(CNN) On Thursday night, Joe Biden reversed his past support for the Hyde Amendment -- bowing to pressure from the Democratic Party's liberal wing and abandoning a long and allegedly deeply held point of personal conviction.

"If I believe health care is a right, as I do, I can no longer support an amendment that makes that right dependent on someone's ZIP code," Biden told a cheering crowd at a Democratic National Committee event in Atlanta. ( The Hyde Amendment , in essence, bans federal dollars from being used on abortion services.)

Which, on its face, is fine! And smart, politically speaking! Politicians are (or sthhould be) allowed to evolve over the years -- changing or altering positions based on new information. And given the current attempts in Republican-controlled state governments from Missouri to Alabama to Georgia to drastically curtail the availability of abortions, Biden's support of the Hyde Amendment was increasingly anachronistic in the Democratic Party. Which is a problem when you are the frontrunner for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.

Here's the problem: Up until 24 hours before Biden's change of position on the Hyde Amendment, his top surrogates were painting his continued support for the amendment as a principled stand born of his Catholic faith. Here's Louisiana Rep. Cedric Richmond defending Biden's view on Hyde Wednesday night with CNN's Chris Cuomo

"He is a deeply religious man. ... He is guided by his faith, his position on the Hyde Amendment has been consistent."

Read More