ICYMI: GOP Presidential Field Backing Into a Corner
For Immediate Release: June 28, 2023
Washington, D.C. — Last weekend, while thousands of people nationwide protested the one year mark of the Supreme Court taking away the federal constitutional right to abortion, and with support for abortion access more popular than ever, GOP Presidential candidates continued to back themselves into a corner on the topic. Nearly every candidate spoke to anti-abortion groups and crowds, doubling down on their extreme, unpopular agenda that puts them far out-of-touch with the American people.
Here’s how that went for them:
“We must not rest and we must not relent until we restore the sanctity of life to the center of American law in every state in this country,” Pence said. “Every Republican candidate for president should support a ban on abortion before 15 weeks as a minimum nationwide standard.”
USA Today: 'A vital role:' Donald Trump endorses the idea of national abortion restrictions
“Trump, who has previously discussed abortion as more of a state issue, told the cheering members of the Faith and Freedom Coalition ‘I will fight for you like no president ever’ on the abortion issue. He did not endorse any specific anti-abortion legislation or time limits in his nearly 90-minute speech to members of the coalition in D.C. but did say ‘there of course remains a vital role for the federal government in protecting unborn life.’"
NY Mag: ‘Sunny’ Tim Scott Takes Hardest Line Available on Abortion
“Almost invariably described as ‘sunny’ and ‘upbeat’ and ‘optimistic,’ the South Carolinian often delivers savage right-wing talking points with a smile that seems to disarm or even lobotomize critics. A good case in point is the op-ed Scott penned Friday for the Des Moines Register on abortion policy, a red-hot issue among the likely caucus goers of Iowa. He took the hardest line available, albeit one that shifts responsibility for making national abortion law to the Congress he would leave if elected president.”
Axios: "It's gotten much more complicated": GOP's post-Roe abortion catch-22
“The big picture: Now, the presidential hopefuls have to find a message that works with primary voters without alienating independents and swing voters, whom polls show generally support abortion rights.”
Slate: The GOP Is Scrambled on Its Anti-Abortion Message
“The right to abortion is only getting more popular among voters. The GOP candidates are only getting more extreme.”
The Guardian: Republicans scramble to limit electoral backlash against abortion bans
“After initially celebrating victory in their nearly five-decade campaign to end the constitutional right to abortion, Republicans now find themselves scrambling to simultaneously lessen their electoral losses and defend unpopular anti-abortion policies. Reproductive rights are set to be a key issue in the general election next year, with implications from the presidential campaign all the way down the ballot. While the GOP has not stopped passing anti-abortion bills, including in South Carolina and North Carolina last month, it has begun to worry about the price that it is paying for them.”
The Independent: Republicans can’t run away from Dobbs, but it continues to weigh on them
“Republican presidential candidates need evangelical votes to win the nomination, but many of the groups they need to win the general election oppose the overturning of Roe v Wade.”
Meanwhile, abortion rights continue to remain popular with the electorate and will be a key factor in the 2024 elections. The GOP primary contenders clearly didn’t get the memo.
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