Today, Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis' book, Forgetting to be Afraid, hits national bookshelves. In the book, the Democratic Party's nominee for governor describes having two abortions, including one that she writes caused “deep, dark despair” and was allegedly done because the baby would have died shortly after leaving the womb.
Davis' opponent, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, rightly kept his original comments — about Davis' alleged abortion — to a compassionate minimum. KHOU 11 News reports:
Abbott, the Republican front runner in the governor's race who opposes abortion even for victims of rape or incest, issued a statement over the weekend expressing sympathy for Davis.
“The unspeakable pain of losing a child is beyond tragic for any parent,” Abbott was quoted as saying in a written statement from his campaign. “As a father, I grieve for the Davis family and for the loss of life.”
Now, though, Abbott is asking the right kind of question about the timing of the book's publication — though the risk may not match the reward for Abbott, who is leading Davis by a dozen points. From the same news agency:
His campaign later raised questions about whether the promotional campaign behind Davis' book violates state campaign finance laws, which prohibit corporate contributions to politicians. Abbott's campaign basically argues that the book's publisher is making in-kind contributions to the Davis campaign by promoting an author who's running for governor.
Abbott's campaign is not alone in questioning the timing of the book's release, and he's asking exactly the question he should ask. With less than two months until the election, claiming the book's publication is for any purpose other than helping her flailing campaign is to ask Texas voters to ignore the proverbial smell test.
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The risk, of course, is that Abbott is now opening himself up to criticisms from Davis, her campaign, and abortion groups that he is attacking Davis because of her gender, waging a War on Women, etc. Considering the credibility gap Davis opened up for herself by dishonestly representing parts of her past, however, Abbott's question should be seriously considered by the powers-that-be in Texas and the state's media.
