While some congressional Democrats are still weighing the politics of the Supreme Court's impending decision on abortion, a groundswell of energy at the local level appears to be there for the taking.
In Allentown, Pennsylvania, for instance, a "raucous Tuesday abortion-rights rally" sprung up downtown the day after news surfaced of the draft opinion gutting Roe v. Wade.
One middle-aged woman held a sign reading, “Do rapists have parental rights?” according to Politico. An older woman waved a coat hanger, while an older man donned a shirt depicting the TV show The Handmaid’s Tale.
But Democratic Rep. Susan Wild, who faces a tough cycle after redistricting gave her seat a redder hue, is still feeling her way through the political moment.
Christine Pelosi talks about the Supreme Court's leaked decision on Roe v. Wade, and what Democrats are doing now, on Daily Kos’ The Brief podcast
“I’m trying really hard not to make this about whether this will help us win in November, because it’s so important an issue that it transcends the election,” Wild, who attended the rally, told Politico. But, she added, “People are pissed.”
Wild's Democratic counterpart in the Pennsylvania State House, however, pulled no punches when she addressed the crowd.
“Someone asked me this morning, what’s your plan? I said my plan is Tuesday, November the eighth!” thundered state representative and Democratic Leader Joanna McClinton, as chants of “Vote blue in 2022" broke out.
The difference in approach between Wild and McClinton appears to be playing out more broadly. The closer to Washington a Democrat is, the more hampered they seem to be by the strategic considerations of congressional leadership. Democratic leaders in Washington are apparently fighting the abortion battles of decades past and dragging down their caucus in the process. Thus, Wild's hesitation, while McClinton, the top Democrat in the Pennsylvania State House, knew exactly what to do.
The same is true among Democrats running for statewide seats. In a straight-to-camera video on Tuesday, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer vowed to "fight like hell" for abortion rights, touting her administration's legal efforts to secure statewide protections.
With similar urgency, Georgia Democrat and gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams announced an immediate pause in her wildly successful fundraising operation in order to redirect money to abortion rights groups.
Her fundraising machine will instead be collecting donations on behalf of The Feminist Women’s Health Center, SisterSong, ARC Southeast, Planned Parenthood Southeast, and NARAL Pro-Choice Georgia, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“This moment demands action, so I will be blunt: The abomination of that leaked opinion is coming to find every one of us,” Abrams said Wednesday in a campaign email. “Women in Georgia and across this country. LGBTQ+ and disabled people. And particularly those of color or low-income. This is a terrifying time for our nation.”
This moment demands action.
They're coming for every one of us: Black, brown, female-bodied, LGBTQ, disabled, immigrant.
This is a terrifying moment and, dammit, I'm going to do everything in my power to prevail.
In January, just 24% of Georgia voters said they wanted the Supreme Court to overturn Roe, while 68% opposed it. In 2019, Gov. Brian Kemp signed a bill that bans all abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, with a rape/incest exception only if it's been reported to authorities. That bill registered 38% support in the January survey, while 54% opposed it.
The point is, the politics of this for Republicans are horrible. Every past poll that suggested people who favor abortion rights don't vote on it was not taken in an environment in which the highest court in the land was preparing to declare open season on abortion rights. The game-changing nature of that reality will be as explosive in the suburban swing districts that will likely decide control of Congress as it will be in statewide races in battlegrounds like Georgia and Michigan.
The tide has turned. The Democratic grassroots know it. Democrats outside of Washington know it. And it's time for Democrats in Washington to catch up. They usually do when they are left with no choice.