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Senator Bingham hightails it

Post on July 28, 2011 by 12 Comments »

It appears that the override of Governor Perdue’s veto of the mislabeled anti-choice disaster known as the “Woman’s Right to Know Act” will pass the Senate and become law — at least until the courts strike it down.

And it looks like the women of North Carolina can thank Senator Stan Bingham for this offensive assault on their fundamental rights. The Davidson County Republican, who said he followed his conscience and voted against the bill when it first passed the Senate, has now decided to hit the road today after this morning’s Republican caucus.

A sad, sad day and an amazing display of gutlessness by Bingham.

 

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Comments (Closed):12

  1. Rob Schofield
    July 28, 2011 at 11:47 am

    This is Bingham last month talking to reporter Mark Binker:

    “I’ve got four daughters and I have never imposed on them. They are bright, smart young women and I trust the decisions they make. I’ve got one’s a doctor, one’s a lawyer and two engineers,” Bingham said, adding that he raised his daughters to think for themselves.
    He said that Senators who were doctors spoke against the bill and swayed him. But, he said, it was mainly thinking about the women in his life that caused him to side against the bill.
    “I leave it up to them to make decisions about their own bodies,” Bingham said. “It’s just like if I were going to be castrated, I wouldn’t want them to make that decision for me.”

  2. rjgeary
    July 28, 2011 at 11:52 am

    Where is Stevens?

  3. Rob Schofield
    July 28, 2011 at 11:56 am

    AWOL again as far as I know.

  4. E Finley
    July 28, 2011 at 12:20 pm

    I wish we’d all be more cautious in our reactions to Bingham.

    Yes, it’s an awful bill. Yes, I wish Bingham had kept his original stance. But Bingham has been a great ally on things like sx ed. He’s moderate on sxual health issues. He’s been willing to go against his party. He has been in our court before and we will need him there in the future.

    Our ire should be directed at the people who fought tooth and nail to get this bill passed in the first place. At the folks who believed all along that this is a good bill. At the organizations that flooded the debate with misinformation. Bingham’s the wrong target.

  5. Meredith Eugene Hunt
    July 28, 2011 at 12:26 pm

    Almost all of the arguments against the override today were arguments for abortion in hard cases. The Act will help women and save children.

  6. JeffS
    July 28, 2011 at 1:03 pm

    Meredith, no one believes this is even remotely about helping women.

    “helping them” to do what you want them to do maybe.

    ———–

    Bingham’s vote is no more crucial than that of anyone else though. Criticize EVERYONE who votes for it, or hides in his office like a coward.

  7. Rob Schofield
    July 28, 2011 at 1:16 pm

    The reason we highlighted Bingham is simple: Unlike the rest of the Republican caucus, he is not a theocrat bent on imposing one narrow worldview on everyone else in the state. In other words, the man knows better — he had the guts to do the right thing before. But now, when his daughters’ lives we’re on the line, he sold out. And for what — better treatment in the Republican caucus where he is and always will be a mostly irrelevant back-bencher?

    Sorry, but Bingham DOES deserve special criticism. His was a most treacherous, shameful and damaging betrayal.

  8. E Finley
    July 28, 2011 at 1:59 pm

    He wasn’t an irrelevant back-bencher on the Healthy Youth Act. I’ve watched him have thoughtful conversations about reproductive health. You don’t get that from a Stam or a Samuelson. (I sure have some angry words for Samuelson!)

    I agree with you, Rob, that he was in a special position to do something great today. But I also know that being more moderate makes his job harder and that putting all our blame on him doesn’t make it any easier. I’d rather be able to count him as an ally in the future.

  9. Rob Schofield
    July 28, 2011 at 2:05 pm

    We’re gonna have to disagree. Sometimes, when it comes to fundamental matters like this, you simply can’t run and hide. Bingham has done lots of okay things through the years. That’s great. But that simply can’t absolve him from the treacherous action he committed today. You don’t get a free pass to damage thousands of women’s lives when you know better just because you’ve done some other good things before. Some things have to rise above politics and if this isn’t one of them, I don’t know what is.

  10. francesjenkins
    July 28, 2011 at 8:44 pm

    But Rob, you and Josh Stein turned your head with John Edwards with the explotation of woman. Shame on you.

  11. Rob Schofield
    July 28, 2011 at 9:15 pm

    Frances – I’m sure you are a nice person, but you have literally zero idea of what you are talking about.

  12. Sally Walker
    July 29, 2011 at 8:35 pm

    Thanks for your thoughtful comments, Rob. E Finley, your comments call to mind the “Hitler built good roads” arguments of decades past. Indeed this senator must be held accountable.
    Another troubling thing about this bill is its name: “A Woman’s Right to Know”. The implication is that she knows nothing, thinks nothing, has, in fact, been denied the right to know what she was doing until this bill was passed to save her from callous ignorance. Huh? Believe me, I know that deciding on abortion isn’t easy.
    And Frances — Huh?