GOP ignores its nominee on abortion platform. Again.

The Republican presidential nominee was once a strong supporter of Roe v. Wade, but underwent a just-in-time pro-life conversion to seek his party's nomination. Kowtowing to the GOP's evangelical base, he named a hardline social conservative who opposed abortion in all cases, including rape and incest. Then the week before the Republican National Convention made his nomination official, the drafters of the GOP platform ignored their presidential choice and instead enshrined his number two's view and the draconian Human Life Amendment as party orthodoxy.

If you guessed this was the tale of Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, you'd be right. Then again, if you suspected this was a brief history of John McCain and Sarah Palin, you'd be right, too.

In response to Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin's "legitimate rape" outrage, Team Romney announced Sunday that "Governor Romney and Congressman Ryan disagree with Mr. Akin's statement, and a Romney-Ryan administration would not oppose abortion in instances of rape." While a reversal of Paul Ryan's past positions, that sound bite was at least consistent with the 2012 edition of "My Pro-Life Pledge" in which Mitt Romney proclaimed, "I am pro-life and believe that abortion should be limited to only instances of rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother."

And then Republican Platform Committee said "no." As CNN reported, the draft text of the 2012 GOP platform will once again codify anti-abortion absolutism:

"Faithful to the 'self-evident' truths enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, we assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed," the draft platform declares. "We support a human life amendment to the Constitution and endorse legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment's protections apply to unborn children."

That's little changed from four years ago, when the 2008 Republican platform similarly declared that fetuses are entitled to equal protection and due process of law:

Faithful to the first guarantee of the Declaration of Independence, we assert the inherent dignity and sanctity of all human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed. We support a human life amendment to the Constitution, and we endorse legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment's protections apply to unborn children.

That position represented quite a transformation for John McCain. After all, in 1999 he declared, "I would not support repeal of Roe v. Wade, which would then force X number of women in America to [undergo] illegal and dangerous operations." But in anticipation of his upcoming White House run, McCain reversed course in 2006. By May of 2008, McCain explained his new position, one he wanted to see reflected in his party's platform:

My position has always been: exceptions of rape, incest and the life of the mother," the senator said.

When asked if he would encourage the party to include them in the platform, he replied, "Yes," adding: "And by the way, I think that's the view of most people, that rape, incest, the life of the mother are issues that have to be considered."

As it turned out, not so much. Because in the interim, John McCain tapped Sarah Palin as his running mate.

(Continue reading below the fold.)