There were lots of interesting tidbits in Melinda Henneberger’s August 7 Washington Post piece, “Democratic abortion foes push for change in platform.”

For starters:

Democratic dissenters on the issue of abortion have made their case to the platform committee, arguing that the party should change its language enough to allow for some diversity of opinion on the matter and return to the “big tent” approach of the Clinton years.

[Democrats for Life president] Janet Robert, who founded Minnesota’s progressive talk radio station AM 950… was given seven minutes… to argue that the party simply cannot win back Congress without Democrats who differ from the ’08 platform on this one issue. She cited a slew of stats, including a Gallup poll from last year in which 44% of Democrats said abortion should only be legal “in a few circumstances.”

But with NARAL president Nancy Keenan on the platform committee, it ain’t gonna happen. Plus, the abortion lobby has more power than ever with ally Barack Obama at the helm.

An ABC headline today reports, “Obama to Stoke ‘War on Women’ Debate in Colorado,” confirming the president’s “return to the gender politics of earlier in the cycle,” as reported by Politico a few days ago.

Obama is upping the ante, taking Georgetown Law School grad Sandra Fluke on the road with him on a two-day campaign trek through Colorado. Rush Limbaugh infamously called (then retracted) Fluke a “slut” for testifying in Congress she thought she should get free contraceptive through her Catholic university’s insurance plan.

A web ad released by the Obama campaign yesterday features actress Elizabeth Banks touting both Planned Parenthood and Barack Obama.

Banks promotes Planned Parenthood as a provider of ”essential services for women all over this country.” What about abortion? Pfff.

“What is it, 95% of them don’t involve anything controversial?” asks Banks in the ad. “So for that little 5% that Mitt Romney decides he doesn’t agree with, he’s going to take away cancer screenings? What is he doing?”

Banks, of course, is referring to abortion when speaking of “that little 5%,” without, of course, saying the unpopular A-word.

The Obama campaign launched a television ad over the weekend attacking Mitt Romney for attacking Planned Parenthood.

Airing in seven battleground states (Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Ohio, Nevada, North Carolina, and Virginia), the ad manages in 30 seconds to hit Romney on several liberal reproductive talking points.

The well-crafted piece starts with a pitchwoman assailing Romney for opposing contraceptives. One must read over what she is saying (see above right) to know the complaint is actually about Romney’s opposition to the Obamacare contraception mandate.

Guest post by Joel Briend, Ph.D.

He may or may not be on Mitt Romney’s short list for VP, but journalists always seem to have his name near the top of their list. At least Tim Pawlenty’spro-life credentials are reliable, right?

Well if you ask me, the view from under the Pawlenty bus ain’t so pretty.

As you may know, I have been researching and trying to bring into public awareness the abortion-breast cancer link (ABC link) for twenty years with some success, no thanks to Gov. Pawlenty.

For the Republican Party to nominate someone who is pro-choice would be as much of a problem for the Democrats to nominate someone who is pro-life. ~ Former Republican primary presidential candidate Rick Santorum describing the difficulty that presumptive Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney would face should he select a pro-choice Vice Presidential running mate, […]

Here’s why there’s ZERO chance of this happening. -Rice is “mildly pro-choice”. Is that like being “a little pregnant”? Do you really think Mitt wants to reopen the discussion about his views on abortion? ~ DrewM. responding to the rumor that former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice has emerged as the frontrunner for Mitt Romney’s […]

I don’t think it’s a hard choice if you’re a woman…. We have to get out there and tell (others) “If you’re a woman, there is no way you can vote Republican.” ~ Actress Eva Longoria at an Obama campaign rally, as quoted by The Denver Post, July 1 [Photo via Denver Post]