Posted on 07/01/2022 5:45:05 AM PDT by DoodleBob
In overturning Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court delivered the right’s biggest single victory ever, and it may spell the end of the conservative movement as we’ve known it.
It was Ronald Reagan who popularized the notion that the conservative movement rested on a fusionist “three-legged stool.” In theory, the three legs were free market economics, national defense and social conservatism. In practice, free market economics meant low taxes and pro-business policies. National defense meant anticommunism and, briefly, the war on terror. Social conservatism covered a lot of territory but the enduring core was opposition to Roe and abortion.
Like anticommunism, “pro-life” was a big tent all its own, including constitutionalists, religious activists, advocates of states’ rights et al. While nearly everyone invoked the “sanctity of life,” as a policy matter, many argued merely for overturning Roe either to fix a jurisprudential error or to send the issue back to the states, to let the democratic process find a social compromise on abortion.
For other abortion opponents, however, overturning Roe was a first step on the road to enshrining a “culture of life” that protected the unborn from conception onward.
Think of it this way: If the court had banned abortion outright based on the “right to life” found in the 14th Amendment, the once-united opponents of Roe would be divided. Some would cheer a huge win for life, but others would see the same sort of judicial activism they decried in Roe. Well, the fallout from Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization has opened a similar rift between opponents of Roe and opponents of abortion. And it’s a mystery where these factions will go next, ideologically or politically.
While a lot attention is on states where abortion will be banned, it’s telling that two of the GOP’s most popular governors, Ron DeSantis of Florida and Glenn Youngkin of Virginia, have stopped short of outlawing abortion, preferring a ban after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Georgia’s Republican Gov. Brian Kemp stands behind a 6-week limit, while New Hampshire’s Chris Sununu says abortion will remain legal in his state.
Meanwhile, some House Republicans have called for a federal abortion ban. “The Life at Conception Act” has 160 co-sponsors, though one wonders how many it will lose now that it has a chance, however slim, of passage.
All of this political positioning surely has a lot to do with the role the GOP base plays in congressional elections compared with statewide races, where winning the more moderate middle is necessary.
One of the arguments for repealing Roe was that it fueled polarization by removing accountability on abortion policy. Politicians could take base-pleasing absolutist positions knowing that Roe barred any meaningful changes that reflected the more nuanced views of voters. For instance, while it’s true that large numbers of Americans were against repealing Roe, support for Roe’s actual guidelines was mixed. As of April, more Americans favored a ban on abortions after 15 weeks than opposed one, though the same survey also found a majority of voters say abortion should be legal in all or most cases (obviously, it’s complicated). Republicans generally benefited from polarization on abortion both financially and electorally. But they also benefited from the unity of purpose conservatives enjoyed pre-Dobbs. In the post-Roe era that unity is gone, at least for the foreseeable future.
Which brings me back to that three-legged stool.
The end of the Cold War spelled the end of anticommunism’s role in galvanizing conservatives around a specific foreign and defense policy. Pat Buchanan, for instance, considered Cold War anticommunism the great exception to conservatism’s natural tendency to isolationism, which he returned to in the 1990s. Donald Trump’s “America First” rhetoric was a delayed victory for Buchananism.
As for economics, most on the right still reject tax hikes, but the war on “woke capitalism” is the hot new thing, and protectionism has lost its bad odor. Indeed, while traditional conservative opposition to a more generous welfare state has been eroding for some time, the Dobbs decision may hasten the process. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, hailed the court’s decision. “But,” he added, “we must not only continue to take steps to protect the unborn, we must also do more to support mothers and their babies.”
He promised to “soon introduce a bill to ensure we do everything we can to give every child the opportunity to fully access the promise of America.”
I think the Supreme Court decided Dobbs correctly. But those who insist the majority acted out of partisan loyalty to the GOP or to the broader conservative movement miss the fact that neither may benefit over the long haul. The conservative justices ruled on principle, letting the chips fall where they may. It’s going to be raining chips for quite a while.
briefly? My son was born on 9/11. He’ll be 21 this year. at war all his life.
Assistant Democrats mad.
Because we’re never supposed to actually WIN the battle.
Just use the battle as a way to get more milquetoast pantywaists elected.
Well that game is over!
That’s most of the problem I agree.
BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE
With Junior Jonah and little Willy Kristol there this issue of NEPOTISM.
Think for a minute either one of those two losers could have gotten a mailroom job without their parents involvement?
Remember Sidney and Lucianne Goldberg?
Look up Neocon and a picture of Little Willie’s dad, Irvin Kristol and GWB is there shaking hands.
What jokesters these guys are. Problem is they’re only fooling themselves and a teeny tiny group of Jebsters and liberals who don’t think.
Trump effect.
Jonah is correct- though I don’t like it one bit. We don’t realize how right he is- the GOP gave lip service to the sanctity of life for decades but very few meant it. The secret is NO ONE thought Roe would ever be overturned. Now it’s happened and few of us on the right are prepared for the political backlash. I don’t give a damn myself- but it’s coming. Does anyone really believe Planned Parenthood will begin preaching abstinence or make birth control “cool”? How much money could that bring in to them?
I don’t get these people. Every victory is a loss or spun as how Republicans will crack up or overreach or do something self-destructive. Their goal in life is explaining why we can’t be allowed to win on an agenda that they allegedly share. And they hate anyone who actually pushes to win that agenda.
Nice. I'm adding it to my Clown World street dictionary.
Discernment.
DISCERNMENT.
FReepers need to determine if what he says is reasonable, correct, or true.
Otherwise, you’re letting your reasoning and analytical skills be swayed by what you FEEL about Goldberg.
Do better.
“ You can’t reason with these people. They’re not even just ignorant. They’re actually purposely evil. Purposely deceptive. Purposely destructive. Purposely twisting the rule of law to fit their satanic world view.”
Very succinct, accurate and to the point, well done sir!
GMTA
Liberal Fascism is an excellent book, but then this guy just went sideways.
NeoCons were never conservative
Because it is safe to speak big when you are in the minority and you are not a threat yet. But when you need to step up because a movement is underway to restore Liberty, and it is gaining momentum, he became a mouse because he values his "stuff" and reputation more than Liberty.
He is happy sitting on the sidelines writing his worthless articles and books like any other ordinary hypocrite.
Agreed, I use that book as a coffee table book when I have known liberals over. The jacket gets the conversations rolling.
Me thinks, Jonah is either not the author or he’s had a horrific brain injury since the books publication.
Goldbrick fired Ann Coulter from NRO in 2001. Before she went crazy.
I still adhere to the concept and articulate it when appropriate. The social conservatism leg is not going away and there is plenty of work there to do.
Personally, I'm intrigued at the prospect of prolife individuals approaching their respective state firearms organization to learn the ropes. The concealed carry movement for decades was a state-by-state incremental wins movement.
For example, NJ has a small but spirited firearms lobby. While I doubt NJ will embrace pro-life, there *could* be some benefits if they joined forces. That said, there is also the potential to lose focus by widening the aperture especially in blue states where prolife supporters and firearms owners are in short supply. Parenthetically, some prolife folks in NJ hate guns (it's odd but it's true...I've experienced it), so it could be a dead end.
But that's the benefit of it moving to the state level. Subsidiarity works.
I’m no fan of Jonah Goldberg but I think his take on this is generally correct. In fact, the early 21st century will likely be remembered as the swan song for the GOP … because the social conservatives have pretty much had it with the corporate/globalist wing of the party.
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