Joe Biden, Anachronism
By 
Another stark illustration of the difference between the candidates who should be given serious consideration for the Democratic nomination and those who shouldn’t:
Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., who has shunned today’s Democratic Party orthodoxy on issues from crime to compromising with Republicans, again broke with his party’s base and many of his campaign rivals on Wednesday when his campaign confirmed that he still backs the Hyde Amendment, a measure that prohibits the use of federal funds for abortion with exceptions for cases involving rape, incest and when the life of the mother is in danger.
The backlash to Mr. Biden, who despite leading early presidential polls faces skepticism from his party’s progressive wing, came swiftly from lawmakers and activists who support abortion rights, with many noting that the Hyde Amendment disproportionately affects economically disadvantaged women and women of color.
“The problem is, the Hyde Amendment affects poor women, women of color, black women, Hispanic women,” said Patti Solis Doyle, who served as Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign manager in 2008 and has also worked for Mr. Biden. “And women of color will elect the next president of the United States.”
Several of Mr. Biden’s primary opponents moved quickly Wednesday to highlight their own opposition to the Hyde Amendment, underscoring how sharply Mr. Biden’s position differs from many in the Democratic field. The measure, which dates to the 1970s, pertains to Medicaid funding of abortion, which is why opponents say the restrictions affect poor women most directly.
“Repealing the Hyde Amendment is critical so that low-income women in particular can have access to the reproductive care they need and deserve,” Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York tweeted. “Reproductive rights are human rights, period. They should be nonnegotiable for all Democrats.”
Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont took a thinly veiled swipe as well. “There is #NoMiddleGround on women’s rights,” Mr. Sanders wrote. “Abortion is a constitutional right. Under my Medicare for All plan, we will repeal the Hyde Amendment.”
Speaking with reporters after a rally in Indiana, Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts emphasized her opposition to the measure.
“This isn’t about politics, this is about what’s right,” she said. “The Hyde Amendment should not be American law.”
He also tried to weaken the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive coverage. And this wasn’t about making a concession to get the bill passed; this was about the regulations implementing the statute. He just believed that the reproductive freedom of religious women should be trumped by an insubstantial religious burden on the merits. He’s the wrong candidate for 2020.