Only an Idiot Would Think We Need Anti-Abortion Democrats

"I do think a lot of what is happening in terms of the structure of the system itself is dangerous. I think that the hour is late in many ways. My view is that a lot of people who embrace alarm don't embrace what I think obviously follows from that alarm, which is the willingness to make strategic and political decisions you find personally discomfiting, even though they are obviously more likely to help you win."

"Trying to open your coalition to people you didn't want it open to before. Running pro-life Democrats. And one of my biggest frustrations with many people whose politics I otherwise share is the unwillingness to match the seriousness of your politics to the seriousness of your alarm. I see a Democratic Party that often just wants to do nothing differently, even though it is failing-failing in the most obvious and consequential ways it can possibly fail."

"This is how four states that voted for Donald Trump in November also passed constitutional amendments enshrining abortion access-including Klein's example of Missouri. Kansas and Ohio also passed pro-choice amendments in 2022 and 2023, respectively, then reelected Trump last year. So it beggars belief that Republicans would vote in the blue column if only an anti-abortion Democrat were running. No, they are voting for conservatives for other reasons."

Political stakes are higher now and the structure of the system poses real danger. Alarm about these risks should prompt willingness to make strategic, personally discomfiting political decisions that increase electoral success. Such decisions include taking positions to win Senate seats in conservative states, broadening coalitions to include previously unwelcome voters, and running pro-life Democrats. The Democratic Party often resists changing tactics despite clear and consequential failures. Many Republicans and independents support abortion access but prioritize other issues. Voter support for conservatives stems from appeals that villainize immigrants and “wokeness,” while policy drivers include GOP hostility to labor unions and favoring billionaires.

Read at Jezebel