Watching the John Roberts‘ confirmation hearings has been nothing if not entirely predictable. Republicans have bandied about their g-spot phrases (“activist judges,” “originalism,” etc) while Democrats ran with their trademark “you will of course be confirmed” line. Not exactly must-see TV. But anytime the bright lights of a national audience shine on our esteemed upper house, there is ample opportunity for the backbenchers to prove all over again why they are on the back bench. And Tuesday it was Alabama’s Republican Senator Jeff Sessions‘ turn in the spotlight:

“I would just offer that our polling data continues to show that our young people and numbers in general are showing that the people are more hostile to abortion than they used to be.”

56 percent of Americans are pro-choice and 38% of Americans are pro-life, virtually unchanged during the five years that President Bush has been in office, virtually unchanged during the 10 years that Republicans have controlled the House of Representatives, and yes, virtually unchanged in the 25 years since Ronald Reagan came to Washington.

Sessions probably couldn’t read a poll if his seat depended on it, but his counterfactual statement does reveal a greater truth: there is greater hostility toward abortion from a vocal minority who wish to impose their will and religious beliefs on others. Attempting to marginalize the majority is nothing for Sessions to trumpet, but what does he know, he’s just a sitting U.S. Senator.