If there’s any further evidence needed for how terrified Republicans are by the Arizona Supreme Court ruling Tuesday on a draconian 1864 total abortion ban that jails doctors and anyone assisting the woman involved, it’s Trump’s own statement attempting to save himself.
When asked about the court ruling, Trump said that he felt it “went too far,” but added “It’ll get straightened out by the governor, and anybody else who will bring it back into reason.” This is officially known as desperate flailing. First of all, Trump’s position on abortion starts with repeatedly taking credit for appointing the U.S. Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade – an action that specifically made the Arizona ruling possible. You can pretty much stop there, because it’s so damning, but there’s much more. Second, Trump also appointed judges who around the country are ruling on behalf of abortion bans. Not to mention banning the abortion pill mifepristone which has made its way to the Supreme Court. Further, only days ago, Trump released his supposed “abortion policy” which was that states should decide. And just days later, we saw the result of that: a total abortion ban than jails doctors and anyone who assists the woman getting an abortion. Those are foundational problems for Republicans and Trump on abortion, and damning ones, whatever Trump tries to say. And what he says just shines a light on them all. For instance, in saying the court “Went too far” ignores the reality that that’s the risk you take when leaving abortion law up to individual states and not have a national abortion ruling, as Roe v. Wade was. In addition, by saying the court “Went too far,” Trump may think he’s appealing to Independents (never mind that he didn’t say how “too far” they went…), but what he’s really doing is spitting in the face of his most loyal extreme-right base of “evangelical Christians” (sic) for whom a total abortion ban is the only option. Moreover, when he says the Arizona law will get “straightened out by the governor” who will “bring it back into reason”– he’s not only living desperately on hope and a prayer, but far more importantly, if that actually comes to pass, he’s putting the fix into the hands of the Democratic governor, Katie Hobbs… whose idea of reason when it comes to abortion is most surely completely different from Trump, his extreme-right base and “evangelical Christians” (sic). (And by the way, making this ace Trump policy of "No problem, dude, it'll be straightened out by the governor" all the more troubling for him and the entire Republican Party is that, just this morning, the MAGOP House in Arizona blocked an effort to repeal the 1864 bill!! Yes, really. So much for, y'know, Republicans being part of "bringing it back into reason.") But if the Democratic governor straightening it out hopefully does come to pass, it won’t be soon enough to keep the law from going into effect in just 12 days. And importantly, too, even if it does get fixed, the damage is done – the headline of total abortion may is out there and written in stone. It shows everyone that “This is the Risk,” this is what you get from Republicans and Trump’s “I’m responsible for ending Roe, and now leave it to the states” even if it gets fixed (by the Democratic governor in Arizona – your state might not be as lucky). There’s another thing Trump said, as well. That if he is president and a national total abortion ban came across his desk, he wouldn’t sign it. I believe that the correct response is – HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! Putting aside that the make-up of Congress will near-certainly not allow for such a bill to be based, if it ever was, and a total abortion ban was passed by a Republican House and a Republican Senate – a bill that is the fevered dream wish of Trump’s extreme-right base and the “evangelical Christians” (sic) -- I can see no way on earth that Trump not only wouldn’t giddily sign the bill, but would try to turn it into a TV special with marching bands and fireworks. To not sign it would mean immediately losing his base that would rise up against him, and that would be so out of character for Trump that it is unimaginable. The point being that Trump merely saying this, that he wouldn’t sign a bill, is yet additional evidence of how petrified he is of the horrifying message Arizona’s 1864 total abortion ban sends to American voters. Of course, in the end, next to nothing Trump says – no matter how shuffling towards the center or lying or terrified – matters. Because only three things matter here. 1. Trump happily takes credit for ending Roe v. Wade, which made the 1864 Arizona law possible. And makes all the state abortion bans possible. 2. Trump says abortion laws should be left up to the states. Which is what made the 1864 Arizona total abortion ban possible. Anything else he says is just ephemera. And worse, anything he says, no matter how flimsy and false, only serves to remind people what his two foundational positions are. And there’s one other bit of evidence from Tuesday to show how terrified Republican officials and spokesmen are about the 1864 Arizona total abortion ban – On April 9, the day the Arizona Supreme Court ruling was announced, Media Matter looked into how much time the three major cable networks gave to the story. MSNBC gave it 2 hours and 20 minutes. CNN gave it two hours. And Fox? They discussed the story for 12 minutes! Yes, Fox tried to bury it. It’s the ol’ ostrich gambit. If we can’t see it, it doesn’t exist. Unfortunately for Fox, I am certain the court ruling got full coverage on all the local Fox affiliates in Arizona – where it actually matters, and most because Arizona is a Swing State and has a major U.S. Senate race in helping determine control of the Senate. And national Fox trying to hide the story from its viewers can only serve to make them surprised on election night when the results come in from Arizona. But then, Fox viewers being surprised by election results is pretty much standard these days. Trump and Republican officials are terrified by the Arizona 1864 total abortion ban law. We can tell by their words and their actions, many which I noted yesterday. The thing is – they should be terrified. And the thing is, this is what they’ve wished for, for decades. A total abortion ban. In fact, taking this "wish" further, I've always sensed (rightly or wrongly) that at least some or perhaps many Republican politicians weren't as strongly anti-abortion as they cried out in righteousness for their wish, but rather it was a great issue for them to appeal to the evangelical base and get votes and donations, and ride along on that wave of support, always sure in their mind that total abortion wouldn't ever become real. Or for many of them, even thinking that ending Roe wouldn't likely ever happen. But it was a great campaign issue, bumper stick slogan and battle cry. A wish. Maybe not probable, but oh, what a wish. A total abortion ban. It's the proverbial dog chasing the car, one day amazingly catching it, and then not knowing what to do with it next. As I said yesterday, be careful what you wish for. You might get it.
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AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. Feedspot Badge of Honor
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