Abortion Roils Republicans After They Lose Big on Election Night
Former presidential candidate would rather jettison democracy than lose on the issue
Republicans are struggling with the issue of abortion rights after they were trounced by the subject across the country on Election Night this week.
Some on the political right are beginning to believe it's time to move on from abortion in order to once again win elections while others “prefer to lose on principle,” and even would rather turn their backs on democracy over the issue.
Abortion rights has proven to be a powerful motivator to drive voters to elect Democrats ever since the right-wing majority on the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade in the summer of 2022 and upended nearly a half-century of guaranteed national access to abortion rights.
This year's off-off-year elections, held Tuesday, were no exception. Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear was reelected in deep-red Kentucky after he leaned into abortion rights.
In particular, Beshear’s campaign deployed a devastating ad against the Republican candidate who opposed any abortion, including any exception for rape or incest.
The Beshear ad featured Hadley Duvall, a young woman from Owensboro, Ky, who had become pregnant after her stepfather raped her.
Elsewhere, voters in the conservative state of Ohio approved a ballot measure which will enshrine the right to reproductive care, including access to abortion, in the state constitution.
And in Virginia, Democrats took control of the full state legislature, dooming Republican Gov Glenn Youngkin’s right-wing culture wars issues, including his desire to limit rights to abortion and rights of the LGBTQ community.
“I also would like to say that this was not necessarily a partisan issue, but a personal issue. You saw women from Democrats to Republicans, Black, white, rich, poor, this was an important issue and a broad coalition of folks that decided to, again, to protect the freedoms,” said Democratic Rep Shontel Brown, of Ohio. “Democracy won. And protecting freedoms to make your own healthcare decisions, again, without politicians being in the doctor's office. That was the message that resonated with people.”
Republicans can no longer afford to ignore abortion rights, according to Fox News personality, Jeanine Pirro.
“Women want freedom. And what is going to happen is that dozens of states are literally going to put these abortion initiatives, I don’t care what you call it, privacy, I don’t care, they know what they are reading, and they are going to win on that,” she said. “And Republicans have to understand, this is not an issue they win on. This happened in 2022. It’s 2023. And 2024 is right around the corner.
“And so, all you have to do is throw out that word for Democrats, they want to defend it, and it motivates them,” Pirro added.
Her Fox News colleague, Greg Gutfeld, felt differently.
“So, yeah, sure, Republicans can win and you will get lower taxes and a stronger economy and more security and less crime, but if that means you are going to give on abortion, I prefer to lose on principle,” he said. “I think a lot of people feel that way.”
Former senator and two-time Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum would rather throw out democracy if it means losing on abortion.
“You put very sexy things like abortion and marijuana on the ballot, and a lot of young people come out and vote. It was a secret sauce for disaster in Ohio. I don’t know what they were thinking,” he said. “But that’s why I thank goodness that most of the states in this country don’t allow you to put everything on the ballot because pure democracies are not the way to run a country.”
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