The left seems to be getting more comfortable taking things out of context with each passing day (unexpected side effect of Net culture?), which is troubling -- especially given that left-wing loon editor Joan Walsh at Salon yesterday announced an ongoing "Ryan-Shaming" feature over there, inviting readers (as if they needed encouragement) to stick out-of-context quotes on Ryan photos -- like the one here that Salon dun all by itself.
The original context, if you watched the interview that spawned the phrase, was Ryan cautiously making the common philosophical point that "the method of conception doesn't change the definition of life," in other words that the means by which a fetus was conceived doesn't necessarily alter its claim to protected moral status -- a point he immediately followed by noting that the Romney administration position would be that there should be exceptions for rape, incest, and life of the mother. He certainly did not say "just," as the vicious little children at Salon suggest, to make him look all, you know, callous and evil and maybe pro-rape to boot.
And I say all this as someone pretty damn close to moderate/indifferent on the abortion issue (and planning to vote for pro-choice Gary Johnson) but fond of accurately recounting arguments, something the pro-choice side rarely feels obliged to do and that the left in general does less and less.
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