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From a purely tactical standpoint, Democrats maintained momentum during this summer’s abortion debate. The impassioned testimony delivered by hundreds of pro-choice women into the wee hours of the morning, Senator Wendy Davis standing for 11 hours to deliver an epic filibuster, the party’s David vs. Goliath victory — all stand as shining examples of democracy in action. Meanwhile, Republicans were busy penalizing Davis for putting on a back brace, altering computer records to sneak a victory and chalking up their defeat to a lawless mob and Davis’ failure to realize that she could have been aborted.
But then Representative Gene Wu, a Houston Democrat and absurdly prolific tweeter, made a Dick Cheney/aborted fetus joke:
If life ends when heart stops, then please explain Dick Cheney? #txlege
— Gene Wu (@GeneforTexas) July 1, 2013
Everyone loves a good Cheney joke, but Wu’s is not a good Cheney joke. The only thing that’s remotely comical about it is how ridiculously ill-advised it was. Joking about abortion, particularly in the middle of a heated, intensely partisan legislative fight over the procedure, is not something that’s wise for an elected official to do.
See also
–– “She was a Teenage Mother Herself” — Rick Perry Says Wendy Davis Should Know Better Than to Support Abortion
–– Senator Wendy Davis, With Help from a Lot of Pissed Off Texans, Kills Sweeping Abortion Bill
To his credit, Wu realized this pretty quickly. He deleted a tweet and issued an apology:
Alas, it was a bit late for all that. Wu was shouted down by pro lifers on Twitter. Then The Daily Caller picked it up. A writer for TownHall.com declares that it’s “Not surprising coming from someone who supports aborting a child at five months.”
