This isn’t the right response to Conservative extremism

The Biden administration said yesterday that they didn’t want to take action to protect abortion rights in the wake of Roe v Wade’s demise because they thought doing so would be “politically polarizing”

There have been two schools of thought on what Democrats should do now that Roe v Wade has been overturned by the Supreme Court. The moderate side claims to represent political reality and focus solely on turning the SCOTUS decision into an election issue, while progressives suggest that Democrats should actually show that they’re trying to do things even if they don’t have the votes in the Senate.

On Wednesday, a source close to the White House told tk that President Biden did not want to take direct action, like trying to pass court reform, or establishing abortion clinics on federal land, towards protecting abortion rights because the White House feels that it would be too “polarizing” with an important midterm election coming in November.

This has essentially been Biden’s response to nearly every political dispute that’s popped up in his still-young administration, choosing to shy away from fights and making political arguments, instead trying to build bridges with a Republican party that does not even recognize him as the real president of the country.

It’s actually insane when you step back and look at it.

Politics are not some cordial dinner party where you intellectually debate small policy differences, especially not in the current political environment in the US. Politics is a relentless dogfight for the interests and safety of the people who vote for you.

It’s frustrating to watch Republicans just do whatever they want, lurching from extremist policy to extremist policy, and then turn around and watch moderate Democrats handwringe, sing god bless America on the day Roe is overturned, and openly long for a reasonable Republican party that no longer exists.

The Democratic response to Roe’s fall perfectly illustrates this shortsightedness. Republicans just accomplished their primary policy goal of the last half century. Democrats have had fifty years to prepare for this day, and knew several months ago that this particular ruling was coming.

Republicans this week are seeking to entrench the ruling into law, already passing around model legislation that would outlaw out of state travel for pregnant people. Texas attorney general Ken Paxton said he would defend a law outlawing sodomy if it went to the Supreme Court. The ruling that legalized same sex relations, Lawrence v Texas, was built upon the ruling in Roe that has now been vacated.

Republicans are also preparing to outlaw contraceptives, falsely painting them as abortifacients.

In contrast, Vice President Kamala Harris went on CNN and seemed befuddled by a question asking what the administration will do to respond to the end of Roe, instead saying people should vote this fall.

That’s not a political argument, nor is it an adequate response to the political moment. Voters will vote for those they believe will fight for them. People are more likely to believe you will fight for them if they see you actually fighting for them.

Biden and company are not really fighting for us right now. It’s better to try and fail at a vote to codify Roe than to do nothing and just ask for votes while you’re fiddling.