Republicans spent a long time staking out more and more excessive positions on abortion, whereas on the identical time capturing down family-supporting initiatives like little one tax credit, paid parental go away, prenatal care, and government-subsidized little one care. However now, because it turns into abundantly clear that their excessive forced-birtherism is marginally much less in style than the uncooked vegan tapas sales space at CPAC, they’re making an attempt to faux they’re not Republicans.
Now the GOP’s conspicuous flip-floppery has discovered its exemplar in U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake. Lake—a key proponent of the Large Lie who denied the election ends in her personal dropping Arizona gubernatorial bid—needs us to imagine she’s had a real change of coronary heart on the subject of forcing her would-be constituents to offer start to infants they don’t need.
In a brand new interview with NBC Information, Lake tried to distance herself from her previous forced-birth positions like Quint scurrying away from the shark on the finish of “Jaws.” Perhaps the interview wasn’t fairly as grotesque as that scene, however then “Jaws” wasn’t filmed by way of six layers of gauze and sufficient Vaseline to squeeze a Clydesdale by way of a cat door.
RELATED STORY: Each warning of post-Roe America is coming true, and there’s worse forward
NBC Information:
Kari Lake, the Arizona Republican candidate working for Senate, has proclaimed abortion “the final word sin,” mentioned abortion tablets needs to be unlawful, and praised legal guidelines to limit reproductive rights in different conservative-led states. In August, Lake was in Ohio to marketing campaign for a poll measure that might have made it tougher to move a constitutional modification enshrining the proper to abortion.
So does that imply she nonetheless takes a principled stand towards abortion? As a result of for many years it’s been an article of religion amongst right-wing Republicans that human life begins at conception, and the destruction of even one human embryo so offends God, He’s continually engaged on new lethal pure disasters to punish us with.
A few of these will kill a lot of considerate, compassionate, demonstrably human People, after all, however as they are saying, you possibly can’t save an embryo with out breaking just a few eggheads.
Now, Lake, in an unique interview with NBC Information, is searching for to reasonable her place in a manner that acknowledges the tough spot that Republicans discover themselves after the Supreme Court docket overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade determination that enshrined abortion rights nationally.
Lake mentioned she believes Arizona will decide on a rule that gives entry to abortion as much as 15 to 24 weeks. She known as the state’s present 15-week restrict “a very good legislation,” and advised NBC Information that she doesn’t assist Arizona’s controversial territorial rule, a near-total ban on abortion that’s underneath dispute within the courts. As not too long ago as November 2023, Lake responded to a query about her earlier assist for the territorial ban, saying, “I haven’t modified.”
Oh no, you haven’t modified a whit, Kari. As soon as a liar, at all times a liar.
In fact, on the subject of Lake’s newest pronouncements, it is easy sufficient to learn between the traces.
As an illustration, Lake is now saying federal lawmakers ought to keep a hands-off stance on the subject of abortion—which is fairly handy contemplating she’s now working for federal workplace and would like to not reply questions on abortion.
Lake now insists “the states needs to be deciding” on the subject of abortion restrictions. However when pressed by NBC Information, she “declined to weigh in on whether or not she would vote to guard [in vitro fertilization] nationwide if she is elected.” Let’s simply take a wild guess on that one, as a result of if she’s something like the opposite mendacity Republicans at present making an attempt to distance themselves from the Alabama Supreme Court docket’s latest wacky IVF determination, she nearly definitely wouldn’t.
However hey, if Lake has her druthers, wealthy Republican pro-lifers will nonetheless have entry to all of the reproductive well being care they want within the blue state of their alternative!
“If one state has a ban, one other state can have abortion, and so ladies are going to have the ability to entry abortion,” she advised NBC Information.
In the meantime, Lake is now making an attempt to faux she cares about supporting youngsters and their households after they’re disgorged into our freshly fascist vale of tears. The truth is, parts of her NBC interview nearly made her sound like a Democrat!
Based on NBC Information, she’s now “centered on discovering options to ease the burden of moms and pregnant ladies … and vowed to work throughout the aisle to assist move child bonuses, extra little one tax credit, and paid household go away.”
“What we have to do is admittedly begin supporting ladies and giving them true selections,” she mentioned. “We have to prioritize. We discuss being pro-family, and it’s about time we put the cash the place our mouth is.”
She added, “Congress has spent nearly $200 billion in Ukraine and wished to ship one other $75 billion not too long ago. As an alternative, we are able to make investments that cash into American households by way of child bonuses, prenatal care, parental sources and lessons and little one care.”
Nicely, we already noticed a sturdy enlargement of the little one tax credit score, due to President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats. It lifted thousands and thousands of weak youngsters and households out of poverty—however after all Republicans removed it, as a result of, nicely, they’re Republicans.
So it’s only a wee bit infuriating that they’re now making these empty guarantees to allow them to get elected and proceed decreasing wealthy individuals’s taxes.
RELATED STORY: A nationwide abortion ban is certainly on the 2024 poll
In fact, Lake’s Potemkin coverage prescriptions are only a small tip of the iceberg Republicans are fixing to plow into come November. They’ve but to efficiently thread the needle on abortion rights post-Dobbs, and it’s our sacred mission to maintain slapping their fingers away after they attempt.
In any case, they’re about to run Donald Trump for president: the man who eradicated reproductive rights for tens of thousands and thousands of People, brags about having performed so, and is at present mulling a nationwide abortion ban of his personal.
However liars gonna lie, and it’s as much as us to inform the plain fact: Electing Republicans to federal workplace will solely additional endanger reproductive rights—in addition to entry to contraception. As Every day Kos’ Joan McCarter reported in November, a nationwide abortion ban is certainly on the poll this 12 months, and a vote for Trump wouldn’t simply grease the skids for an much more excessive SCOTUS, it might additionally instantly threaten People’ entry to extensively used contraceptives.
The Heritage Basis has set out an formidable totalitarian agenda for the following Republican president, whoever it is perhaps. Don’t suppose that girls’s our bodies are exempt from their plans, not by a protracted shot. They’ve been engaged on a plan to make use of a Nineteenth-century legislation written to forestall ladies from acquiring contraceptives, permitting the following Republican administration to outlaw most abortions.
The 1873 Comstock Act prohibits the mailing of contraceptives, “lewd” writings, and any “instrument, substance, drug, drugs, or factor” that may very well be utilized in an abortion. Whereas it’s been dormant because the U.S. Supreme Court docket’s Griswold v. Connecticut determination in 1965, the legislation continues to be on the books. It has skilled a revival within the twenty first century GOP. Wing-nut U.S. District Decide Matthew Kacsmaryk cited it when he dominated final spring to dam the Meals and Drug Administration from permitting mifepristone, the capsule utilized in greater than half of U.S. abortions, to be despatched by way of the U.S. mail. That’s nonetheless being litigated.
Now that 1873 is again in vogue, the Heritage Basis argues that the following president can act unilaterally to do exactly what Kacsmaryk ordered. Comstock “unambiguously prohibits mailing abortion medicine,” and a Republican president ought to “implement federal legislation towards suppliers and distributors of [abortion] tablets.”
In fact, Republicans’ makes an attempt to pander to independents and suburban ladies on abortion entry may very well be a double-edged sword. At what level do all their concessions to widespread sense and political expediency begin to demoralize their rabidly right-wing base? If Trump is not standing on a debate stage promising to nominate pro-life judges, will true-believing pro-lifers nonetheless flock to the polls on his behalf?
In the event that they do, it’s going to solely be as a result of they know Republicans are mendacity their ruddy arses off about these points. So how pathetic would it not be in the event that they noticed by way of the ruse and we didn’t? We will’t let that occur. Now greater than ever, we have to be vigilant and make our (truthful) voices heard.
Because the marketing campaign for Rep. Ruben Gallego, Lake’s Democratic opponent, notes, you merely can’t imagine Lake—or any Republican, for that matter—on the subject of their public statements on this difficulty.
“Kari Lake will say something to get elected, however her actions are clear: She helps banning abortion with out exceptions for rape or incest and can ban remedy abortion,” Gallego’s marketing campaign spokeswoman Hannah Goss advised NBC Information. “Arizonans gained’t be fooled by her makes an attempt to erase her report.”
Republican strategist Barrett Marson appears to agree. “She will learn the polling and see that she has to stroll again,” he advised NBC Information, earlier than conceding that her earlier stances on abortion gained’t be forgotten.
“2022 Kari Lake is 2024 Kari Lake’s worst enemy.”
Marketing campaign Motion
Try Aldous J. Pennyfarthing’s four-volume Trump-trashing compendium, together with the finale, Goodbye, Asshat: 101 Farewell Letters to Donald Trump, at this hyperlink.