The Republicans have an unsolvable problem on their hands. Abortion rights are shaping up to be the signature issue of this election cycle and their party is shackled to a deeply unpopular position on the issue. The GOP’s repeal of Roe v. Wade unleashed a tidal wave of draconian abortion bans all across the red states, giving the entire country a good look at what MAGA reproductive laws look like in action. The mid-terms, special election results, and current polling numbers make it clear that they don’t like what they’re seeing.
The solution for Republicans is simple but completely out of reach. They need to tack left on abortion to stand any chance at the ballot box with moderates. Unfortunately for them, they can’t do that without alienating the deeply uncompromising Evangelical bloc whose votes they need to remain electorally viable. This intractable problem lays bare the dirty little Faustian bargain at the heart of American conservatism.
The Republican Party exists for one reason: to make the rich richer. The only policy goals that they reliably pursue while in power are cutting taxes for the super-wealthy and stripping away regulations to boost corporate profits. Since plutocracy is a hard pitch to sell to voters, they’re forced to glom onto culture war issues to cobble together a voting coalition. They can’t offer any material benefits (since that would require spending money that they could instead siphon off to the rich) so they pander to bigotry and theocracy. Now, that theocracy is bearing rotten fruit and normal people — that is to say the vast majority of Americans who are not Christofascists — are fleeing in droves.
Some Republicans are clearly deluding themselves about the scope of the problem. Right-wing crank Mark Simone went on Fox News and told Larry Kudlow — one of the many spineless financial crackpots to attach barnacle-like to Donald Trump in recent years — that the near-total abortion ban in Arizona might hurt them short term, but that soon people would realize that the ban is “not the worst thing in the world.” These are not the words of a man with any understanding of the average American.
Most people look at Arizona reviving a horrific abortion ban from 1864 and feel a visceral and lasting aversion not only to the law itself, but to the party that foisted it upon their fellow citizens. This law will result in rape and incest victims being forced to carry fetuses to term. Doctors who perform abortions could face up to five years in prison. This is not the kind of thing that people will just shrug off after a few days or even a few months. This is the kind of thing that will drive them to vote in November. This is the kind of thing that decides elections.
Nested inside all of this horror is a powerful irony. Republicans spent decades meticulously packing the judiciary with right-wing ideologues with the singleminded goal of repealing Roe. In finally achieving it, they have made themselves radioactive to voters in a way that could take generations to dissipate.
The "Don't Be A Mitch" campaign is back after a hugely successful 2022 cycle, having raised $1.2 million for voter registration groups ahead of the midterm elections. This year, with a tough Senate map, we have no room for error. I put together a list of organizations from 5 key states (Montana, Ohio, Arizona, Wisconsin, and Missouri) that I think are best situated to ensure that the Senate stays in Democrats' hands. Any amount helps!
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