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**AUGUST 3, 2022**
Kuttner on TAP
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**** The Kansas Vote
Is a Lot Bigger Than Abortion
It portends a winning strategy for Democrats in November and beyond.
Abolishing a woman's right to control her own body is only one of
several issues where the far right has gotten high on their own supply.
Combined with the excesses of Trumpism, the Republicans have handed
Democrats a winning game plan for the 2022 midterms.
As I've been writing
,
the ramifications of the
**Dobbs** ruling go far beyond abortion itself. As implemented by
far-right state governments,
**Dobbs** turn doctors into informants, whose primary loyalty is to the
state rather than to medical ethics and the patient. As all this sinks
in, the deeper backlash has only begun.
The far right is also on the wrong side of public opinion on everything
from gun mayhem to drug price controls and of course to the attempted
coup of January 6, 2021. These issues divide Republicans; they unite
Democrats and bring along independents.
In every House and Senate race, the Democrat will be demanding to know
where the Republican stands. If the Republican stands with the hardcore
right, normal people are alienated. Conversely, if the Republican stands
with a majority of public opinion, the GOP base is alienated.
Trump has aided this scenario, both by his own behavior and by promoting
the nomination of several crackpot legislative candidates. But for
Trump's endorsements, Republicans might have nominated winning
candidates in Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, instead of the badly
blemished Herschel Walker, Mehmet Oz, and J.D. Vance, all of whom are
currently behind in the polls.
Indeed, in every closely contested Senate race, except North Carolina,
the Democrat now leads in the polls. These include critical states that
Democrats need to hold (Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, and New Hampshire) as
well as possible pickups in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. In all of
these states, the issues play to Democratic advantage. A year that was
supposed to produce a devastating Democratic defeat could yield gains of
two or three Senate seats.
Until recently, the press was filled with gloomy reports of Democratic
defeatism and low energy. No longer. I will have a follow-up piece on
the new activism at the Democratic grassroots.
Two other benefits of recent events are that they take the spotlight off
Joe Biden's low approval ratings; and they elevate other issues so
that the November elections do not turn on the price of gas.
In my recent book, Going Big
, I
laid out a scenario for Democrats winning the midterms. It included
Trump doing massive collateral damage to his party and Republican
overreach on extremist positions that alienate most voters. It's too
early to claim vindication-that awaits November-but I'm feeling a
lot better than I did a month ago.
One other point: Note that nobody claimed voter fraud in Kansas. This
proves once again that Republicans can become the national ruling party,
not on the issues, but only by destroying democracy. That struggle also
continues.
~ ROBERT KUTTNER
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Kansans to Alito: F*ck You.
Americans, it appears, don't like their rights taken away. BY HAROLD
MEYERSON
Republicans Just Exposed Their Greatest Weakness
Only a deranged political party votes against health care for wounded
veterans out of pure spite. BY RYAN COOPER
Battling to a Win in 2022
Democrats have a path to victory, according to recent polling. BY
STANLEY B. GREENBERG
Hollywood's Role in Stigmatizing Abortion
And its responsibility now BY STEPH HEROLD
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