A couple Arizona Senate Republicans crossed over Wednesday to help Democrats repeal the state’s 1864 ban as national Republicans hope to avert electoral punishment.
Crap! I wanted the law to be in the books until after the election.
One baby step forward. Granted, the steps back are more akin to falling off a ladder.
Kari Lake: “I was for the abortion ban before I was against it, but then again…”
It probably would have been better for Democrats politically for sure, but for better or worse Democrats are more decent and view the health and lives of women as more important than any political advantage. Hopefully, voters, especially women (and the men who love them), remember who has/had their back on these issues. I think they will.
Democrats aren’t Republicans; they don’t kill a bill that does what they want, or even part of what they want, because they want the issue to be live during the November election. Rather, Democrats do everything they can for every constituent they can to the best of their ability, or at least that’s the ideal.
That is exactly the problem they don’t. Now with this out of the way, voters attention will turn back to god, guns and gays… and the price of eggs.
I try to be optimistic, but you’re probably right. Republicans are relieved. They can always rely on Democrats to throw them a lifeline or bail them out.
Democrats in Arizona need to remind the voters that they voted unanimously to overturn the ban, while the handful of Republicans who joined them were excoriated or punished by their party. And, the Republicans were so angry they did everything possible to stop the vote and keep the ban in place…if Republicans, from Trump on down, gain power, they will eliminate abortion in the state and nationwide. That message needs to be broadcast continually for the next six months, so people, especially women, know what is at stake.
No, just no. Playing politics with women’s lives is never the answer, no matter how much it might give a political advantage. Doing the right thing is important, especially if it’s not the expedient thing…if you always stick to that policy eventually people do notice and will reward the effort.
Agreed.
Political expediency always comes at some kind of price.
The women whose lives and health will be endangered between the imposition of the full ban and its hoped-for repeal after a successful November? That strikes me as too high a price. And add in the women who will suffer “merely” disruption, but not health effects.
Given that Democrats are doing the right thing today (with the help of a couple of scared Republicans), I hope that there is also a ballot initiative to keep people juiced, and to provide a natural hook for reminding people who was behind pulling back the 1864 law.
I guess people are supposed to forget that they tried, elect them, and get the exact same crap next year with a pastor on the corner with a machine gun and a rubber glove.
The senators, T.J. Shope (R ) and Shawnna Bolick (R ), had announced their intention to vote for repeal ahead of time. Bolick is married to Arizona Supreme Court Justice Clint Bolick — part of the majority in upholding the 1864 ban. Bolick detailed her own pregnancy complications and abortion while explaining her vote.
Setting up some fun dinner-table conversation in the Bolick household right there.
JFC.
Lemme guess: You’re a man?
Every day this horrific law is in effect, it endangers the lives of women and girls – every single day.
Leaving it in effect for even one minute longer is unacceptable, regardless of its political value.
The health and lives of half our population is not a bargaining chip for the next election.
Good riddance to this garbage; its repeal couldn’t have happened soon enough!
Abortion is still banned after 15 weeks here in AZ I think. Still draconian. The state wants to own uteri. Ok… what about testicles?
I look for the AZ court to stay the ban until it works its way through the judicial system.
It may well still be in place by the November election. We shall see.
You are assuming Justice Clint Bolick is a principled pro-lifer and not just another hypocrite doing what is politically convenient for himself. He knows his wife pregnancy complications have nothing to do with her vote, but rather than the fact that she was appointed to a district in Phoenix that is pretty marginal, and her political life might depend on it. So no. I can assure you that the subject had been agreed in advance.
I also had my worries about the desperately needed solution blunting political momentum. The solution is for the national and AZ Dems to simply remember this epic every day, all day:
A data point for just how few “principled pro-lifers” there are.
Republican lawmakers are considering sticking on one of their own measures to confuse voters and dilute the vote, potentially disguised as an abortion protection measure.
Because of course they are.