Durbin's Roe v. Wade Gulag

I didn't know Dick Durbin went to Washington as a pro-life Dem, only to be converted to one of the leaders of the abort-abort-abort crowd. Terence P. Jefffery writes in the WashTimes about it, and gives us Durbin's explanation from a Tim Russert interview:

On "Meet the Press," this is how Mr. Durbin explained his conversion: "You know, it's a struggle for me. It still is. I'm opposed to abortion. If any woman in my family said she was seeking abortion, I'd go out of my way to try to dissuade them from making that decision. But I was really discouraged when I came to Washington to find that the opponents of abortion were also opponents of family planning. This didn't make sense to me. And I was also discouraged by the fact that they were absolute, no exceptions for rape and incest, the most extraordinary medical situations. And I finally came to the conclusion that we really have to try to honor the Roe v. Wade thinking, that there are certain times in the life of a woman that she needs to make that decision with her doctor, with her family and with her conscience, and that the government shouldn't be intruding."

As Jeffery puts it, the logic of that statement is akin to saying "Some pro-life people are Dodger fans, therefore abortion should be legal."

People are allowed to change their minds; they're even allowed to sell their souls in return for campaign contributions. But when Durbin starts prying away at John Roberts to reveal him as (Gasp!) a pro-lifer, it would be nice if it were possible (and in today's litmus test world, it's not) for Roberts to look Durbin in the eye and ask him about his conversion, and whether he can accept that people hold views that he once held.

And if Roberts is, in fact, not a no abortion ever under any circumstances kind of pro-lifer, it would be nice if he could tell Durbin as much.

That would put Durbin in a situation he'd have to weasle and lie his way out of. So, in addition to making Durbin feel comfortable and right at home, it would make the hearings honest, instead of the sham they've become because of the Dems' extremism on abortion rights.

h/t Real Clear Politics