Democrats Realize They’ve Got No Out for 2022 – Opinion

Last week’s Supreme Court oral arguments sparked a glimmer of hope on left, with the hope being to use a possible overturning of Roe v. Wade as a wedge issue in 2022 to drive turnout. But while signs are certainly pointing toward the “right” to abortion being gutted, would such an event really represent a reset for the coming election?

Color me extremely skeptical that the electorate is that malleable at this point, and I’m apparently not the only one throwing cold water on the idea. Politico spoke to several Democrat strategists who not only think the abortion issue isn’t a winner for them, but that they should actually avoid it altogether. Of course, that realization isn’t a happy one for them.

Shorter Politico: Democrats realize they’ve got no out for 2022.

it’s the economy, stupid. https://t.co/OM0qBjCKvA pic.twitter.com/DaBJxcUU3A

— kaitlin believes taiwan is a country (@thefactualprep) December 5, 2021

I’m not so sure we live in a “post outrage world.” That seems more like an excuse for why people aren’t buying what the left is selling. While people can still be outraged online, the notion that the rights to kill babies in their wombs would cause massive changes in the electorate was never a good idea.

That’s primarily because the electorate is already fairly set when it comes to the issue of abortion. Those who support abortion rights and are pro-choice activists already vote Democrat. They also show up to the polls. Descriptively, this is only single college-educated females. However, the average swing vote is not voting for abortion but on economic matters. And though the article tries to make it seem like such a position lacks virtue, I don’t see that at all. You can vote on the things that actually matter to you.

It is a fact that most Americans favor greater abortion restrictions. That doesn’t make them all pro-life, but it does mean that the Democrat position of completely unfettered abortion is extreme and unpalatable for most. It’s certainly not one that’s going to mobilize an army of new voters to somehow hold off the probable coming red wave in 2022.

There’s just nowhere for Democrats to really go from here. They can keep leaning into January 6th talk and hoping for another visible event to obsess over, but I think that’s actually become a net negative issue for them because people see it as prioritizing meaningless grandstanding over kitchen table issues. The economy doesn’t look to improve dramatically enough to make a difference in their prospects either.

The chance that the Supreme Court might be an untapped ace in the hole seems to have already faded. It’s just not going to be an issue that changes the outcome of next year’s election. It’s not possible with the depth of the hole that Democrats have dug historically and their own digging.