Kenton Ngo tries to explain why the abortion strategy for Deeds works. Unfortunately, there’s two immediate pitfalls.
First, pro-lifers are single-issue voters and make up about 20% of the support for Deeds. Why break them off?
Second, pro-aborts don’t place abortion as their top issue. In Virginia, your top issues are jobs, economy, and transportation — Deeds might as well be talking about doorknobs, the issue in and of itself simply doesn’t ring true.
Now this is not to say the strategy isn’t born out of necessity — it most certainly is. Deeds is getting crushed across the board. What Deeds is doing is shoring up his base.
Problem is, it’s August, and he’s shoring up a constituency he really shouldn’t have to reassure.