By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ
McALLEN, Texas |...Came the statement somewhat late if late is a few weeks, a few months. What was drama queen Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trump's wishy-washy position on the hit-button issue of abortion? Would the adulterer say he'd ban it nationally, as his rabid supporters insist, or would he melt-in with the effect as it would affect his campaign?
Trump went with latter. He thinks talk of abortion is the worst conversation for Republicans.
This in a country where, analysts say, up to 2 million abortions occur annually. 878,000 in the first 10 months of last year, 2023. The statistical data is clear - Americans are into abortion as a medical treatment.
Politicians, well, Republicans, don't get it. They lean on abortion as some sort of God-divined no-no, when reality (life) shows it to be a necessity, at times a life-saving necessity. Yes, the abortion numbers went down in states (South Carolina, Indiana, North Carolina) that outlawed it, but that was not about need as much as it was about political power.
As the 2024 General Election gears up for its usual late-inning drama, Democrats are using the Republican anti-abortion position to win votes. And, as has happened in states where abortion is placed on the ballot, they know it is a winning issue up and down the ballot.
President Joe Biden is playing it up, as is the Democratic National Committee (DNC); Republicans not so much.
Indeed, Republicans are harping on Trump's new (fake) position. They know it is a loser in November.
From newrepublic.com: [ . . . .In a rambling video statement posted to Truth Social on Monday, Donald Trump claimed that if he is - egads! - reelected, abortion "will" be left to the states. "The states will determine by vote or legislation or perhaps both, and whatever they decide must be the law of the land," he said. "Many states will be different. Many will have a different number of weeks, or some will [be] more conservative than others, and that’s what they will be. At the end of the day, this is all about the will of the people."
Trump’s statement is notable in part for what he left out. By declining to support a federal, week-specific ban on abortion, he angered Marjorie Dannenfelser of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life, a powerful anti-abortion group. "We are deeply disappointed in President Trump’s position," she said. "Saying the issue is 'back to the states' cedes the national debate to the Democrats who are working relentlessly to enact legislation mandating abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy." ]
For me, this is not an issue worthy of a national referendum. The Border Wall, yes. Abortion, no.
Medicine is a patient's issue. Government does not belong in that world. Doctors are not trained to sway with arriving political issues. An abortion is a treatment for the woman, for the woman and her husband, for the woman and her family, for the woman and her doctor, for the woman and her faith.
Republicans often wish to rule with a heavy hand.
Mostly, it is Republican men.
They should play with their own bodies. What do they call it - pocket pool?...
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An 1864 law that completely bans abortion, and makes it a crime punishable by 5 years in prison. This will drive voters throughout the country out in droves. Throughout the country Democrats will be able to frame the MAGA GOP as stuck in the 1800s. We are going to see commercials with Kari Lake on TV saying the 1864 law was perfect, they are going to play over and over again the 2016 interview where Trump said there needed to be some punishment for women who have an abortion.
ReplyDeleteWhy is this a government issue at any level? The only ones with any standing are the woman along with her doctor. Vote Blue at every level to codify your rights to your own body!!
ReplyDeleteEcho that.
DeleteIowa governor signs bill that gives state authority to arrest and deport some migrants.
ReplyDeleteOk, they think we are not smart to see through this. They will pass some type of nation wide abortion ban if they get the chance. The GOP does not believe in representative government. If they did they would allow the state to put it to a vote, but they won’t allow that either. So the stuff about let the states decide is utter nonsense. Medicare and affordable health care for the average person they don’t believe in that either. I understand why the rich are voting GOP they want the tax cuts and no regulations so they can poison us and have planes be unsafe, but what is in it for us.
ReplyDeleteTrump’s former CEO Allen Weisselberg is going to jail again for lying under oath about Trump’s assets, which undermines any chance Trump had of using Weisselberg to help him out at next week’s criminal trial. Weisselberg’s sentencing today may also lead to sanctions for Trump’s lawyers’ Habba and Kise, and why the Manhattan DA didn’t ask for a longer sentence than 5 months and gave Weisselberg a break in advance of the next trial.
ReplyDeleteAlways the people who worked for him, never him. Groan.
DeleteI will believe that when I see it. GOP presidential candidate Chris Christie said former President Donald Trump might take a plea deal in his sensitive documents case in Florida as he said he's afraid of going to jail.
ReplyDeleteIf not the documents case, hopefully Trump will be jailed in the hush-money case.
Chris Christie said that Trump goes to bed every night thinking about the sound of the jail cell door closing. I don't agree with Christie's political views, and I hope that he is right, but I doubt it. Trump has no remorse for what he has done.
All these delay attempts could backfire on Mr. Trump. A reasonable person might ask “Why is a supposedly 100% "innocent" man spending millions of $$$ to AVOID having his day in court?” A man supposedly persecuted by a “deep state witch hunt” which he could easily expose for the whole country to see in the courtroom? He would be re-elected by a landslide! Form your own conclusion. Mine, like hopefully millions of other independents, is that he's GUILTY AS CHARGED. And his desperate delay attempts WILL affect votes.
ReplyDeleteFormer NFL star OJ Simpson dead at 76. His ex-wife and her would-be lover were murdered. Did he do it? We'll never know.
ReplyDeleteTrump is a national embarrassment! Every vote for Trump is vote for Putin. Any Judge that puts Trump in prison will have my full support.
ReplyDeleteYou said it.
DeleteA lot of Rio Grande Valley women have had abortions. And we're big on the Catholic religion!
ReplyDeleteGive WOMEN their rights back to make decisions about their own body...
ReplyDeleteBIDEN 2024...
Why is Trump, a convicted sexual abuser, taking rights away from women?
DeleteTrump wants all kids praying in school. He doesn't have a religious bone in his body, but he knows Republican voters do, so he will say whatever he thinks they want to hear.
ReplyDeleteWhat!? We have how many religions in this immigrant country? Pray to which God?
DeleteExactly. Hell-o, Allah...................
DeleteCOLA (cost of living) adjustment for Social Security recipients now at 3% for next year. May rise, as inflation still up...
ReplyDelete3% will not keep up with our inflation. They need to take into account price of groceries and housing!
Deletejust wait for the attempted medical excuse before Monday's start of his hush money trial. Trump will have a bone spur flare-up or something and claim that as a reason for delaying the start of the trial.
ReplyDeleteWe need to counter with recruiting minors who are 17 with a driver's license to help teens get their abortions out of state...the law would not apply to anyone who is not 18 years or over....let's thwart the anti-abortion efforts at all turns...
ReplyDeleteAlso, this does nothing to stop aid access from getting abortion pills to those teens...the anti-abortion zealots are fighting the war from the 1980s not the 2020s where the abortion pill rules the day and travel is not an issue.
Hey, Trump, you are to defend yourself in court, not in public! When you Defend yourself in public, it's called whining!
ReplyDeleteWhy is Melania bothered by revelations of her husband's philandering ways? This is how he has always been. It will be cool to see her reaction as testimony unfolds. Stormy Daniels will tell it all, brother.
DeleteIt seems Melania has an extraordinary tolerance for being deceived. Not many individuals would remain in a situation where they repeatedly find themselves betrayed.
DeleteHere in the RGV, abortions are readily available in neighboring Mexico. Has Abbott outlawed that yet?
ReplyDeleteThat's tricky. He is behind a push to arrest anyone driving a woman to an abortion, so...........
DeleteI’m having trouble understanding how a law that was enacted prior to Arizona becoming a state, that was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court can take precedent over subsequent Arizona laws legalizing abortions. Another question, why wasn’t the legal precedent set in 1856 removed from the books either in 1973 when abortions were legal and the law was declared unconstitutional or 2022 when Abortion access was amended?
ReplyDeleteMy favorite Stormy moment was when a Trump supporter tweeted at her with "Trump wouldn't touch you with a ten-foot pole "
ReplyDeleteShe answered: "You're right, he used a 3-inch pole"
texas is trying to make it illegal to use its roads to travel to another state to get an abortion. if you know or suspect someone is doing that and don't report it, you are subject to charges. google it!!!!
ReplyDeleteI don't believe that would pass the Supreme Court test, although......
DeleteThe majority of people want justice for Trump that mean jail time.
ReplyDeleteThe Stormy Daniels "Hush Money Trial" begins Monday.
Delete