WI Republicans Throw Walker's Campaign A (Pro-)Life Preserver
May 27, 2015

As Scott Walker nears the time that he lets the cat out of the cellophane bag and formally announces his presidential bid, he has to take care of an image problem he has with conservative Christians. They are less than enthused with his wimpy stances regarding gay marriage and abortion:

So even though Walker has said he'd rather not get sidetracked with discussions on the divisive issues, Christian leaders want him to talk about it and openly.

"He cannot campaign in Iowa and South Carolina and not talk about the issues of life and marriage," Penny Nance, who leads the conservative Concerned Women for America group, told Politico. "And even if it appears that he's not talking about it, he's done," she added.

Wisconsin Republican legislators are riding to the rescue and are fast-tracking a bill which would ban abortions after the 20th week, even in cases of rape or incest:

State Republicans are looking to fast-track a bill that would ban abortions after 20 weeks, potentially bringing the proposal to a vote before the Legislature begins debate on the state budget in June.

State Senate President Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin) told the WisconsinEye Public Affairs Network last week that she hopes to see a vote on the proposal, which has more than 30 co-sponsors, as soon as possible.

"As soon as we can do the logistics of sorting out committee meetings and getting those things done, we will be proceeding," Lazich said.

As Senate president, Lazich assigns bills to committees and sits on the panel that decides which bills will come to a floor vote. Lazich is a lead sponsor of the bill.

Republican Gov. Scott Walker, who is preparing a likely run for the presidency, said in March he would sign the measure if it came to his desk.

The bill includes penalties of up to $10,000 and 31/2 years in jail for anyone who is convicted of performing an abortion after 20 weeks, when Lazich said research shows a fetus begins to feel pain. Opponents of the bill dispute that, saying the scientific community does not believe fetuses can feel pain at that stage of development.

Even though similar laws have been stopped in other states and the senate president admits that she doesn't know whether this bill would stand to a court challenge, they're still planning on suppressing more women's rights for the political aspirations of Walker.

What's the rights of people or the squandering of tax dollars compared to the chance for Walker to show he's as depraved conservative as any of the other presidential wannabes, even if he doesn't necessarily mean it?

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