The GOP is “starting the 2024 race at a huge disadvantage,” Vox says (read story here). The tweet below, by a Tennessee college professor, explains why.
The Vox article points out that adopting unpopular positions “is nothing new” for Republicans; e.g., tax cuts for the wealthy appeal to few voters, but the party has to keep its rich donors happy. Their “principal strategy for solving the problem” is waging “culture war” to rile up their base.
This dynamic has produced America’s current era of angry, polarizing politics. It’s unhealthy for democracy and our society, but the “Party of the Rich” has decided to put politics above the good of the country.
However, abortion is a different kind of issue. People have strong feelings about it like no other. Public sentiment isn’t on the GOP’s side; about two-thirds of Americans support some degree of abortion rights. For women, including Republican women, what’s at stake is autonomy over their bodies. Some of the GOP-sponsored laws are so restrictive they’re life-threatening.
Now add Trump, a demagogue and authoritarian who has already tried to overthrow our duly elected government. Here again, enslaved by a base that isn’t more than 30% of the population, Republican politicians are compelled to defend the indefensible, and even worse, be seen as an existential threat. These politicians aren’t stupid or blind, but they’re trapped. That’s the point of the tweet. If there was a way out, they would’ve thought of it by now.