While Democrats were spending their political energies enforcing gender-neutral vocabulary to please their progressive base, Republicans were executing a methodical and, frankly, brilliant strategy to solidify their base with the singular objective of overturning the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision. Now the left is rising up in outraged protest at the unfairness of it all.
Republican leaders recognized long ago that they are under no obligation to holster their brass knuckles and play nice. Even though America’s demographics suggest the GOP grip on power should be waning steadily, the party is instead fighting well above its weight. Democrats are helping them every step of the way.
What will it take to shake Democrats into action? The 2000 presidential election, won by Democrats but handed to Republican George W. Bush by a narrow Supreme Court ruling, had no lasting impact on Democratic Party mobilization. The rise of racist, obstructionist right-wing politics after President Barack Obama took office still did little to advance the Democrats’ bigger agenda. Yes, Obamacare became the law of the land, but other platform issues — immigration reform, equal rights for women and minorities, and criminal justice reform — made scant headway.
