Democrats are apparently taking the recent advice of old white men and pivoting election messaging to the economy—specifically, Social Security—and “kitchen table” issues in the last weeks of this election season. The most recent “ad blitz” from the Senate Majority PAC and the House Majority PAC is focused on Social Security—which is great, because yeah, Republicans really are going to come for it again if they get majorities in either or both chambers of Congress.
That doesn’t necessarily mean that Democratic leaders have decided that they’ve spent enough time on abortion and it’s time to turn to the economy, but looking at past performance, that’s a valid concern. Particularly when the guy that came up with the famous “It’s the economy, stupid” mantra of the Clinton era is warning that “A lot of these consultants think if all we do is run abortion spots that will win for us. I don’t think so,” and that Democrats have “got to be more aggressive than just yelling abortion every other word.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who did not win the 2020 presidential primary by focusing entirely on economic issues, has also recently argued that “Democrats shouldn’t focus only on abortion in the midterms. […] America has long faced structural economic crises. Democrats must win on the economy and present a pro-worker agenda.”
Few have argued that abortion is the only issue to run on, but those consultants who have been paying attention have seen just how urgent and motivating abortion is in driving new voter registrations, dominating special elections, and showing up as a key issue for voters. They see that it isn’t just continuing to be a key issue: It’s hardening and growing as a motivator for key Democratic voters.
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What has also been lost in this is that—for the majority of people having and needing them—abortion is an economic issue. Leng Leng Chancey, the executive director of 9to5, a national organization advocating for economic security for women of color, explained to The 19th how childbearing affected them personally, while working at a $7.25/hour job at a university and spending $150 a week on child care for their first child, with just eight weeks of leave after having a Cesarean birth.
“I was afraid to lose my job—who can access [unpaid family leave]? Nobody that’s working a minimum wage job, because you have to put food on the table,” they said.
Josephine Kalipeni, the executive director of Family Values @ Work, talked about her decision to have an abortion when she was in college. She was the oldest of six children, was in school, was helping her parents, and working three jobs. “I had to think and really weigh the cost knowing that my parents would not have an inheritance to pass down to me in the future, that my financial wellness was as connected to theirs as their own independent finances were, and now to think about disrupting my education, incurring the costs of having a child and having a child in the United States? There was absolutely no way I could financially or emotionally have a child,” Kalipeni said.
That’s not an unusual story, particularly for people of color and low-income people. Forcing already poor and marginalized people to have children keeps them in poverty. It consigns their children to poverty. It perpetuates income inequality. It redounds on families, including on grandparents. The grandparents who might be thinking about their economic situation, their Social Security, and what happens when they have to help raise their children’s children because no one can afford to do it alone.
Also, a fundamental human right has been taken away from millions of Americans by Republicans. That’s worth running against. If these guys get that, every Democrat should.
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