Paul Weaver/Sipa USA via AP Images
A woman holds a sign reading “Roe the vote“ during an abortion rights rally in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, July 3, 2022.
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.
