Conflicted

For John, BLUF:  Is VEEP Joe Biden going to go the distance?  If he does, will he take a dive for Hillary at the Convention?  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Will Joe Biden’s Flip-Flop on the Hyde Amendment Doom His Presidential Bid?

From PJ Media, by Columnist Matt Margolis, 7 June 2019.

Here is the lede plus five:

Joe Biden was in favor of the Hyde Amendment before he was against it.  At least, that’s his position now.  There’s no telling what it might be later today or tomorrow.

Hey Joe!  John Kerry called, he wants his campaign strategy back.

As someone who has mocked the media’s attempt to paint Joe Biden as a centrist candidate, when Biden announced earlier this week he still supported the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits the use of federal funds for abortion, I was quite shocked.  Last month I wrote that to survive the primary, Joe Biden will “embrace the most radical positions necessary to hold on to his lead in the polls.”  As his party has moved further to the extreme left on the issue of abortion, affirming his support of the Hyde Amendment seemed like he was shooting his campaign in the foot with a silver bullet.  Biden, the current frontrunner for the Democratic Party nomination, was actually taking a moderate stance.  Could it be he might actually attempt to take a few centrist positions during his third presidential campaign?

His past support for the Hyde Amendment is well documented.  If there was ever a time to announce that he’d simply evolved on the issue over time and now opposed it, the moment had come.  But he didn’t.  He essentially challenged the extremist wing of his party and took a stance more in line with America’s mainstream.

But, it turns out my prediction about Biden came true.  Within 48 hours of announcing support for the Hyde Amendment, Biden changed his mind.

This is not his first major flip-flop during his presidential campaign.  Last month, Joe Biden walked back his call for a “middle ground” approach to climate policy after criticism from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

I think the Hyde Amendment represents where America is.  I was sorry to see Vice President Biden change positions on the Hyde Amendment, but his staff must have calculated he needed to change where he stands to get the nomination.  Then the staff calculated it wouldn't be a big issue in the General Election, and they are likely correct.  Unless the abortion issue goes off the rails.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff