Thread by @mthawk

The #flipflop of @JoeBiden on the Hyde Amendment cannot be overstated in terms of ramifications for (presuming) his general election prospects. Politically speaking he put himself in an even worse position than Hillary was in relation to then candidate Trump. Here's why:

Setting aside Trump's reputation on personal morality, as a candidate he argued more forcefully against abortion in that debate against Hillary than maybe any other presidential candidate before him. Hillary didn't moderate at all, even when advised to do so.

At the time, many of us were skeptical (for many reasons) about Trump's commitment to the pro-life cause and his trustworthiness on the (or any) issue. At the time, Hillary's campaign only had to fight campaign rhetoric. Biden's situation is very different now:

Presuming a general election (Trump v Biden), Biden will not only be up against campaign rhetoric, he'll be up against what will be 3+ years of observable policy deliverables made by the Trump admin. The pragmatist pro-lifers will have a stronger case then they did in 2016.

(I am critical of the Congressional GOP's failures to deliver anything meaningful in the legislative context, but that's a story for another time.)

The Trump admin has certainly delivered in the judicial space, including 2 justices at #SCOTUS...

And @HHSGov is implementing pro-life regulation (or reducing pro-abortion presumptions) wherever they can.

And don't discount what it means that Trump/@VP are the only POTUS/VPOTUS to make visible appearances at the annual March for Life.

(I think Reagan & W phoned-in.)

Biden, along w/ the Dem party platform, now abandons what is the legislative "scrimmage line" of the issue at the federal level: no taxpayer funding for abortion.

(Set aside for the moment congressional GOP & Trump admin did nothing to codify Hyde when they had the chance.)

The unprecedented pace of 2019 state legislation (on both sides) is sure to keep the abortion issue front and center into 2020. If Dems had any hopes of attracting even moderately pro-life Americans disaffected by the rest of Trump's baggage, those hopes are presently dead...

But who knows? Lots of politics b/t now and the general. There's always @ProLifeDem2020. Democrats still have time to *choose* the direction of their party: the failed hardline model of not-president Hillary OR the direction of the @LouisianaGov who signed a #heartbeatbill.