In the opening minutes of a debate during Sherrod Brown’s successful 2006 campaign for Senate, the Republican incumbent attacked him over “partial-birth abortion,” a phrase often weaponized by conservatives at the time to paint Democrats as somewhere between immoral and murderous.
Mr. Brown, a Democrat from northeast Ohio in the House at the time, glanced at his notes.
He denounced the mere idea that Congress would limit any procedure that could “save a woman’s health.”With that, he quickly pivoted.
Mr. Brown used the rest of his time to burnish his political brand as a blue-collar economic populist.
One difference, other than that his shaggy dark hair is now shaded with gray, is that he is preparing to fully lean into his defense of abortion rights.
Persons:
Sherrod Brown’s, . Brown, glanced, “, ”, Brown
Organizations:
Senate, Republican
Locations:
Ohio