No link on this one, just a thought apropos nothing, except general silly talk on the left about how the Republicans are endangering all that is right and good in the world.

Those who claim that Roe v. Wade is hanging by a thread with the Republicans in power fail to see how deeply the GOP is divided on this issue; it runs about fifty-fifty even here in the rock-ribbed redoubts of suburban Houston.

The unspoken compromise that has been worked out is that candidates must rhetorically embrace the anti-abortion position in order to secure the support of religious conservatives, but are forbidden to actually do anything to repeal Roe, to avoid alienating their pro-choice constituency. Issues on the margin -- like "partial birth" abortions, parental notification, and waiting periods -- are negotiable, since candidates may need them to demostrate their anti-abortion bona-fides.

This is not a stable situation, and works better when the party is in opposition rather than in power, when professed policies run the risk of actually being put into practice. Wartime footing may postpone such a reckoning further, by pushing abortion downward on the list of priorities, and making obvious the problems with pushing such a divisive issue.

But once the war is over, Republican fortunes will go into decline shortly afterward, as they are forced to make a choice on the abortion issue, and thus alienate either the religious conservatives or the social moderates among their own ranks and among swing voters.

In combination with the prospect of a left-vs-DLC split in the Democratic party, there could be a major general realignment of the parties in the offing.