New GOP scare tactic: OMG, Obama is pro-choice. But, like, for reals!

Well, this should work. Since the entire country is busy throwing up in its collective mouth at Republican Party's pathological obsession with abortion, this seems like a perfect time for Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus to shift the conversation to something else. Like abortion:

The new obsession is the platform of the Republican Party on abortion, which is an obsession. What about the obsession about a guy who believes in partial-birth abortion. I mean, what about that obsession? Why aren't we talking about that very minority view of abortion in our country that this president holds dear to his heart. We're not talking about that.

Yes. Yes, the top spokesman for the Republican Party did just complain that everyone is obsessed with his party's obsession with abortion'for no reason at all whatsoever that he can understand. And he doesn't like it at all.

So let's help him out with something else he won't like: facts.

The current Congress has introduced 67 abortion bills. Fifty-four of them were introduced by Republicans. A sampling:

• H.R. 212: Sanctity of Human Life Act: "To provide that human life shall be deemed to begin with fertilization."
• H.R. 1096: Sanctity of Life Act of 2011: "To provide that human life shall be deemed to exist from conception, and for other purposes."
• S. 91: Life at Conception Act: "A bill to implement equal protection under the 14th article of amendment to the Constitution for the right to life of each born and unborn human person."
• H.R. 374: Life at Conception Act: "To implement equal protection under the 14th article of amendment to the Constitution for the right to life of each born and preborn human person."
• S. 314: Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act of 2011: "A bill to ensure that women seeking an abortion are fully informed regarding the pain experienced by their unborn child."
• S. 2103: District of Columbia Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act: "A bill to amend title 18, United States Code, to protect pain-capable unborn children in the District of Columbia, and for other purposes."
• H.R. 3805: Ultrasound Informed Consent Act: "To ensure that women seeking an abortion receive an ultrasound and the opportunity to review the ultrasound before giving informed consent to receive an abortion."
• H.R. 3130: Heartbeat Informed Consent Act: "To ensure that women seeking an abortion receive an ultrasound and an opportunity to review the ultrasound before giving informed consent to receive an abortion."
• H.R. 3802: National Pro-Life Waiting Period Act of 2012: "To require an abortion provider, before performing an abortion, to wait for a period of at least 24 hours."
• S. 3290: Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act (PRENDA) of 2012: "A bill to prohibit discrimination against the unborn on the basis of sex or gender, and for other purposes."
• H.R. 5646: Homeland Security Respect for Life Act: "To prohibit funds appropriated for the Department of Homeland Security from being used to pay for an abortion, and for other purposes."
• H.R. 6173: PRO-LIFE Act: "To amend the General Education Provisions Act to prohibit Federal education funding for elementary schools and secondary schools that provide on-campus access to abortion providers."
• H.R. 3: No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act: "To prohibit taxpayer funded abortions and to provide for conscience protections, and for other purposes."

And we're not even talking about the 900 bills introduced at the state level last year.  

If those bills seem ridiculous, not to mention redundant, that's because they are. None of them are based on facts of any kinds. There is no such thing as taxpayer-funded abortion. There is no such thing as fetal pain. There is no such thing as on-campus abortion providers for elementary schools. There is no such thing as sex-selective abortion. And there is no reason to require a woman to undergo and view an ultrasound before undergoing an abortion.

All of these bills had, at best, a 2 percent chance of being enacted. All of them are a waste of time. And all of them were introduced and co-sponsored by Republicans, many of them by, that's right, vice presidential candidate Rep. Paul Ryan. Paul Ryan, who believes that a woman should have to carry a pregnancy to term even if it kills her.

Gosh, it sure is hard to understand why people think Republicans are obsessed with abortion, isn't it? Even though, this week, the party once again included in its platform support for a constitutional amendment banning all abortions.

And Priebus wants to know why we aren't talking about President Obama's "obsession" with abortion?

Well, maybe it's because President Obama hasn't asked for, supported, or signed any abortion bills'except, of course, for his executive order banning non-existent taxpayer-funded abortions.

Still, Priebus would like us to focus on President Obama's "obsession" with "partial birth abortion"'something you won't find in any medical textbooks because it doesn't exist.

It's not exactly breaking news that the president supports women's reproductive rights. He hasn't taken any action to enshrine or expand those rights, but Republicans are so desperate right now to divert national focus from their anti-woman extremism that they actually think reminding voters that the president supports reproductive rights is a winning argument for them. As if voters who currently support the president will be turned off when they find out that he has consistently supported reproductive rights, instead of just pretending to be offended by extremism when he thinks it suits him. As the Republicans have done this week, while trying to distance themselves from Todd Akin, whose positions on abortion represent the Republican Party, its platform, and its presidential ticket this year.

It won't work. It's transparently stupid. But then, that's today's Republican Party for you.