I see in the New Hampshire Journal that the NHGOP is going to waste donor money in six figures again. It is the anniversary of the Dobbs decision, which correctly abandoned Roe v. Wade and sent the abortion question back to the states. Massachusetts and Mississippi are always going to decide differently, and under federalism, that is okay.
So New Hampshire Democrats are going to hold rallies, and the NHGOP is going to spend money — before the rallies — and pat itself on the back for being proactive rather than reactive. Here is the result:
1. Democrats will lie that Republicans want to take away your rights.
2. Republicans will whine that, no, that’s not what we intend.
3. Whom you believe will depend on whom you tend to believe.
4. So, does nothing change? No: New Hampshire Republicans are talking abortion — an issue where we ALWAYS LOSE.
And dissing our own evangelical faction in the process.
We are once again letting the enemy choose the battlefield.
The decision to devolve abortion to the states is correct and wise. The United States has regional social differences and there is no need, nor Constitutional mandate, to use federal force to put the regions in lockstep. Donald Trump really did get this done by appointing principled federalists to the Supreme Court. Early in this year’s campaign, he turned aside social conservatives and said that Republicans would run on abortion being an issue for the states.
He is wiser than the rest of you. Persuasive Karoline Leavitt (and I am so glad she’s making a difference with Trump rather than sucking up to the Sununu GOP to try to get them to lift a finger for her next time) repeatedly asserted she was not going to try to enact her religious beliefs into law. Unfortunately, “I have strong beliefs but am so libertarian I will do nothing to advance them” did not work for Mitt Romney, who does not have strong beliefs; it was a tougher sell for Karoline, a Catholic to the marrow, and it is the single issue that torpedoed her 2022 campaign.
So, obviously, New Hampshire Democrats want to go to that well again—and New Hampshire Republicans are spending six figures to help them—while Pretty Kelly Ayotte is adamant that she is running for state office to do nothing about it, while challenger Chuck Morse will slap back and make deals as he always has.
I voted for Karen Testerman twice because she’s in politics because she believes in stuff. But Republicans lose when the question is whether we want to use GUNPOINT to make people live more Christian lives. It’s the same as Democrats using GUNPOINT to make people conserve water, stop using hydrocarbons, wear feedbags if there’s a cold going around, treat minorities better, and promote cross-dressing. Republicans win when the question is whether we want to STOP USING GUNPOINT to force people who think abortion is murder to pay for abortions for strangers. When Jeanne Shaheen keeps saying this endangers “access to health care,” we should take apart that dishonest spin with specifics.
In the meantime, the correct response to the claim that a Republican candidate wants to limit abortion is: “No! But tax cuts and deregulation will get you a better job and put more money in your pocket.” Do we have any candidates with that level of intellectual dexterity?
