Voting Based On Abortion Probably Gets You Policies That You Oppose
Too many people are missing the realities of politics, campaigns and governing.
Soon to be engaged couples are often warned: “Remember, you’re not just marrying your spouse; you’re marrying the family.” True.
In 2024, this is political reality, too. We are at a moment when the two major parties have not only very different positions on issues but also very dramatic differences in priorities.
Spoiler alert: if voters – consciously or unconsciously – vote for candidates pledging to “save abortion rights,” they’re getting candidates who don’t prioritize inflation, lowering gas prices, fighting crime, or securing the border.
Voters should recognize this new reality: know what you’re voting for – or against.
Democrats don’t campaign on those issues. Republicans do. Not passing judgment; just stating realities of their platforms.
Moreover, Democrats’ campaign platforms and voting records show such extreme unanimity it’s almost Soviet-style. In Harrisburg, and especially in Congress, Democrats vote in unison.
You’re more likely to find a Democratic member of Congress using a flip phone than one who doesn’t toe the party line on abortion, “climate crisis,” crime, the border, men playing women’s sports, and so on.
Biden tells us that the economy is better than ever; that the energy path forward is wind and solar panels; that the border is secure (and, if it isn’t, it’s the GOP’s fault, not his); and that cities are safe.
The focus here is to highlight their priorities; right and wrong. Steakhouses don’t serve tofu; so, don’t complain when it’s not on the menu.
The two parties’ “menus” are very different. Democrats are campaigning on dramatically different platform priorities: abortion rights, climate change, and “saving democracy.”
My experience in government and life has taught me that to have the government address or fix a problem requires an interest in fixing the problem, a good plan, and commitment to see things through. I can’t recall an example where a government fixed a problem that it wasn’t trying to fix.
Voters who say that their priorities are the economy, inflation, crime, or the border, but then vote for Democrats – who cast themselves as the party of abortion rights – shouldn’t be surprised that they get officeholders who don’t do much about those other issues.
Voters should be mindful of another truism: “insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results.”
The Democrats aren’t focused on bringing down inflation or lowering gas prices; on the contrary, they trot out “experts’ who show us graphs to reassure us that the economy is doing great. They certainly aren’t trying to boost American oil and gas production, either. If anything, their plan to fight inflation is to blame private businesses, and pass laws to force businesses to pay everyone more.
The same goes for violent crime and the border: most Democrats aren’t serious about addressing these issues because they don’t see them as priorities.
Not like abortion. Now there’s a Democratic priority. If expansive abortion rights is your big thing, then you should certainly vote Democrat.
However, if what swing voters are telling pollsters is true, and if what we hear at trips to Wawa is true, then most voters care more about inflation, gas prices, violent crime, and the border than they do about abortion. If so, they should vote for Republicans.
My counsel for independent voters: vote with your eyes open. If you want elected officials who will vote to allow abortions up through delivery, then you should vote for Democrats. Just don’t vote based on abortion and assume (or hope) that Democrats will focus on securing the border, fighting violent crime, or bringing down inflation. That’s not what they campaign on.
By the way, what do today’s Democrats mean by “abortion rights?” Well, let’s just say that the 2024 Democrats aren’t your parents’ Democratic Party.
Just two Democratic presidents ago, President Bill Clinton’s abortion policy was “safe, legal and rare.” Today’s Democratic Party focuses only on the “legal” part. It’s abortion on-demand and without explanation or apology.
Polls consistently tell us that most people want some protection for the baby as the delivery date gets closer.
In swing states, especially in the suburbs, the GOP had been losing ground, even in this bad economy and these turbulent times. The conventional wisdom is that Republicans’ position on abortion is the reason why.
This seems misguided. First, abortion is not even a Top 3 issue for most elected Republicans or candidates. Second, the entire universe of Republican members of Congress or candidates seeking a national total ban on abortion could probably travel together comfortably in a minivan.
Third, it is the Democrats, not Republicans, whose position has become more extreme in recent years.
How extreme? Over the last five years, when Congress has voted on abortion, all but one Democrat voted to deny medical care to a baby that survives an abortion. A baby breathing – in the delivery room – should be left to die because the patient “requested an abortion,” according to these representatives. As if this is a “customer service” issue, akin to a customer being sent the wrong pair of shoes.
The reality is that if you want to hear an abortion debate – a thoughtful one – about when (or if) to allow abortions, protections for the baby or support for pregnant mothers, go to a local or state GOP meeting. You’ll hear more diverse perspectives than you will on CNN, in the newspaper, or at any Democratic Party meeting. Democrats’ belief in abortion on-demand and without apology resembles a religious conviction.
If that position is too extreme for you, then you just might be a Republican voter.
And if your top priorities are either inflation, fighting violent crime, securing the border, or standing-up to anti-Semitism, then you might actually be a Republican.
When you “marry” Biden and the Democrats for “abortion rights,” you get their family (of policies).
Think about that before you say “I do” this fall.
