Corbett denies support for ultrasound bill
Bad political moments live forever on the Internet. Gov. Corbett's denial of past support for a mandatory ultrasound bill gives Democrats a hook to remind voters of the controversial moment from 2012 when he said "you just close your eyes."
Pennsylvania Gov. Corbett's support for a controversial 2012 bill requiring women to have an ultrasound before an abortion continues to dog him: "You just have to close your eyes."
On Tuesday, a "tracker" from the Democratic PAC Fresh Start caught the Republican governor on tape denying he'd ever backed the legislation, designed to discourage abortions with images of the developing fetus.
"I never did," he said, when asked if he still supports the idea. "I didn't sign the bill."
Corbett didn't sign the bill because it stalled in the legislature; he did support it at the time, making his infamous remark at a news conference. (To be fair, the governor was arguing in response to a question that an ultrasound requirement would not unduly burden women because they would not be forced to look at an image. All the attention, however, went to his clunky phrase.)
Fresh Start, established in the summer to support Democratic governor nominee Tom Wolf, was quick to distribute a web video showing Tuesday's "gotcha" moment along with b-roll of Corbett expressing his support for the ultrasound legislation in various forums.
"His strange denial that he ever supported this legislation shows that Tom Corbett is either being incredibly deceptive or he is out of touch with reality," Katie McGinty, chairwoman of Fresh Start, said.
In an interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette published last Sunday, Corbett also appeared to back away from his support of the bill, calling it "silly legislation" that would not have accomplished much anyway.