Tag: politics

WFI sexual harassment: Wrestlers warn against using their platform for politics

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New Delhi: The protesting wrestlers on Saturday warned against using their platform for political gains claiming few people are trying to take their fight justice to a different direction even as a defiant WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh said he is ready to face “any kind” of probe but won’t resign from his post.
The wrestlers’ statement came on a day many politicians including Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal met them at their protest site – Jantar Mantar in Delhi.
Extending support, Kejriwal said that those who commit wrongs against women “should be hanged”, while the Congress demanded Singh’s arrest and his ouster as president of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI).

On Friday, Delhi Police registered two FIRs against Singh on allegations of sexual harassment levelled by seven women wrestlers. While the first FIR pertained to allegations of a minor wrestler and was registered under the POCSO Act, the second was related to outraging modesty.
Addressing reporters at his residence in Bishnoharpur, about 40 km from Gonda city in Uttar Pradesh, Singh said, “I am completely innocent and have full faith in the Supreme Court and Delhi Police. I am ready to face any kind of investigation.” He also said “resigning as president of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) is not a big deal for me, but I will not resign as a criminal.” At Jantar Mantar, Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Bajrang Punia, who is one of the protesters, said they won’t let anyone use their platform for political gains.
“A few people are trying to take our movement to a different direction and we strongly refute it. This is a fight for justice for India’s daughters,” he said, but did not mention whom he was referring to.
A group of people was heard raising slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“A lot of people have entered the protest site and trying to project it as a ‘bhadkau andolan’ but this is fight to save Indian wrestling. People who are here (assembled) are in our support but not for any political gains,” said Bajrang.

“Politics and other things are secondary, the dignity and honour of women is first, so please don’t indulge in politics. This is players’ movement, so do not link to any political party,” he added.
Vinesh Phogat also sought to placate the people in position of power.
“All those, who hold constitutional posts (I want to say), that the common man also deserves respect. We respect all, we will not say anything that goes against their honour, but we should also be respected,” she told reporters.
At Gonda, Singh took a strong exception to Vadra’s meeting with the wrestlers saying, “Today it has been seen who is behind this controversy. I have been saying from the beginning that an industrialist and the Congress have a hand in this. They are upset with me.” He, however, did not elaborate.
In the past couple of days Congress party’s Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Rashtriya Lok Dal leader Jayant Chaudhary, former Jammu and Kahsmir Governor Satya Pal Malik, Delhi government ministers Atishi Singh and Suarbah Bhardwaj among others have visited the protest site to extend their support to the athletes.
“I’m not a criminal. Resigning means I have accepted their allegations,” Singh said.
He also questioned why the wrestlers are still sitting on dharna even after FIR was lodged.
The wrestlers had asserted they won’t leave the protest site until Singh is arrested.
Singh claimed this is not a protest of sportspersons but of the “conspirators”. “They did not wait for the investigation report to be made public and went to the Supreme Court and there raised a new allegation. They are saying that the sport has to be saved but they are not saving the game (by doing this). They have caused a huge loss in the last four months,” he said.
Punia also claimed they were being harassed by Delhi Police.
“Last night, they cut our power supply, did not let us bring food and water and even mattresses and takhtas (wooden cots). Even one of the workers, who brought these things to the protest site, has not reached home. The police is not treating the athletes well.
“Is this the honour of the country’s athletes? What’s the point of winning those medals if we had to face all these?” he asked.
Vadra, who reached Jantar Mantar in the morning and interacted with the wrestlers, and accused the government of “protecting” Singh. She also called for his ouster from the post so that he is not able to “exert pressure” on the wrestlers and hamper their careers.
Her party demanded that Singh should be arrested immediately and removed from all posts to help ensure a fair investigation.
“Very serious allegations have been levelled against a BJP MP, who claims himself as a ‘Bahubali’ and on whom more than 40 cases are going on. When such serious charges are made against an MP of the ruling party, in such a situation we demand that Delhi Police should arrest this person immediately so that fair investigation can take place,” party MP Deepender Hooda said. Attacking Indian Olympic Association chief P T Usha, Hooda said one had huge expectations from her who had been a sports icon.
“But her statements against the players that what they were doing is wrong. Usha should do some introspection on whether she should continue to occupy the position she holds, at a time when she should have stood by the players. IOA chief is not a political post, but she did not stand with the players and she disappointed the country and now she should introspect,” he said.
During his visit, Kejriwal said every Indian who loves the country should stand with the wrestlers in their struggle.
Extending his support, he said those who commit such wrongs against women “should be hanged”.
“All these women players who have brought laurels to the country are our daughters, they must get justice. No matter how powerful the accused is, he should be given the harshest punishment,” he later said in a tweet in Hindi.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who is appearing for the wrestlers in the Supreme Court, in a tweet said, “Wrestler Protest: Electricity and Water cut off but they will wrestle and succeed. While the accused has no conscience to wrestle with!”
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 29, 2023
My experience stops me from speaking on politics: Rajinikanth

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Vijayawada: Tamil superstar Rajinikanth made some interesting remarks about politics while addressing the centenary celebrations of Telugu icon Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao or NTR.
He said, looking at the huge crowd, he wants to speak about politics but his experience is stopping him from doing so.
Rajinikanth, who dropped his plans to enter politics in 2021 citing his frail health, shared his thoughts in Telugu.

The superstar recalled how he was inspired by NTR, showered praise on his son and leading Tollywood actor Balakrishna and appreciated the vision of former chief minister and TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu.
The actor said NTR’s first film that he watched was ‘Patala Bhairavi’ and this left an imprint on his mind.
He said when he was working as a supporting actor and villain, a director approached him and wanted to know if he would act in a film as a hero.
“At that time I was not interested in working as a hero. The director told me to hear the script at least once and revealed that the title of the movie is Bhairavi. The moment I heard the name of the movie, I accepted it,” said Rajinikanth.
The Tamil superstar said, when NTR came to Chennai to celebrate the success of ‘Lava Kusa’, he watched NTR from a distance. Rajinikanth was then 13.

He recalled that he was greatly impressed by the role of Duryodhana played by NTR in ‘Srikrishna Pandaviyam’.
“When I was working as a bus conductor, I played the role of Duryodhana, played by NTR, at a function and, because of the appreciation I received, I started taking an interest in acting,” he said.
Rajinikanth spoke fondly about NTR’s son Nandamuri Balakrishna a.k.a. Balayya. He said Balayya can do what neither he nor Amitabh Bachchan can do.
“My friend (Balayya) kills with his single look. With a single eye blink, a vehicle can blast and go up to 30-feet-high. It cannot be done by Rajinikanth, Amitabh, Shah Rukh Khan or Salman Khan. The public won’t accept it if we do that kind of stuff.”
Rajinikanth said that the audience accepts whatever Balayya does on screen because when they look at him, they see his father NTR in him.
The actor was all praise for N. Chandrababu Naidu for his vision and said that the whole world knows about it.
He pointed out that Naidu developed Hyderabad into an IT hub. He said if lakhs of people are employed today in the IT sector, it was because of Naidu.
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#experience #stops #speaking #politics #Rajinikanth
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 29, 2023
BJP’s ‘Vishkanya’ remark for Sonia shows the rot in politics: Ashok Gehlot

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Jaipur: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday slammed a Karnataka BJP leader for calling former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi a ‘Vishkanya,’ saying the use of the term was a reflection of the vitiated political discourse in the country.
“Remarks made by a Bharatiya Janata Party leader in Karnataka against Sonia Gandhi reflect the rot in politics. Sonia Gandhi is respected across the country, by both ruling and the opposition parties,” Gehlot told reporters in Hanumangarh.
“With such lowly and despicable statements about her, I think a new form of BJP is emerging,” he said .

During an interaction with the media in poll-bound Karnataka, BJP MLA Basangouda Patil Yatnal Thursday night called Sonia Gandhi a ‘Vishkanya,’ apparently responding to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge’s comparison of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a ‘poisonous snake.’
Gehlot in his turn accused the BJP of distorting its opponents’ remarks in order to mislead the public.
“I think their countdown is starting from Karnataka. If we make any comment on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he distorts it and presents it in front of the public to win the election, we have seen that many times,” he said.
All the same, the Congress leader said he will personally write a letter to Modi and ask him to take action against Yatnal.
He said if the PM or Karnataka CM don’t take action then it will be clear they share the opinion of the BJP MLA.

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#BJPs #Vishkanya #remark #Sonia #shows #rot #politics #Ashok #Gehlot
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 28, 2023
The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics

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Cartoon Carousel
Every week political cartoonists throughout the country and across the political spectrum apply their ink-stained skills to capture the foibles, memes, hypocrisies and other head-slapping events in the world of politics. The fruits of these labors are hundreds of cartoons that entertain and enrage readers of all political stripes. Here’s an offering of the best of this week’s crop, picked fresh off the Toonosphere. Edited by Matt Wuerker.
By POLITICO STAFF
04/28/2023 04:30 AM EDT
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#nations #cartoonists #week #politics
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

April 28, 2023
Funding, forensics – and a fridge freezer? The investigation into the SNP

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It should have been Humza Yousaf’s political honeymoon as first minister. The new leader of the Scottish National party has barely been leading Scotland for a month yet any plans to focus on policy agenda have been thrown into chaos as he firefights questions over a police investigation that has led to the party’s former chief executive Peter Murrell and its ex-treasurer Colin Beattie to be arrested.
As part of the fraud investigation into more than £600,000 donated to the party to help them run an independence campaign, an incident tent was set up in the home Nicola Sturgeon shares with her husband, Murrell, and a motor home seized from outside her mother in law’s house.
With reports that the police are investigating whether the money was spent on items including a motor home – and even a fridge freezer – onlookers have been left wondering how a party that so recently looked all-conquering is unravelling so fast.
The Guardian’s Scotland correspondent, Libby Brooks, explains what the investigation is really about, and tells Hannah Moore, how SNP members feel now. She looks at whether the party’s rapid growth in membership has affected its financial management – and how Yousaf is reacting.
• This article was amended on 27 April 2023 to correct the spelling of Humza Yousaf’s first name.

Photograph: Andrew Milligan/PA
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#Funding #forensics #fridge #freezer #investigation #SNP
( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )

April 27, 2023
A bullying politician or snowflake civil servants? The downfall of Dominic Raab

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Supporters insist he is robust, expects the very best – and will even concede that he is demanding. But after an inquiry into eight complaints, involving 24 people and spanning four years, found Dominic Raab’s conduct in some instances “involved an abuse or misuse of power in a way that undermines or humiliates”, the former justice secretary resigned. Yet he has not gone quietly, defiantly insisting that the report by Adam Tolley KC sets a “dangerous precedent” by lowering the threshold for what is considered bullying.
Raab has blamed instead “activist civil servants” who could not cope with being told that their work was not up to the standard he expected. And he says he worries that it “will be the public that pay the price” if politicians can not do that without being accused of bullying behaviour.
Pippa Crerar, the Guardian’s political editor, broke the story that first outlined the accusations of bullying against Dominic Raab. She explains how some civil servants felt they had been pushed to breaking point by the politician, and tells Nosheen Iqbal what the fallout could mean for Raab’s political future, and for Rishi Sunak’s government.

Photograph: Alberto Pezzali/AP
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( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )

April 25, 2023
Rahul represents ‘laziest type of politics’, alleges BJP minister

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New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi represents the “laziest type of politics” of making bizarre allegations and promises without any intention to improve people’s lives, Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said on Saturday, days after the Congress leader created a ripple by pitching for caste census and pledged a slew of sops in Karnataka.
He also expressed confidence that the rebellion of some key BJP leaders in Karnataka will not come in the way of the incumbent party winning its first-ever majority in the coming assembly polls.
He said state BJP leaders have accepted the generational change after the “brave” decision of fielding 74 first-time candidates in the May 10 elections.

The BJP has come to be identified with the state’s future, while the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) symbolise the “lazy, entitled and exploitative” politics of the past, Chandrasekhar, a Rajya Sabha MP from Karnataka, told PTI in an interview.
#WATCH | Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar says, “…The politics of Congress in Karnataka is a politics of either lying or making a promise and vanishing from the scene or just completely coming and stirring the pot…Rahul Gandhi is what Rahul Gandhi is. I think he will come… https://t.co/RAQ5FVpvdx pic.twitter.com/XaIDaAjGEj
— ANI (@ANI) April 18, 2023
With Rahul Gandhi making a slew of promises, including allowances for the unemployed and women, and backing demand for caste census, a bid to woo politically important Other Backward Classes (OBC), at a poll rally in Karnataka, Chandrasekhar took a swipe at him questioning the party’s track record when it was in power for decades.
Gandhi wants people to forget that his party has ruled for decades, he said.
“It is the laziest type of politics that Rahul Gandhi represents,” the BJP leader said, adding his politics is all about saying something bizarre, and making a few allegations and promises and then going away without having any intention to work hard to improve the lives of people.
“They did nothing for the OBC is when they were in government. Look at all of the work done for the community under the prime minister and the double-engine government in Karnataka. To make promises and disappear is the Congress style,” the minister said.

“They have gone and made promises in Punjab, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh that they never fulfilled,” he claimed.
The BJP leader said that the defection of Lingayat leaders like former chief minister Jagadish Shettar and former deputy chief minister Laxman Savadi will fail to dent the community’s support to the party, as he noted the BJP’s historical “commitment, recognition and respect” to the leaders from the group.
“One or two leaders, who wanted to put their personal ambition ahead of everybody else and everything else, have gone to the Congress or to the JD(S). If you look at Shettar or Savadi, both leaders enjoyed a long stint with the BJP and always subscribed to its ideology.
“We will find that on May 13 they will not only lose (the election), but whatever respect they have earned over the last several decades as BJP members, they will have lost that as well,” he said.
Asked about the Congress accusing the BJP of insulting Lingayat leaders, he said the opposition party has a history of creating divisions in the state’s largest community, believed to be around 17 per cent of the total population.
In the 2018 polls, the then chief minister Siddaramaiah created “propaganda” about Lingayats not being Hindus, he said.
“This is the standing strategy of the Congress to try and divide those people who support our good governance. They’ve done this before as well. And like they have failed in 2018. They will fail this time as well,” he said.
There’s support for the BJP among various communities, be it Lingayats, Vokkaligas or Dalits, because of the “work of its government in the state and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government at the Centre, and this is based on their deep belief in our governance”, he said.
Some tweets by Siddaramaiah or some other Congress leader will not affect one or another community’s support for the BJP, he said.
“It is not affected if you take away one or two leaders through inducement or whatever. The basic support of the community doesn’t change because of that,” he said.
The Congress is fighting an existential crisis and is desperate as it knows that a loss in Karnataka will mean that the party will vanish from the state as it has from the rest of south India except Kerala where it has already lost back-to-back elections, he said.
The BJP, the Union minister said, is very clearly positioned to campaign on a pro-incumbency plank about the last three and a half years of its efforts during the “most difficult” time in Karnataka history as it was hit by floods and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Following the hung verdict delivered by the 2018 polls, the Congress and the JD(S) joined hands to come to power before the BJP, the single largest party, toppled the government and took the reins of power in 2029 after 17 alliance MLAs quit the assembly and joined the saffron party.
Now the state’s economy is not only back on track but it is one of the fastest growing and performing economies, with the government under Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai delivering on Modi’s plank of “maximum governance”, he said, citing a slew of schemes for the welfare of various segments of society.
The BJP leadership’s decision to field 74 new faces among the total 224 candidates is important and brave as it believes that it is the party for the future of Karnataka, he said. PTI KR.

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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 22, 2023
RSS, BJP carrying hatred politics to defeat me, says Siddaramaiah

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Mysuru: Karnataka Opposition leader Siddaramaiah stated on Saturday that RSS and BJP are indulged in hatred politics against him and want to defeat him at any cost. “BJP is carrying politics of hatred in Varuna constituency,” he charged.
Speaking to reporters during his campaigning in Varuna constituency, Siddaramaiah stated that he does not have any personal enmity with BJP National General Secretary (Organisation) B.L. Santhosh.
“I have been contesting from the region since 1978. Before the Varuna constituency was carved out, I represented this region. People are telling me every day to remain confident. BJP is carrying out politics of hatred in Varuna. RSS and BJP are bent on defeating me. However, the voters here are going to ensure my victory,” he said.

Reacting to BJP Lok Sabha member Pratap Simha’s comment that uncertainty is haunting Siddaramaiah on his chances of victory, he asked how is he connected to Varuna constituency. He further reacted to Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai’s similar observation that Bommai should be more bothered about his victory.
BJP has fielded Minister for Housing V. Somanna – a strong Lingayat leader, from the Varuna constituency. A tight contest is on the cards in Varuna and Siddaramaiah had to step out for campaigning here amid aggressive campaigning by the BJP.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 22, 2023
Lost on abortion politics, Republicans struggle for a solution

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And the GOP can’t avoid abortion following last year’s reversal of Roe v. Wade, from the looming Supreme Court decision over abortion medication to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ (R-Fla.) approval of a six-week abortion ban just last week. Every new possible abortion restriction animates Democratic attacks — and it’s taking a toll, from Wisconsin’s state Supreme Court race this month to last year’s disappointing finish in Senate races.
“We’ve got to come up with a position that’s a winning one,” Thune (R-S.D.) argued in an interview. “Our guys say, ‘well, it’s a states issue.’ Great, but the Dems are going to be out here advocating for what I think is a very extreme position. And we want to be able to contrast ours with theirs.”
A year ago, a national late-term abortion ban had strong backing among congressional Republicans, nearly all of whom voted for late-term abortion bans when they came to the floor. But Roe‘s demise and the ensuing political fallout scrambled all that, factionalizing a GOP that had become nearly uniformly anti-abortion rights just as Democrats largely adopted a pro-abortion rights stance.
“The [Republican] Party, I don’t think, really is setting any sort of guidelines, or coming to some consensus,” said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.).
Complicating Republicans’ decision-making, polls and election results over the past year show an electorate mostly moving away from the GOP on abortion, even in red states like Kansas. Yet the party’s base and anti-abortion rights lobby is not backing away from the debate.
Sen. Lindsey Graham’s bill would ban abortions nationwide after 15 weeks, while allowing states with stricter bans to supersede the national policy. The South Carolina Republican introduced the bill last year in the wake of Roe‘s reversal, roiling a Senate GOP that in many ways was pivoting to viewing abortion limits as a state-level decision, save for a handful of supporters like Thune.
These days Cornyn’s stance of leaving abortion to the states probably commands majority support in the Senate GOP.
“The answer is that those decisions should be made at the state level, instead of here in Washington D.C.,” said Cornyn, describing himself as an “unapologetically pro-life Republican.”

“I know that’s not entirely satisfactory for those who’d like to impose a national standard.”
As to whether restrictions on a national level would get a vote under a future GOP Senate, Cornyn replied: “I don’t think so. But I know that there are those who would disagree with me.”
Cornyn and Thune agree that the Republican Party needs to more directly confront the potential that abortion continues to drag down their party. The Texan, a former party whip, said “Republicans need to learn how to talk about it” by highlighting Democrats’ views on late-term abortion access.
Thune was even more blunt, observing that “the messaging around it right now is just making it more challenging for our side.” He described his party’s presidential field as “getting hammered” on the matter.
Other than a handful of votes, including Wednesday’s unsuccessful attempt in the Senate to roll back abortion policy at the Veterans’ Affairs Department, Republicans in Congress are keeping a lower profile on the issue. The new House majority has not yet voted on the type of sweeping abortion ban the party once supported.
What’s more, Graham’s 15-week ban bill drew only nine co-sponsors last year, including Thune. That relatively scant support shows how few Republicans want to touch the issue since Roe got overturned.
“it was a significant factor in the last election. And I think it’ll be an issue going forward,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), who backs the Graham bill.
Nonetheless, Cramer advised fellow Republicans to “pick your place and articulate your position and then move on to other topics. Don’t try to get too cute .”
Meanwhile, even lower-level judicial confirmations are boomeranging on Republicans. The party’s unilateral confirmation of Texas Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in 2019 is drawing fresh scrutiny after Kacsmaryk ruled against abortion medication in the case that’s now at the Supreme Court.
Cornyn blanched at Kacsmaryk’s ruling, concluding that “judges are not supposed to make policy … the remedy for judges making an erroneous decision is an appeal to the higher court.”
“It’s quite telling that with basically the same case, a different judge in a different jurisdiction ruled exactly the opposite way,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who is openly regretting her vote for Kacsmaryk.
Some reliably red states have learned that lesson firsthand. Kansas voters handily rejected a referendum to remove abortion rights from the state Constitution last August, the first signal after June’s Supreme Court ruling that abortion is no longer breaking along traditional conservative and liberal voting lines.
“Does this matter to Americans? Does it affect the way they vote? The answer is yes,” said Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.). “When Roe v. Wade was overturned, it caused people to think about this topic on both sides of the issue. And Kansans and Americans have strong feelings about it.”
Still, just a few weeks after that Kansas abortion vote, Moran’s fellow Kansas GOP Sen. Roger Marshall signed onto Graham’s bill.
Graham devised his bill as a preelection landing place for Republicans, defining what he saw as a defensible position heading into the midterm election. And he still believes it’s a useful tool: “We need to be really clear: We’re against late-term abortions at the federal level.”
He’s still got some boosters. Steve Daines, who runs the Senate GOP’s campaign arm, said that a 15-week national ban represents “ground we can bring our country together on.”
“Where the majority of the American people are on late term abortion, with exceptions, that’s where I think we should be on it,” the Montana Republican said in an interview.
Yet as long as the legislative filibuster remains in place, there’s a scant chance of any abortion bill getting 60 votes in the Senate. And don’t expect many in the GOP, even those who believe banning abortion is a moral imperative, to start clamoring for a stronger congressional role.
“There’s a lot of concern out there in terms of how to properly address it. And this is a sensitive issue,” said Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.). “It’s a state’s tissue. And I think it should be that way. Because I don’t think at the federal level, we should be moving it back and forth between Republicans and Democrats.”
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#Lost #abortion #politics #Republicans #struggle #solution
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

April 20, 2023
Lost on abortion politics, Republicans struggle for a solution

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And the GOP can’t avoid abortion following last year’s reversal of Roe v. Wade, from the looming Supreme Court decision over abortion medication to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ (R-Fla.) approval of a six-week abortion ban just last week. Every new possible abortion restriction animates Democratic attacks — and it’s taking a toll, from Wisconsin’s state Supreme Court race this month to last year’s disappointing finish in Senate races.
“We’ve got to come up with a position that’s a winning one,” Thune (R-S.D.) argued in an interview. “Our guys say, ‘well, it’s a states issue.’ Great, but the Dems are going to be out here advocating for what I think is a very extreme position. And we want to be able to contrast ours with theirs.”
A year ago, a national late-term abortion ban had strong backing among congressional Republicans, nearly all of whom voted for late-term abortion bans when they came to the floor. But Roe‘s demise and the ensuing political fallout scrambled all that, factionalizing a GOP that had become nearly uniformly anti-abortion rights just as Democrats largely adopted a pro-abortion rights stance.
“The [Republican] Party, I don’t think, really is setting any sort of guidelines, or coming to some consensus,” said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.).
Complicating Republicans’ decision-making, polls and election results over the past year show an electorate mostly moving away from the GOP on abortion, even in red states like Kansas. Yet the party’s base and anti-abortion rights lobby is not backing away from the debate.
Sen. Lindsey Graham’s bill would ban abortions nationwide after 15 weeks, while allowing states with stricter bans to supersede the national policy. The South Carolina Republican introduced the bill last year in the wake of Roe‘s reversal, roiling a Senate GOP that in many ways was pivoting to viewing abortion limits as a state-level decision, save for a handful of supporters like Thune.
These days Cornyn’s stance of leaving abortion to the states probably commands majority support in the Senate GOP.
“The answer is that those decisions should be made at the state level, instead of here in Washington D.C.,” said Cornyn, describing himself as an “unapologetically pro-life Republican.”

“I know that’s not entirely satisfactory for those who’d like to impose a national standard.”
As to whether restrictions on a national level would get a vote under a future GOP Senate, Cornyn replied: “I don’t think so. But I know that there are those who would disagree with me.”
Cornyn and Thune agree that the Republican Party needs to more directly confront the potential that abortion continues to drag down their party. The Texan, a former party whip, said “Republicans need to learn how to talk about it” by highlighting Democrats’ views on late-term abortion access.
Thune was even more blunt, observing that “the messaging around it right now is just making it more challenging for our side.” He described his party’s presidential field as “getting hammered” on the matter.
Other than a handful of votes, including Wednesday’s unsuccessful attempt in the Senate to roll back abortion policy at the Veterans’ Affairs Department, Republicans in Congress are keeping a lower profile on the issue. The new House majority has not yet voted on the type of sweeping abortion ban the party once supported.
What’s more, Graham’s 15-week ban bill drew only nine co-sponsors last year, including Thune. That relatively scant support shows how few Republicans want to touch the issue since Roe got overturned.
“it was a significant factor in the last election. And I think it’ll be an issue going forward,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), who backs the Graham bill.
Nonetheless, Cramer advised fellow Republicans to “pick your place and articulate your position and then move on to other topics. Don’t try to get too cute .”
Meanwhile, even lower-level judicial confirmations are boomeranging on Republicans. The party’s unilateral confirmation of Texas Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in 2019 is drawing fresh scrutiny after Kacsmaryk ruled against abortion medication in the case that’s now at the Supreme Court.
Cornyn blanched at Kacsmaryk’s ruling, concluding that “judges are not supposed to make policy … the remedy for judges making an erroneous decision is an appeal to the higher court.”
“It’s quite telling that with basically the same case, a different judge in a different jurisdiction ruled exactly the opposite way,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who is openly regretting her vote for Kacsmaryk.
Some reliably red states have learned that lesson firsthand. Kansas voters handily rejected a referendum to remove abortion rights from the state Constitution last August, the first signal after June’s Supreme Court ruling that abortion is no longer breaking along traditional conservative and liberal voting lines.
“Does this matter to Americans? Does it affect the way they vote? The answer is yes,” said Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.). “When Roe v. Wade was overturned, it caused people to think about this topic on both sides of the issue. And Kansans and Americans have strong feelings about it.”
Still, just a few weeks after that Kansas abortion vote, Moran’s fellow Kansas GOP Sen. Roger Marshall signed onto Graham’s bill.
Graham devised his bill as a preelection landing place for Republicans, defining what he saw as a defensible position heading into the midterm election. And he still believes it’s a useful tool: “We need to be really clear: We’re against late-term abortions at the federal level.”
He’s still got some boosters. Steve Daines, who runs the Senate GOP’s campaign arm, said that a 15-week national ban represents “ground we can bring our country together on.”
“Where the majority of the American people are on late term abortion, with exceptions, that’s where I think we should be on it,” the Montana Republican said in an interview.
Yet as long as the legislative filibuster remains in place, there’s a scant chance of any abortion bill getting 60 votes in the Senate. And don’t expect many in the GOP, even those who believe banning abortion is a moral imperative, to start clamoring for a stronger congressional role.
“There’s a lot of concern out there in terms of how to properly address it. And this is a sensitive issue,” said Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.). “It’s a state’s tissue. And I think it should be that way. Because I don’t think at the federal level, we should be moving it back and forth between Republicans and Democrats.”
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

April 20, 2023