Do you think that the abortion ruling will energize the Dems in the midterms?

[BigmanPigman]

[Demovictory9]

1. yes

[BigmanPigman]

2. Good, I am trying to see a silver lining and that may be it.

[NJCher]

3. Yes

This is an issue like social security—you don’t mess with it without massive repercussions.

[Murphyb849]

4. Absolutely.

[NanceGreggs]

5. Yes, absolutely.

Texas has gone way too far on abortion, as well as voting rights. There will be repercussions.

[ColinC]

6. They would unfortunately need to be allowed to vote in order for this question to maatter

[ancianita]

7. THIS.

[ecstatic]

22. Exactly. Too many people keep forgetting that part

Rethugs are attacking voting rights from all angles. Systematic disenfranchisement coupled with the ability to toss inconvenient votes to reach their magic number. I guess too many people still think that it's just about giving water to people waiting in line. SMH.

[CrackityJones75]

24. The voter suppression laws are terrible

The voter suppression laws are terrible but they are NOT insurmountable and casting them as such does nothing to help get the things done that will be needed to be done to navigate around them.

We need to stop portraying the midterms and 24 as already lost. It doesn’t help.

[denbot]

8. Watch the projected likely to vote numbers in the CA re-call starting forward.

If there is an unexpected surge, it is likely to transfer in 22 nation wide.

[BigmanPigman]

10. Excellent point.

I wonder what position Larry Elders takes on thi sissue. I`m sure it is odd/unusual.

[mucifer]

9. Don't forget it will energize right wingers too

[BigmanPigman]

11. Right wingers usually vote in midterms more than

Dems do. This might light a fire under some of those planning to sit this one out since Biden is POTUS.

[Demsrule86]

14. After everything that has happened. If Democrats don't vote than the GOP wins it all and we

lose our Republic most likely,

[Lovie777]

12. It's not just the abortion issue . .....

WTF with the bounty shit.

Hunting women, damn.

[LeftInTX]

30. That's how I see it, but

as another DU member said in practice it probably won't happen...
Abortion providers will just close up shop instead...

[Demsrule86]

13. Yes and not just dems... most women.

[BigmanPigman]

34. I keep picturing the first Women's March.

That was the largest mass protest in US history and that was started due to Mr Pussy Grabber as POTUS.

[maxrandb]

15. I'm kind of tired of waiting for whatever fresh outrage is finally going to motivate people

And it shouldn't just be Democrats!

If, after the past 4 years...NO!..if after the past 40 YEARS...you aren't "motivated" to vote Retrumplicans out of power, you have lost your humanity.

We simply can't have a functioning, civil society if Retrumplicans are in power.

Unfortunately, we all have the same problem. We tend to not get motivated until something personally impacts us.

Zealots and fundamentalists are motivated much more by "how they can fuck other peoples shit up", than by how something impacts them. The cruelty is the motivation

Unless and until decent human beings begin to run in and win elections, and I mean elections from President of the United States, to President of the PTA, all of this "are we motivated yet" horseshit is an exercise in futility.

Without winning elections, we are "powerless". The Retrumplicans understand this.

Motivated? Hell, we can't even organize a boycott, or do anything about Hate Radio stations headquartered in DEM majority cities that spend 24/7 demonizing and dehumanizing 70 percent of the residents of those cities.

NOBODY BETTER EVER ASK ME WHY THE PEOPLE OF AFGHANISTAN DIDN'T FIGHT BACK

[Demsrule86]

18. I agree the old meme Republicans fall in line but Democrats must fall in love...yeah sure if we

want to give away all of our gains like Roe, like birth control, Civil rights, Medicare, Obamacare, and on and on...

[BigmanPigman]

36. I'm wondering if another Women's March is being

organized right now. I bet Indivisible is going to be more visible too (they go from the local level and move up from there). I agree with your post...and that is why I am extremely frustrated most of the time.

[maxrandb]

37. The next women's march should descend on EVERY Hate Radio station headquarters in the country

and at all the local and national businesses that advertise on them.

Why don't we understand that those stations are the centers of their power

Those stations are the exhaust vent of the Retrumplican Death Star.

[BigmanPigman]

38. That is something that never has really been targeted by any

well organized group. I don't know why but I agree that it is the heart of the beast.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

16. No.

[Demsrule86]

19. That means our Republic is over.

[Loki Liesmith]

17. Not more than usual, no.

[Demsrule86]

20. I actually disagree with you. Abortion has always been a big issue but the GOP isn't

just going after abortion but birth control is well. I believe this issue will motivate women and many Democrats.

[LeftInTX]

33. It did not help Wendy Davis in Texas

She lost big time after she unsuccessfully filibustered in 2013 against a bill
Texas Senate Bill 5 is a list of measures that would amend and add to abortion regulations in Texas, drawn from previous bills that had failed earlier in the legislative term.[2] Four key measures introduced by the bill included:

A ban on abortion at 20 weeks post-fertilization and recognize that the state has a compelling interest to protect fetuses from pain (aka a "fetal pain" bill).[3]
Requiring doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital within 30 miles (48 km).[2]
Requiring abortion clinics to meet the same standards as other surgical health-care facilities in the state.[4][5][6][7]
Requiring medical oversight for women taking abortion-inducing drugs such as RU-486.[8]


She was called, "abortion Barbie" and it stuck. She only got 40% of the vote...
She even lost blue areas....

[Loki Liesmith]

39. Hope you are right

[samnsara]

21. HELL YES!!!!......energizing california voters for sure!

[bluestarone]

32. THIS is what i'm thinking too!!

[Decoy of Fenris]

23. Possibly, but "Energy" doesn't equate to "Winning".

It may very well energize Dems, but for every Dem energized, there's a Republican energized in the opposite direction over the same topic.

Most people in the US favor at least some limits on Abortion, something like 61% wanting restrictions in the second and third trimester. That includes Democrats. The Texas legislation certainly goes above and beyond that, but if I had to hazard a guess, the people who would be outraged about this sort of legislation are -already- outraged. Hell, us Democrats have been outraged by one thing or another since 2000, but that hasn't panned out in the long run, because that's not how American politics is played.

We don't need outrage or "Energizing", we need clinical, strategic focus on -winning-. Outrage alone doesn't play, and strategy/organization needs to be the focus of all the ground-level politics coming up this midterm. We're going in with a numerical disadvantage on defending seats (IIRC), so we need to level the playing field and pick the fights we can win carefully and throw our weight behind those seats specifically. Fight for them all, but focus on the seats we stand the best chance of winning.


I'm cautiously optimistic about these midterms, just because of how well Biden handled the Covid crisis. "Meh" on Afghanistan, but at least that's over now, and I don't expect a sudden bump in Dem polling because of Texas. Those paying attention already saw this coming, and those who are shocked and appalled at the Texas debacle have probably been voting Dem reliably.

[edhopper]

25. No More than it will energize

The evangelicals.

[SYFROYH]

35. Hard truth, but the truth.

[betsuni]

26. A little bit.

I'm pessimistic because so many women don't think their identity as women is important as far as voting goes.

[Sympthsical]

27. Depends where you're energizing them

If California and New York are energized, who cares? A Democrat can win California with a bajillion votes, but it doesn't matter in the scheme of things nationally.*

People always scoff at this, but it is true. When you remove California from the national electorate, you see this very close divide nationally. Biden really did come perilously close to losing the electoral college. Republicans control 27 governorships. "Republicans control 54.31% of all state legislative seats nationally, while Democrats hold 44.83%. Republicans hold a majority in 61 chambers, and Democrats hold the majority in 37 chambers."

That's our system. It will not be changing any time soon. How we energize voters matters. How we alienate them also matters.


*note - it's good if California Democrats are energized now, because the recall needs to be flattened, with no chance of getting off the mat.

[Autumn]

28. No.

[LeftInTX]

29. No

Not enough.....

The 2013 law did not help Wendy Davis....

[Mad_Machine76]

31. If this doesn't

I don't know what would.

This kind of law could be expanded in all kinds of harmful anti-progressive directions and abortion is probably only scratching the surface in terms of possibilities. Given the medical implications involved, this could very easily be imported over to target Trans minors for at least one possible example.