April 2, 2023

"Democrats used a muscular defense of abortion rights to great success in the midterm elections last fall, and, if that strategy works again..."

"... they are likely to copy it next year in races at all levels of government, including in President Biden’s campaign if he seeks re-election. The focus on abortion rights in down-ballot races, however, reflects Democrats’ increased nationalization of local politics. For decades, local Republican candidates ran on issues like abortion, immigration and national security, putting them in simple terms: 'A noun, a verb and 9/11,' Mr. Biden once said in describing the phenomenon. Now Democrats are doing the same on abortion in left-leaning cities, hoping to win over independent voters and some moderate Republicans."

"Now Democrats are doing the same on abortion..." — doing what? Stating an abstraction without more and expecting voters to be triggered into mindless voting? Does abortion work like that? It jolts both pro- and anti- voters. Who knows who reacts more — now that the Court has revoked the constitutional right?

70 comments:

Sebastian said...

"Stating an abstraction without more and expecting voters to be triggered into mindless voting?"

It's not mindless. Many women and prog men want abortion on demand, anytime for any reason. They enjoy the symbolic politics of the issue and the private virtue signaling. For them the GOP is mean and taboo.

"Does abortion work like that"

Yes. And it works well. Nice women buy into it, prog depredations be damned.

Leland said...

I don't know if running on abortions rights was as affective as making sure Republican heavy precincts didn't have sufficient ballots for everyone to cast a vote on election day. Seems that happened in quite a number of counties across the country.

Dave Begley said...

Agree. Abortion will be an issue in campaigns for County Clerk, Clerk of the District Court and Register of Deeds

Wince said...

Who knows who reacts more — now that the Court revoked the constitutional right?

The Court did not revoke "the constitutional right" to abortion. That right may exist in any of 50 state constitutions, untouchable by the highest court by its own admission.

SCOTUS simply recognized the right never existed in the US Constitution, and in a rare act of an institution ceding its own power, retracted its authority to claim ("without evidence") that it did.

Gospace said...

I was going to mention this in the previous thread of "Highly anticipated cases have made the [Wisconsin] Supreme Court race the most expensive in the nation’s history."

That race is going to be decided by older white owmen who will vote for anyone who will protect the Sacred Rite of Abortion, regardless of the fact that in doing so they will will ensure the destruction of all other freedoms. There is no balace, there is no compromise for them. The Sacred Rite of Abortion must be protected so it can be practiced by all wome of color right up to the actual moment moment of birth- if no beyond- as demanded by SAint Margaret Sanger.

Free speech? Trumped by the Sacred Rite of Abortion. A completely non-important issue. Especially since it's used by religious extrmeists who suggest a women might be able to make that decision in the first few weeks after conception insted of waiting until the baby breeches.

Freedom of religion? Absolutely not! Medical professionals who refuse to participate in te Sacred Rite of Abortion must be fired and punished and made to suffer for their refusal.

If the Republic must be destroyed to protect the Sacred Rite of Abortion- so be it. Obviously whatever replaces the Re[ublic and The Rule of Law will be better because the Sacred Rite of Abortion will have been saved for all eternity.

Michael K said...

Abortion, at all stages of pregnancy, is a sacrament to the left.

Enigma said...

Yeah, right. Success was due to abortion and not the billions of Zuckerberg, Gates, Soros, and Bloomberg dark money and statistical modeling and vote harvesting practices that began only in 2018.

For generations the USA left lauded the Swedish government and called for the US to be the same. In Sweden abortions stop at 18 weeks.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abortion_in_Sweden

Today we've got a subgroup of leftists in a blind and raging death cult. Let 'em wipe themselves out. We'll remember them and know what not to do from the Woke movies of the last few years. They've forgotten that winning a narrow political battle can mean losing a war.


n.n said...

The Constitution never endorsed slavery, nor diversity, nor abortion. The Court affirmatively confirmed that the 3/5, 1-2, and human rites compromises were not Constitutional licit. Human rites vs human rights. That is the Choice and choice, respectively.

Mikey NTH said...

Interesting. We have politicians saying what they think will get them elected, no matter how irrelevant to the office.

My lack of surprise or outrage at the expected should not be taken for a jaded nature.

Mason G said...

"Stating an abstraction without more and expecting voters to be triggered into mindless voting? Does abortion work like that?"

Democrats seem to believe it does. If they're not trying to ban guns to save already born children, they're supporting the right of women to kill unborn ones. They can get away with not making sense on whether children's lives are worth protecting because they're... well, Democrats. It's all about the feelz, no thinking is needed.

n.n said...

pro-life or pro-choice

anti-life or Pro-Choice

binary choices

Bender said...

For decades, local Republican candidates ran on issues like abortion

For decades, in addition to media distortions like this, I've heard very little from local Republican candidates on abortion. I have, however, heard thousands of pro-abortion ads from EVERY Democrat candidate. It is the first thing in their playbook and has been since the 1990s and before.

wendybar said...

It's for the children they cry....The left is evil.

wendybar said...

Leftists have NOTHING on the Aztecs. Sacrificial ceremonies run their lives.

wendybar said...

"Yeah, right. Success was due to abortion and not the billions of Zuckerberg, Gates, Soros, and Bloomberg dark money and statistical modeling and vote harvesting practices that began only in 2018."

Don't forget the new mail in ballots!!

rcocean said...

The Democrats Pounce. But that's a good thing.

Abortion is legal in almost every blue and purple state. And will be for the forseeable future. Of course, D voters are the most ignorant, stupidest people in the country. So maybe Joe can convince them that Trump or whoever is going to make abortion illegal in NY or Calf.

Or Joe, or the DNC, can get their vote, like they always do. First "walking around money" then "sign here".

Jupiter said...

" ... now that the Court revoked the constitutional right?"

Which Constitutional right was that? You mean the Tenth Amendment?

Big Mike said...

Stating an abstraction without more and expecting voters to be triggered into mindless voting? Does abortion work like that?

@Althouse, with respect, I recall many years ago — circa 2008 I think — you described yourself as a single issue voter, and that issue was abortion. Did you change? When?

RigelDog said...

IDK about the effectiveness of using abortion as an election strategy in local elections, but I can tell you that I was at the Comedy Club in NYC last night and there were several abortion "jokes" told by the performers. Of course the crowd was to the Left and laughed at the jokes, BUT, these jokes also contained a few remarks that were not favorable to the harsh realities of exactly what an abortion is. Those remarks didn't go over that well with the crowd. Are our popular cultural attitudes towards abortion changing somewhat towards acknowledging the negatives?

Political Junkie said...

I think abortion issue help D's more with women, especially upper middle and upper class women.
Women who were 9/11 Bush supporters even though they disagreed with him on many issues. Like someone we all know here.

Scott said...

"the constitutional right"? Is that you talking Ann? Please state the text.

thanks

gilbar said...

great success?
The incumbent President's Party held the House and the Senate before the midterms..
They LOST the House.. But retained the Senate..
How Often does the incumbent Party do Worse than THAT?
(that is; WHEN was the last time, the incumbent party held the Senate.. And LOST it).. I'll Wait

Doug said...

Human rights vs. Womyn's rights. Kill baby kill.

gilbar said...

i was talking 1st midterm (not 2nd), so don't tell me about O'Bama in 2014 or Bush in 2006.
When was The Last Time, that the incumbent party LOST the Senate, in the FIRST midterm?

hint: I did Not have Sex, With that girl

Michael said...

The Court did not revoke a Constitutional right. It reversed a clear case of judicial over-reach. I actually think Roe v. Wade was sensible as a matter of policy, but wrong as a matter of law and precedent. Surely this is a matter for the political branches. But it seems immediate policy is all a lot of people care about.

Jamie said...

now that the Court revoked the constitutional right?

Hahahahahahaha.....

[wipes eyes]

Good job slipping that in, boss!

traditionalguy said...

After watching the man on the street interviews, only 3% of younger voters know diddly squat about reality. Any lie works. The EDU industry has become a total failure.

Eva Marie said...

O please. Democrats win because they cheat.

Michael K said...

Blogger Leland said...

I don't know if running on abortions rights was as affective as making sure Republican heavy precincts didn't have sufficient ballots for everyone to cast a vote on election day. Seems that happened in quite a number of counties across the country.


In Arizona, because of so many minor offices and so few polling places, they printed ballots on site. On election day, in many Republican precincts, the ballot printers failed. Amazing because they were all tested the day before. A mystery. And of course, the Democrat candidate for Governor ran the election. What a coincidence !

Ampersand said...

I'm re-reading The Brothers Karamazov. Dmitry at one point asks what would happen to mankind without God and immortal life. Ivan responds that "If there is no God -then everything is permitted." The past century or so seem to bear out Ivan's position.
Somebody please ask the Democratic Party why we are still criminalizing cannibalism, euthanasia, the killing of children under 1 years of age, the killing of people with physical and mental defects, the murder of evil people, child sacrifice, or a host of other life terminations that make our lives more convenient and pleasurable. If the end of a human life has equal or even less moral weight than the end of the life of our favorite canine, we have entered a new phase in civilization.

I say all this with some trepidation, as I personally believe that we should adopt rules that balance interests carefully, roughly the same rules regarding abortion as currently found in France -- 14 weeks, rape, incest, health of mother.

Amadeus 48 said...

They are running on protecting abortion rights in the race for 43rd ward alderman in Chicago…and that is between two Democrats.

Earnest Prole said...

Wait, I was reliably promised a Red Wave.

Gahrie said...

now that the Court revoked the constitutional right?

The Court did not revoke a constitutional right. The Court overturned an incorrect decision that had erroneously created a faux constitutional right.

Jimmy said...

'constitutional right'. I think the men who actually wrote the constitution would have something to say about that. And yes, I said men.

The Godfather said...

For a generation, we were told that abortion was a HUMAN RIGHT because the Supreme Court said so. How DARE the Supreme Court take that HUMAN RIGHT away!

During that time that the Supreme Court decreed that abortion was a HUMAN RIGHT, a lot of people marched, and argued, and wrote letters-to-the-editors that abortion was (under most circumstances) WRONG and EVIL. Where are they in this debate?

The Godfather said...

For a generation, we were told that abortion was a HUMAN RIGHT because the Supreme Court said so. How DARE the Supreme Court take that HUMAN RIGHT away!

During that time that the Supreme Court decreed that abortion was a HUMAN RIGHT, a lot of people marched, and argued, and wrote letters-to-the-editors that abortion was (under most circumstances) WRONG and EVIL. Where are they in this debate?

The Godfather said...

For a generation, we were told that abortion was a HUMAN RIGHT because the Supreme Court said so. How DARE the Supreme Court take that HUMAN RIGHT away!

During that time that the Supreme Court decreed that abortion was a HUMAN RIGHT, a lot of people marched, and argued, and wrote letters-to-the-editors that abortion was (under most circumstances) WRONG and EVIL. Where are they in this debate?

Jim at said...

When was The Last Time, that the incumbent party LOST the Senate, in the FIRST midterm?

1994. They lost the House, too, for the first time in what, 40 years?

Thank Hillary Clinton and her 'health care' plan for that one ... with an assist to Newt Gingrich and his Contract with America.

Moondawggie said...

AA observed "now that the Court revoked the constitutional right?"

Now that is one impressively slick Clintonian way of rephrasing "the court simply rescinded a prior opinion?"

BUMBLE BEE said...

I celebrate more abortions for democrats. Talk about chlorinating the gene pool!

MadTownGuy said...

Michael K said...

"Abortion, at all stages of pregnancy, is a sacrament to the left."

...and a holy obligation.

boatbuilder said...

Ampersand--I agree with you on all counts. And I also reread the Brothers K recently.

In between everyone running around with their hair on fire, there is some truly remarkable philosophical discourse.

walter said...

Blogger Scott said...
"the constitutional right"? Is that you talking Ann? Please state the text.
--
Chris Farley scare quotes.

MikeR said...

Republicans had an enormous opportunity, and of course chose to squander it. By simply saying, Let's set up some reasonable rules, say 15 weeks max like most of Europe, they could have removed the issue from most voters and cemented their victory forever.
Instead, they chose to hopelessly overreach, and Let's forbid it entirely even in cases of rape...

hombre said...

Democrats' favorite pastime is facilitating killing babies. Second favorite is a tie between using taxpayers' money to buy or steal votes and just stealing the money, ie., grifting.

Bruce Hayden said...

“In Arizona, because of so many minor offices and so few polling places, they printed ballots on site. On election day, in many Republican precincts, the ballot printers failed. Amazing because they were all tested the day before. A mystery. And of course, the Democrat candidate for Governor ran the election. What a coincidence”

Turns out, what was done was to switch the printers from one print setting to another, and that cased the scan not to work, because the printed ballots were the wrong size. I think that the were supposed to have been checked the day before, and said that they had been, but hadn’t been. Same result, but easier to accomplish, and they could just claim laziness instead of intentional sabotage. There still was no legitimate audit trail, required by law, and the company that illegally recessed the ballots snuck in bunches of ballots at their plant. The courts have essentially refused to look at any real evidence, then dismissed based on insufficient evidence, despite severely curtailing the amount of evidence they could collect.

The good news is that Kari Lake did have a win recently in the AZ Supreme Court, which allowed them to look at signature verification - one of the necessities for pulling off the various frauds by Hobbs, etc in 5he election. No surprise though, that despite that, it was just reported that Maricopa County (where this all occurred, and yours truly lives this part of the year) is now denying them access to the signatures. More to come. In any case, it still looks like the level of fraud was over a half million ballots, maybe 2/3 million, and Hobbs is governing hard left as if she had a mandate. Or knows that she has limited time to make her mark. In any case, the remedy being asked for, I believe, is for a new election just for the top state offices, which should alleviate their self induced printer problems (caused by their decision to allow anyone to vote at any open voting place in the county).

BUMBLE BEE said...

Hell, when I was young, democrats talked about killing babies like it was a bad thing. John Kerry said that they were over in Viet Nam killin babies. Lefties spat on returning combat vets and called them baby killers. Now, their leftie grandchildren are demanding to kill their own babies, even up to the time of birth.

hombre said...

12:46 PM: "It's not mindless. Many women and prog men want abortion on demand, anytime for any reason."

Agreed. Given that, why would you say it's not mindless?

Maynard said...

Although I am moderately Pro-Choice (abortion up to 12 weeks), the enthusiasm with which Democrats push abortion at any time disgusts me.

MadisonMan said...

Democrats will do all they can not to enshrine abortion via Legislation. How will they fundraise if that happens?

Eva Marie said...

Maynard said...
“Although I am moderately Pro-Choice (abortion up to 12 weeks), the enthusiasm with which Democrats push abortion at any time disgusts me.”
Democrats get contributions from abortion mills.
In order for abortions to be profitable they have to be plentiful.
An old guy once told me that if you kill a man in battle, the only way you get rid of the guilt is to kill a lot more men.
If a woman finds herself pregnant and most of her friends have had abortions, so much easier to get an abortion. And after that first abortion the way to get rid of the guilt is to use abortion as your primary birth control method.

Mr Wibble said...

Turns out, what was done was to switch the printers from one print setting to another, and that cased the scan not to work, because the printed ballots were the wrong size. I think that the were supposed to have been checked the day before, and said that they had been, but hadn’t been.

I've been saying for a while that a lot of the hostility of the GOP at the state level to reforms of voting is because it would expose that everyone- GOP or Dem- at the local level mismanages elections: expensive equipment bought because someone got a kickback, people not trained on the use of equipment, or proper procedures, necessary supplies not available, none of the proper maintenance or pre-election checks and validations conducted, etc. Normally it doesn't matter, as elections are pretty obvious one way or the other, but when you have close elections all of a sudden it gets exposed.

walter said...

Grabbing voters by the pussy.

Bruce,
There were reported sightings of a van making the rounds spray painted as Gadfly's Printer Support, with an odd faded underpainting that looks to have been "Plumbing".

Michael K said...

gger MikeR said...

Republicans had an enormous opportunity, and of course chose to squander it. By simply saying, Let's set up some reasonable rules, say 15 weeks max like most of Europe, they could have removed the issue from most voters and cemented their victory forever.
Instead, they chose to hopelessly overreach, and Let's forbid it entirely even in cases of rape...


I agree but the Court decision was to return it to the states. Maybe the state legislatures are capable of learning . I know Democrats are not.

Bunkypotatohead said...

If abortion doesn't bring in the votes, they can always try sodomy. That seems to be pretty important to left leaning voters. The constitutional right to sodomy.

Rusty said...

""the constitutional right"? Is that you talking Ann? Please state the text."
I think it runs afoul of other rights. Something like "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of your own best interests. I think the "right" to an abortion gets broken on that other one. The life one. God said so.

Mr Wibble said...

Republicans had an enormous opportunity, and of course chose to squander it. By simply saying, Let's set up some reasonable rules, say 15 weeks max like most of Europe, they could have removed the issue from most voters and cemented their victory forever.

That's what's been happening in many of the state legislatures. A few haven't, but those are generally deep red or blue states. There's not much that the GOP can do at the national level, since the whole point of Dobbs was that abortion wasn't a federal issue.

Drago said...

Earnest Prole: "Wait, I was reliably promised a Red Wave."

Were you also reliably promised Mitch McConnell would fund and support candidates running against republican candidates? Were you also promised Mitch McConnell cutting a deal with Schumer to abandon the Senate candidate in AZ if the democraticals were hands off on McConnell's hand selected minion Ted Budd?

wildswan said...

Abortion destroys an innocent human life and that's never been fair or just but it's been legal just as slavery was and for the same reason - an inability to see an individual who looks different as a fellow human being. I'm always looking for ways to persuade those who will only accept humanistic arguments because I know what it is to be honestly confused about the humanity of the unborn child. Recently I found a new argument - maybe.

The moral argument is that we are human from the moment of conception. The science is that the moment of conception is the moment when the two sets of chromosomes, one from the mother, one from the father, work together for the first time. The two sets have doubled to four and they work together to perform a mitotic division for the first time but - and here's the point - but not for the last time. Two chromosome sets go to one end of the cell and two to another while working together to form the mitotic spindle between themselves and they, then divide the one cell into two along the mitotic equator. And this same process is repeated millions of times and for as long as you live
I used to have as much trouble as anyone else in imagining this first division as an all important moment in human life although philosophically it's easy to see that human life begins, well, when it first begins. But the problem I had imagining the process as important occurred because I imagined the process as a diagram in a book about "the zygote." When I imagine it as about myself it is quite different. Once there was my first cell division and the exact same process of mitotic division is going on with the same chromosome set throughout my whole body now. Everything about my body rests on past and continuing mitotic divisions by the millions, all of which trace directly back to that first division and no further.
I developed and specialized cells that were made available by this process and built up the body I now have; and to do so I followed my chromosome pattern. It's pretty clear to me when I began and if I didn't do all the building right from the start and the building and sustaining ever since, I don't know who did. And when the long continued chain of mitotic division in me ends, I know whose human body will die.
Human life begins at conception and when you realize this you see the developing human must be protected like anyone else in any other phase of life.
The situations that women get forced into have shaped social policy but we'll all be better off when we begin protecting women and the developing human being rather than distorting our self-understanding and our social policies.

Moondawggie said...

Mike R stated: "Instead, they chose to hopelessly overreach, and "Let's forbid it entirely even in cases of rape..."

Factually untrue, Mike. SCOTUS said let the states decide; it's not a federal issue. (Or, more succinctly, "Not our circus, not our monkey!")

If you had answered that question on an Organic Chem exam, you would have gotten a zero score.
OTOH, in the contemporary collegiate "social sciences," you'd still probably get an A-

Credentialed versus educated opinions...

n.n said...

pro-life is pro-choice, in fact, four choices: to fuck or not to fuck, prevent conception, adoption or shared responsibility, compassion or personal responsibility. Choose wisely, ladies and gentlemen, conception of a new life is the hardest job you will ever love.

The Pro-Abortion ‘Life Of The Mother’ Argument Is A False Flag Operation

A pro-life or pro-death bias.

‘Precious Feet’: Doctor’s Iconic Photo of a 10-Week-Old ‘Fetus’ Proves Aborted Babies Are Not Clumps of Cells

The pitter-patter of little feet. That said, six weeks to baby meets granny in legal state.

effinayright said...

Moondawggie said...
AA observed "now that the Court revoked the constitutional right?"

Now that is one impressively slick Clintonian way of rephrasing "the court simply rescinded a prior opinion?"
***************

Amen, bro! Not only does Miss Ann call abortion "the" constitutional right that isn't stated or implied, she slides over the fact that it was cobbled together in one of the worst Supreme Court decisions in American history.

Miss Ann: before the Court "found" that right in emanations and penumbras, can YOU find it in something more specific in the document itself? Can you tell what Secret Constitutional Decoder Ring you are using?

I'm betting you won't even try---wymyn's way of knowing, and all that crap.

effinayright said...

Moondawggie said...
AA observed "now that the Court revoked the constitutional right?"

Now that is one impressively slick Clintonian way of rephrasing "the court simply rescinded a prior opinion?"
***************

Amen, bro! Not only does Miss Ann call abortion "the" constitutional right that isn't stated or implied, she slides over the fact that it was cobbled together in one of the worst Supreme Court decisions in American history.

Miss Ann: before the Court "found" that right in emanations and penumbras, can YOU find it in something more specific in the document itself? Can you tell what Secret Constitutional Decoder Ring you are using?

I'm betting you won't even try---wymyn's way of knowing, and all that crap.

wendybar said...

During that time that the Supreme Court decreed that abortion was a HUMAN RIGHT, a lot of people marched, and argued, and wrote letters-to-the-editors that abortion was (under most circumstances) WRONG and EVIL. Where are they in this debate?

4/2/23, 5:36 PM

How can you be in the debate when the left silences you at every turn??

THEY are STILL marching. There has been a MASSIVE Right to Life march EVERY January for the LAST 50 YEARS, but since we don't have a media....the people of America NEVER hear about it on the news. The Left and their Propaganda media figure if people don't see it, they won't know how many people are against this barbaric procedure. https://marchforlife.org/

tim maguire said...

now that the Court has revoked the constitutional right

People here are right to call you out on this. The court does not create or destroy constitutional rights, it holds they exist. Or don't.

Just as after Roe v. Wade abortion had always been a right (Supreme Court decisions can be back-applied), after Dobbs v. Jackson, abortion was never a right. Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided.

Your statement suggests a nonsensical middle ground in which recognition of a right means it was always a right but overturning the decision that recognized it means that it was still always a right, but that right has been repealed.

The ratchet--rights only go in one direction; towards leftist goals.

n.n said...

Human rites performed for social, redistributive, clinical, political, criminal, and fair weather progress. The weird science and social moderation of cargo cults.

n.n said...

Abortion and other forms of elective homicide are a human right that can be enjoyed in darkness, and while it cannot be prevented, is discouraged in civilized societies. That said, there is no mystery in sex and conception, abortion is critical surgery and forcing of psychiatric dysphoria, "burdens" of evidence should not be sequestered, human lives should not be cannibalized in clinics for medical progress, six weeks to baby meets granny in legal state. Humanity should have a pro-life bias... prejudice.

wendybar said...

Those babies really DO have a constitutional RIGHT TO LIFE!!! THAT is in the constitution.

Temp Blog said...

One of the constants of human societies through time has been child sacrifice, particularly to ensure economic success or prosperity. Abortion is simply this human behavior translated to the modern, scientific/medical technocratic society in which we live.

Using child sacrifice for personal economic gain (much in the way that all forms of slavery were and still are) will always be seen by a major chunk of any society as a "right". Some (many) will elevate it to being a duty to be performed to show that the individual values the success of the society over and against any moral or other qualms the individual may have.

Greg the Class Traitor said...

"... they are likely to copy it next year in races at all levels of government, including in President Biden’s campaign if he seeks re-election. The focus on abortion rights in down-ballot races, however, reflects Democrats’ increased nationalization of local politics.

What a moron of a writer.

The reason why you focus on abortion in state and local legislative and executive races is because that's where it's now decided

The reason to focus on it in judicial races is because Democrats are lawless scum who hate democracy and want to use "judges" to force their deranged and unpopular abortion position (all abortion, all the time, until no fewer than 10 minutes after birth)

For decades, local Republican candidates ran on issues like abortion, immigration and national security, putting them in simple terms: 'A noun, a verb and 9/11,' Mr. Biden once said in describing the phenomenon. Now Democrats are doing the same on abortion in left-leaning cities, hoping to win over independent voters and some moderate Republicans."

No one who votes for "all abortion, all the time" is a moderate.
It's a position held by less than 20% of the population, but it's the Democrats Holy Grail

From "Democrats Run on Abortion, Even for Offices With Little Say on the Issue/Seizing on a powerful motivator for their party, Democratic candidates for municipal offices have put Republicans on their heels. 'I’m running for mayor, I’m not debating abortion,' one said" (NYT).

Assuming facts not in evidence. To whit: assuming that the response was weak.

"Now Democrats are doing the same on abortion..." — doing what? Stating an abstraction without more and expecting voters to be triggered into mindless voting?
Yes, exactly

Does abortion work like that?
It does for the pro abortion lunatics. And it does, apparently, for thoughtless suburban women