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Who Says There Are No Liberal Republicans Left?
Ohio’s Rep. Steve LaTourette announced the other day that he was retiring after nine terms. Congress, he complained, has become too polarized. “One needs but a glance at Tuesday night’s vote to impose a ban on late-term abortions in only the District of Columbia to understand why,” wrote Fox News’s Chad Pergram:

LaTourette says the most significant piece of legislation to hit the House floor on Tuesday is emblematic of why he’s decided to step aside.

The marquee measure on the House docket Tuesday was the “District of Columbia Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.” Crafted by Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ), the package would outlaw all abortions after 20 weeks – only in the federal city.

To make his point, LaTourette voted “present.” (The vote on the bill was 220-154 in favor, short of the two-thirds required “to suspend the rules and pass.”)

LaTourette was not the only Republican to oppose the antiabortion measure. Six GOP members voted “no,” and Rep. Nan Hayworth of New York joined LaTourette in voting “present.” But as The Weekly Standard’s John McCormack points out, one thing sets LaTourette apart from these seven: He was a cosponsor of the bill he found unacceptably polarizing.

The other seven Republicans who voted “no” or “present” can be accurately classified as liberals on social issues. LaTourette, it would seem, is a liberal in the sense of the quip variously credited to the philosopher William Hocking and the poet Robert Frost: one who is too broad-minded to take his own side in an argument.

by James Taranto

The Wall Street Journal / Best of the Web Today

Thursday, 02 August 12