Republicans Are Trapped by Their Party's Anti-Abortion Extremism

[marmar]

(The Nation) In 2019, Tennessee state Senator Richard Briggs, a heart surgeon turned politician, voted for a near-total ban on abortion, in a law that was designed to be triggered if Roe v. Wade were ever overturned. Despite being listed as a cosponsor of the bill, Briggs put remarkably little thought into his vote. As ProPublica reports, “Briggs admits he barely read the two-page bill forwarded to his office.” The lawmaker, ProPublica also notes, “never thought it would actually go into effect.”

Anti-abortion politics was an easy enough game for Republican politicians like Briggs—just so long as Roe was the law of the land. Lawmakers could happily say they were pro-life, decry abortion as murder, and pass a few restrictive laws without much fear of either real-world consequences or significant political backlash. Republican politicians were in the fortunate position of criticizing the status quo by offering hypothetical alternatives that couldn’t be evaluated.

But after the Supreme Court overturned Roe in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Organization decision last year, Briggs and other legislators woke up to the reality that they had passed laws that were exceptionally cruel, and which would lead to women dying. As a heart surgeon, Briggs was especially sensitive to complaints from fellow doctors. Briggs has now joined that small contingent of Republicans who are having second thoughts about the anti-abortion prohibitions they once supported. Briggs is pushing to add clear exceptions for rape, incest, the health of the mother, and severe fetal anomalies to the Tennessee ban.

Briggs isn’t the only Republican doing a partial about-face on abortion. Politico reports, “GOP lawmakers pushing for changes to their state abortion laws are pitching them as both good policy and broadly supported by the public, pointing to polls that show their near-total abortion bans are wildly unpopular.” Representative Nancy Mace of North Carolina recently warned that her fellow Republicans are being “tone-deaf” in pushing for anti-abortion laws (although she contradicted herself by voting for two such laws put forward by the new GOP majority in the House of Representatives).

....(snip)....

Further, Republican defections from anti-abortion orthodoxy are already meeting with a backlash from the base. As Politico reports, “Anti-abortion groups are butting heads with an unexpected opponent as state legislative sessions begin this month: Republican lawmakers.” ...............(more)

https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/gop-anti-abortion-extremism/

[Docreed2003]

1. The problem in Tennessee is this

For every Republican like Briggs who is second guessing their commitment to this atrocious law, there are ten legislators lining up to double down on the law to the point of pushing outright lies and misinformation, and that goes all they way up to our dipshit governor Bill Lee

[Duppers]

12. It's Tennessee's religiousity - 3rd highest in the nation....

10 states with the highest religiousity index:

Alabama - 77%
Mississippi - 77%
Tennessee - 73%
Louisiana - 71%
Arkansas - 70%
South Carolina - 70%
West Virginia - 69%
Georgia - 66%
Oklahoma - 66%
North Carolina - 65%

In Tennessee, 73% of adults are seen as “highly religious."

https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/most-religious-states

"Have a blessed day."

[Thunderbeast]

2. The dog caught the car...

and women ang girls suffer.

These naked opportunists must pay the price at the ballot box. Ballots in the hands of young people are the way to take our country back from the brink.

[House of Roberts]

3. Pro-choice Republicans can no longer win in primaries.

[genxlib]

4. People like him want to seem reasonable

As if adding back in exceptions are a safe middle ground that everyone can compromise on.

Bullshit.

This is what you wanted and voted for for decades so at least have the decency to stand behind it while the people come for you.

[Buckeyeblue]

5. They are in a position where they can't back down

They have been so adamant is their anti-abortion zeal that there is no wiggle room to say well maybe we allow it here or there.

In order to back track they would have to say that they only used abortion as an issue to convince poor religious people to vote against their own self interests.

That's not going to happen. Republican politics is about money. No one is going to be willing to give up the money.

[Johnny2X2X]

6. Abortion is on the ballot in every single race

I don’t care if it’s county drain commissioner. Abortion is on the ballot. Every candidates stance on abortion matters no matter what the race. Because the candidates who win minor elections end up being the candidates for bigger offices down the road. So don’t let anyone tell you some local race is for a post that has nothing to do with abortion law. Every single one does. Cannot let more extremists move up the ranks in the GOP. Defeat them at the start of their political careers.

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

10. exactly.

[ProudMNDemocrat]

7. For Anti-Abortion politics to win, then BAN all women from voting....

Violate the 19th Amendment, go right ahead boys.

Making it harder for "OTHERS" to vote, include women too. It is their bodies, decisions, and futures Republican men want to abolish and/or CONTROL. Women from 18 to 92 should not have a say when it comes to voting. Is that so hard for Republican male lawmakers in the states to say out loud?

Women who vote Republican....Are you out of your cotton-picking minds?

[intheflow]

8. Heads-up: "out of your cotton-picking mind" is a racial slur.

Who picked cotton in the US? It’s a subtle way of suggesting someone is “as dumb as a n****r.”

I said it for years without realizing its meaning, but now that I know, I try to do better and educate others about this slur embedded in our language. I hope you’ll join me in this effort going forward.

[ProudMNDemocrat]

9. I meant no offense.

[intheflow]

11. I'm sure of that.

Just a PSA.