Thursday, August 04, 2022
PMT: Kansas surprises a nation
On Tuesday, primary voters in Kansas voted to preserve abortion rights, a choice that surprised many people given that Kansas is a reliably Republican state that voted for Trump in the last two presidential elections.
The positioning of the vote was a little convoluted. The Kansas Supreme Court had held that abortion is protected under the state constitution, a holding that is unaffected by the US Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs (which struck down Roe v. Wade). That's because state courts, not the federal supreme court, interprets the meaning of a state constitution. The ballot question asked if that decision should be over-ruled by referendum, allowing legislators to ban abortion. Thus, a "no" vote was to preserve the right to an abortion up to 22 weeks.
If nothing else, the Kansas outcome busts up the never-true narrative that Republicans oppose abortion rights and Democrats support them. Like everything else, things are more complicated-- and we will see a lot more of "complicated" as this political year proceeds.
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This was a binary yes/no question. The problem the Democrats face is that abortion is not the only issue on the ballot in November. The successful "No" campaign in Kansas carefully avoided making this a partisan R/D issue and picked up Republican support.
Voters in November will care about abortion, but that's not the only thing they will care about. Failure to address those other issues could be very problematic for Democratic candidates.
Voters in November will care about abortion, but that's not the only thing they will care about. Failure to address those other issues could be very problematic for Democratic candidates.
The problem is that those other issues-- inflation, gas prices-- in reality are not under the Democrat's (or Republican's) control. They are worldwide economic trends.
You know that. I know that. SOME elected officials know that. But the radio, TV and Internet ads will tell you different. "Bidenflation," etc.
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