Republicans’ Three Paths on Abortion.

Plus, How the American Dream Became a Political Cudgel.

Aug 30, 2022

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New from Me: Republicans’ Three Paths on Abortion.

A lot has happened in the two months since the dog finally caught the car—that is, since the Supreme Court handed down the Dobbs decision undoing Roe v. Wade’s court-mandated right to abortion. In some states, pre-Roe laws restricting abortions have come back into effect. In more than a dozen states, there were more recent laws on the books, passed by Republican legislatures, that would would trigger some sort of total or near total-ban on abortion once the Court overturned Roe. Other proposals to limit (or in some cases, codify) abortion access have been trudging through several state legislatures, and some state courts have stepped in to block laws from being implemented.
Alongside the legal developments, there has been a constant flow of stories about women and girls unable to get an abortion in situations in which most people—often including even pro-lifers—would agree that an abortion would be medically or ethically appropriate.
Republican politicians in or seeking elected office, especially those in the midterms just ten weeks away, have watched how abortion has rapidly become a much more important issue to registered voters. There are now essentially three paths available to them—three choices, based on their personalities and principles, and their assessment of where their voters stand.

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THEODORE R. JOHNSON: How the American Dream Became a Political Cudgel.

Few phrases resonate in our national culture as much as the American Dream. It embodies what has long been a central doctrine of our people: If you can envision something, then with hard work and a dash of good luck, you can attain it. In this conception, opportunity is an American birthright for the enterprising, and economic security and prosperity are its predestined offspring. And as such, the role of our democracy toward this end is to do two things: remove barriers that prevent us from reaping the rewards of our work and ingenuity, and ensure fair rules and relatively stable conditions attend our pursuits of happiness.
The power of the American Dream as a trope about the future has also made it a potent political weapon for partisans claiming that the Dream itself is now a thing of the past. As Jazmine Ulloa recently noted in the New York Times, each of the parties has been accusing the other of turning the Dream into a nightmare. “The American Dream is dead! And [conservatives/liberals] killed it!” is a familiar refrain in stump speeches and media buys.

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Trump lives in a world where he can’t understand anything other than total and absolute adoration — and the top priority of the Trump kids is that their father is not associated with defeat. Plus, how Ivanka and Donald really act off camera. Alex Holder, director of the documentary, “Unprecedented,” joins guest host Tim Miller today.

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DANIEL MCGRAW: Biden Is Going on Offense To Court Older Voters.

The Biden administration’s plan to forgive some student debt is widely viewed as a pitch to young voters. But what’s gotten less attention is that Biden and the Democrats are making a big play for older voters, too.
Start with the Inflation Reduction Act. When it passed in Congress, the messaging focused on what the law would do for climate change and taxes. But when President Biden signed the bill, he led with the most politically important aspects of the law: lower drug prices for Medicare recipients, a cap on out-of-pocket expenses for healthcare, and the continuation of the subsidies for 13 million Americans under the Affordable Care Act (that will be worth an average of $800 a year).
“Every single Republican in Congress voted against lowering prescription drug prices, against lowering healthcare costs, against a fairer tax system,” Biden said.

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