Republican Jerry Kilgore has left people on both sides of the abortion issue wanting to hear more after his answer to a question at Saturday’s debate.
The former attorney general, asked if he would approve further restrictions on abortion if elected governor, dismissed the question as speculative.
If this were John Kerry, the right would be all over him for his lack of conviction. Kilgore refuses to say whether he favors overturning Roe v. Wade. His lack of spine has handed Tim Kaine, who had suffered from the “I’m against abortion but would uphold the law” stance, the high road.
To his credit, Kaine actually said he would veto a hypothetical General Assembly proposal to ban abortions. Kilgore won’t commit.
His unwillingness to spout the right-wing position suggests that his campaign is worried that moderate Republicans, especially moderate Republican women, will desert Kilgore over this issue. He’s probably not sure if their vote would go to Potts or Kaine, but in either case, he knows he’s vulnerable.
I’m puzzled by the headline on the Daily Press story, which I’m sure the reporter did suggest: “Candidates sidestep abortion questions and invite even more.”
I don’t see how Kaine “sidestepped the issue. According to the Times-Dispatch report this morning, “Kaine, the lieutenant governor, promised on Saturday that he would veto legislation banning abortion, saying, ‘We don’t need to criminalize the health-care decisions of women and their doctors.’”
How is that sidestepping the question?