Is this a good thing?

Unfortunately, some wars are won by the side that is the most
fanatical in the religious sense. The victorious leaders harness the
holy energy of collective insanity.

COGITOR KWYNA

[From the Machine Crusade by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson]

South Dakota law bans nearly all abortions
I'm not sure why the sudden indignant hysteria over this, let's be honest, when we didn't do the job in 2004 we knew it was coming. While it may be perceived as bad news for women it is also very bad news for the rethuglicans. As I wrote over at Running Scared last October:

....the Corporatist wing of the republican party does not want Roe VS Wade overturned. Let's be honest here, we can talk about fixed elections and a poor campaign effort by both Gore and Kerry but there is one reason George W. Bush sits in the White House now. It's Roe VS Wade. This is where the quote at the top of this post comes into play; "The victorious leaders harness the holy energy of collective insanity". That pretty well describes the religious right in this country. The Corporatist Republicans cannot win on their agenda and they know it. Lee Attwater was the first to recognize this "collective insanity" and harness it. His gnomish student, Karl Rove, built on it. Once Roe VS Wade is overturned the fuel for that "collective insanity" is gone and the bus loads of evangelicals will no longer show up at the polls.

Without the "collective insanity" of the religious right the Republicans can't win and they know it. As Steve Soto says:

Just like the way the GOP bashed Kerry over his Iraq war vote, the same applies to this. McCain, Allen, and the rest either support what South Dakota and Mississippi have done, or they don't. It is a simple question.

That's right, the Republicans are going to be forced to really take a stand on something a majority of Americans support. Steve concludes with this:

This is a textbook case of the GOP consultant's nightmare, and Karl Rove's Frankenstein. After playing to these folks for decades and using them electorally, with no intention of ever meeting their demands, the GOP now finds itself with a landmine they created. If this law is challenged by the AMA or Planned Parenthood, and Roe is overturned by this court, then Roberts and Alito are proven to be liars, and the GOP is finally exposed, losing independent, suburban voters in 2008 and energizing the Democratic base. Plus, Smiling John Roberts and Stripsearch Sammy Alito will face hostility for the rest of their time on the court.

This is truly a lose-lose for the Republicans. They either give the Religous Right what they want or they will abandon the Republican party but when they finally get what they want they will just stay home, the "collective insanity" will have been satisfied.