Grinning Trump said he would make a deal on abortion that would make both sides happy. This week he put his deal on the table, said he’d leave limits on abortion up to the states. Both sides erupted. Angry.

Unless you have faith in the wisdom of Washington politicians, leaving abortion in the hands of the states doesn’t sound like a bad idea. But, at the same time, it doesn’t breed happiness.

As soon as the Supreme Court shot down the Roe versus Wade, Democrats started pummeling Republicans on abortion. Republicans dodged. And, last election, dodgers went down in flames.

They just held a special election for a State House seat in Alabama in a Republican district. The Democratic candidate hammered the Republican candidate on abortion, the Republican dodged, and lost by 25 points – in a district that had elected Republicans for two decades.

Shaking his head Alabama’s Republican Party chairman said, “So many candidates run from the issue and their consultants tell them, ‘don’t talk about it.’ I think that is the wrong tactic for Republicans.”

There comes a time in a campaign when a candidate being hammered for his stand on an unpopular issue has to make a hard choice: Will he stand up and fight for what’s right? Or dodge?

It’s going to be a hard fight to win this election but Republicans have to convince voters abortion is wrong and limiting abortion is right. Dodging won’t work. More dodging means more Democrats hammering.