Be careful what you ask for
When I moved from California to Wichita, Kan., in the late 1980s, I was frequently reminded that the move would give me 无毛视频渃ulture shock.无毛视频�
I tried to ignore folks when they insisted I无毛视频檇 have difficulty slowing down to the pace of native Wichitans.
I felt I无毛视频檇 adapted fairly well. But the one thing I hadn无毛视频檛 been prepared for was the outright strident opposition to abortion that existed in Kansas.
There were anti-abortion billboards everywhere, it seemed.
If there was a ground zero in America无毛视频檚 pro-life movement, it was probably Wichita.
Around that time, Kansas native George Tiller began performing late-term abortions at the medical practice originated by his father.
In 1986, somebody set off a bomb at his clinic.
In 1991, members of the anti-abortion group, Operation Rescue, blockaded three Wichita abortion clinics, including Tiller无毛视频檚.
In 1993, Tiller was shot, but he survived.
In 2009, Tiller was shot. That time he died.
You无毛视频檇 think that a proposed constitutional amendment put before Kansas voters that would essentially outlaw abortions under any circumstance, may easily win approval.
It didn无毛视频檛.
Not by a long shot.
Kansas voters voted down the amendment by a whopping 59% to 41% margin.
It was the first solid indication that the U.S. Supreme Court无毛视频檚 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, might be energizing women to fight back against states that would like to outlaw abortions altogether.
There无毛视频檚 been a serious uptick in the number of women registering to vote for the upcoming mid-term elections.
Although, that无毛视频檚 not necessarily across the board.
What should be of concern to Republicans around the country is the fact that women aren无毛视频檛 registering in higher numbers where there are chances that, for the time being, abortion rights are safe.
There无毛视频檚 no marked increase in North Carolina where there无毛视频檚 a Democratic governor, Roy Cooper, who无毛视频檚 vowed to protect women无毛视频檚 choice.
There无毛视频檚 only been a relatively small increase in the number of new registrations among women in Maine, where abortions are protected.
The same situation exists in New Mexico, where there无毛视频檚 no remarkable gap between new registrations among men and women. In New Mexico, abortions remain mostly unchanged.
After June 24, when the Supreme Court handed down its decision to end Roe v. Wade, many Republicans thought the abortion issue had been settled.
The opposite appears to be happening.
Women across the country have been energized by it.
So much so, that the Republican control of Congress, which had been considered to be a foregone conclusion, may now be in doubt.
Suddenly, some Republicans who were delighted after President Trump named three staunchly conservative nominees to the Supreme Court are now seeing what happens when you无毛视频檙e not careful what you ask for.
Republicans had hoped to be on the offensive during the run-up to the mid-term elections. They planned to go heavy on the economy, jobs, gas prices, and immigration.
Instead, it appears as if some candidates are playing defense.
Out in Arizona, the Republican candidate trying to unseat Democrat Mark Kelly in the U.S. Senate finds himself in an awkward situation.
It seems Blake Masters got caught backing away from his strident anti-abortion stands.
The message on his website before the state无毛视频檚 primary election was that he was 无毛视频渦napologetically pro-life.无毛视频� And that he无毛视频檚 for a 无毛视频渇ederal personhood无毛视频� law, which would lead to 无毛视频渁bsolutely no abortions.无毛视频�
But since the Supreme Court spoke, and Masters won his primary election, he无毛视频檚 definitely changed his rhetoric.
He无毛视频檚 now supporting a federal 无毛视频渂an on late-term (third trimester) abortions.无毛视频�
A decidedly softer approach.
When his campaign was questioned about Masters无毛视频� change in his stands on abortions, his campaign claims the policy section of his website is, get ready for this, a 无毛视频渓iving document.无毛视频�
Masters isn无毛视频檛 alone. There are some Republicans who are taking a detour around the issue of abortion since it无毛视频檚 become known that many women have become politically active because of it.
In fact, Trump, who loves to take credit for nominating those three justices, doesn无毛视频檛 seem to mention them much in his current stump speeches.
Edward A. Owens is a multi-Emmy Award winner, former reporter, and anchor for Entertainment Tonight, and 50-year TV news and newspaper veteran. E-mail him at freedoms@bellatlantic.net.