people ask Democratic leaders to take a more firm stance on a specific timetable, there's a reason why they don't and that’s interesting given the political energy behind it inside their party.
BASH: But, he's not wrong that Republicans are trying very hard to turn the tables on Democrats on abortion.
MATTINGLY: Oh, no, not at all.
BASH: Because they got their clocks cleaned politically on this in a way that they didn't expect in 2022.
