Tony Evers, the Wisconsin Democratic gubernatorial nominee running against Scott Walker, said in an interview on Tuesday that the Democratic party needs to be a “big tent” that welcomes pro-life voters order to win in November. While pro-life Democrats are dwindling in numbers in Congress and ostracized within other states, Evers told THE WEEKLY STANDARD that “pro-life Democrats are welcome in the party, and I respect their decisions on this issue.”
Evers then proceeded to compare abortions to tonsillectomies while advocating for unlimited taxpayer funding of elective abortion under Medicaid.
“We need to have the Medicaid money be available for all people and restricting it because of a certain procedure, whether it’s a tonsillectomy or any other procedure, seems to me a foolhardy thing to do,” Evers told me.
Wisconsin, like the vast majority of states, currently bans Medicaid funding of elective abortions. In national polls, voters have strongly opposed using tax dollars to pay for abortions: A 2016 YouGov poll found that American voters support the Hyde amendment by a 26-point margin. That same year, the platform of the national Democratic party for the first time explicitly called for repealing the Hyde amendment, the federal measure that prohibits Medicaid funding of abortion except in cases of rape, incest, or when the mother’s life is endangered. West Virginia Democratic senator Joe Manchin called that plank of the platform “crazy.”
Evers is currently locked in a close race with Governor Scott Walker, but his advocacy of unlimited taxpayer funding of abortion under Medicaid and his callous rhetoric comparing abortions to tonsillectomies could make it difficult for Evers to win over some undecided voters.
Here’s the full exchange:
TWS: One story I’m interested in is the role of pro-life Democrats: Do they have a place in the party? There’ve been fewer and fewer in Congress. What is your message to them? Do you want to see Medicaid funding of abortion generally? I know that’s restricted in Wisconsin.
EVERS: Yeah, we have a big tent here in Wisconsin. We have to in order to win elections. And yes pro-life Democrats are welcome in the party, and I respect their decisions on this issue. But we need to have the Medicaid money be available for all people and restricting it because of a certain procedure, whether it’s a tonsillectomy or any other procedure, seems to me a foolhardy thing to do. So, yes, we have to respect people’s people’s pro-life beliefs, and certainly they’re welcome in the Democratic party. Absolutely.
