Among the hackneyed adages we all exchange from time to time is the one that admonishes us to Ignore what people say; instead, we’re told to look at what they do. These sorts of standard sayings persist in the culture because they point to a central truth, and this one is no different. Actions really do speak louder than words.
Which brings me to Arizona.
As everyone who reads or listens to the news now knows, the Arizona Supreme Court recently struck down a 15-week limit on abortion, and instead revived an 1864 law banning the procedure–a law so old, it preceded Arizona statehood. The law they revived reads:
“A person who provides, supplies or administers to a pregnant woman, or procures such woman to take any medicine, drugs or substance, or uses or employs any instrument or other means whatever, with intent thereby to procure the miscarriage of such woman, unless it is necessary to save her life, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not less than two years nor more than five years.”
Arizona only became a state in 1912.
Given the toxic politics of abortion bans in the wake of Dobbs, Republicans in the state publicly decried the ruling. Even those who had previously supported total bans issued more “moderate” criticisms of the court’s decision. But then–as another hoary phrase might have it–the rubber hit the road. Democrats in the Arizona legislature proposed to repeal the law–and Republicans refused to allow that repeal to go forward.
As the AP reported:
The Arizona Legislature devolved into shouts of “Shame! Shame!” on Wednesday as Republican lawmakers quickly shut down discussion on a proposed repeal of the state’s newly revived 1864 law that criminalizes abortion throughout pregnancy unless a woman’s life is at risk.
The state Supreme Court cleared the way on Tuesday for enforcement of the pre-statehood law. Arizona abortion providers vowed Wednesday to continue service until they’re forced to stop, possibly within weeks.
State legislators convened as pressure mounted from Democrats and some Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, for them to intervene.
House Democrats and at least one Republican tried to open discussion on a repeal of the 1864 abortion ban, which holds no exceptions for rape or incest. GOP leaders, who command the majority, cut it off twice and quickly adjourned for the week. Outraged Democrats erupted in finger-waving chants of “Shame! Shame!”
And from the Democrats in IN, we hear absolutely nothing.
Again we see legislating from the bench is a problem this time from the right? Whatever side you’re on in this fight we need to see legislation from governing bodies to create the law.
Black Lives Matter doesn’t need help of the Republicans as they are being criticized from the black community. Their own actions as a fundraiser for one party over another will easily bring criticism as well as their nonaction in the black community and corrupt use of funds. The critical rhetoric is necessary from all sides. BLM provided no relief.
Have to admit that I’m not privy to BLM decision making but could it be that they fund raise for the Democratic Party because the Republican Party is controlled by racist, fascist maniacs? Makes sense to.me.
I hope Arizona is preparing orphanages because they are going to have fallout. And some of those babies are going to be messed up. And what about mother’s that die and leave their existing kids? What about those kids rights? None of this is going to work out for them.
patmcc, Why would a Dem waste money on airtime when the Republican infighting has so saturated the airwaves with ads we all tune them out? Any marketing person will tell you after the primary when there is no longer a train wreck to watch is when they should start their campaigns, when they won’t get lost in the culture war firestorm.
If the Freakonomics theory of why crime started to decline in the 80’s and 90’s is right, we need to start building jails as well.
They tied access to abortion starting in the 70’s to a decline in poverty and a decline in crime that followed a generation later.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legalized_abortion_and_crime_effect#:~:text=The%20cumulative%20impact%20of%20legalized,criticisms)%20in%20an%20episode%20of
Most people won’t start thinking about the election until Labor Day. Too many people skip voting in primaries. It’s the diehards who come out and that’s how we get nut cases like Kari Lake as candidates for office.
I’m not an expert in marketing, but I do know enough about it to know that fear is a great motivator, and it’s easy to make most people fear just about anything. Pick your poison! The hordes of criminals flowing through our southern border? Or perhaps the baby killing abortionists? Or maybe it’s the socialists who want to take all of your money and give it to “those people”? Essentially fear out polls rational policy discussion. The dems need to focus on the existential threat that is today’s Republican Party. ” Save democracy! “. Vote Blue!
The Democrats aren’t advertising because they have no competition in the primaries. Those running will win, and they have to save their money for the general election in November. Money for Democrats is slim in Indiana. They’ll need to save it all to buy an expensive TV ad.
As for abortion, each Red State is now competing for who is the most extreme. Kristin Noem in South Dakota acts like a Hitler wannabe. I think she wants to be Trump’s running mate. If you’re not extreme enough or MAGA enough, you will get a challenger in the next primary. The right is shifting further to the right and the left follows. This has opened up the entire left – progressives. The DNC is the old Republican Party.
Clamoring for a Dobbs-like “states’-rights” position on the issue of reproductive liberties is such a sham.
As Robert Hubbell noted in his newsletter earlier this last week, there is no state that has ever become pregnant, nor will it ever be in the future.
I abhor that is happening in AZ. However, the reporting on the left has been somewhat incomplete. The 1864 law was re-enacted several times after statehood, the latest time being in the 1970s I believe. And the legislative history of the newer 15 week ban says it is not intended to make legal any abortions that would otherwise be illegal–which would be all not necessary to save the mother’s life. We do ourselves no favors by doing what the right does–distorting the underlying facts.
Republicans continue to show the world that they are lip-strumming idiots. They have NO idea NOR will to govern for the people. You can say what you want about Democrats; they are flawed too, but not to the extent that the GOP takes dead aim at their own feet.
The horrible wretch that is Norm has been banned from native American land because she’s accused those people of being complicit in the drug trafficking trades. You can’t make this up. Then we see “pundits” publishing articles saying that swing-state voters are aligning more with Republicans than Democrats.
At times like these I rue the day I decided to stay in the United States instead of moving to Canada in 1965.
Republicans don’t offer policy solutions for the things they bleat and moan about because their approach is simply to ban what they don’t like.
And by the way, has anyone pointed out to Arizona Republicans that the author of that 1864 law, William Claude Jones, was a serial child rapist who also set the age of consent at 10?
What voters have to choose in November is between the liberal democracy of our Constitution and the entitlement of wealth (aristocracy) to rule that we defeated in the Revolutionary, Civil, and World Wars.
Donald Trump chooses to live like Putin, surrounded by show-off wealth as the source of unlimited power.
The words are either nothing but window dressing, or auditioning for the MAGA VP role.
Whatever the density of population, cruelty seems to attract the MAGA voter! And almost certainly tfg!
Peggy,
If you asked 10 voters what “democracy” means to them, you would get vastly different answers and maybe some shrugs, thanks to poor or absent civic education.. What means to them is the cost of living and the fears caused by rampant inequality, uncontrolled technology and “promoted by the media” mostly property crime. DEMs need to talk more about those. Guess who is? DUMB spells DEM messaging.
It is time that us as women begin marching over the abortion issue to reinstate Roe vs. Wade and it wouldn’t hurt to also march for other things as well such as Equal pay. It would need to get on mainstream media as well so I would say march in Washington, D.C. and have several relevant speakers at the podium.
All you Offreds will stop your complaining after the Todds vote for their Cornell and their Robert Jr. and you get a proper Commander to rule you in New Gilead.
Check out the Hopium Chronicles and Simon Rosenberg. He’s got some great talking points for Democrats. https://www.hopiumchronicles.com/p/new-with-dems-recording-biden-gains?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=email-half-post&r=3nmrgg
Check out the Hopium Chronicles and Simon Rosenberg. He’s got some great talking points for Democrats. https://www.hopiumchronicles.com/p/new-with-dems-recording-biden-gains?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=email-half-post&r=3nmrgg
After the Indiana primaries, Democrats running for office would do well to spend their money focusing on important issues that ACTUALLY matter to Hoosiers, that have a direct outcome in our lives. How about providing (over and over until they are blue in the face), lists of how we rank in areas such as overall health and well being, mental health care, elder care, natural environment, annual pay growth, maternal and infant mortalities, drug overdoses, etc. THESE are the issues that affect Hoosiers. THESE are the things Democrats in this state need to be yelling from the rooftops about! And this message needs to be easy for everyone to understand. Clear and simple. “See this ranking list? This is how Hoosiers are ACTUALLY doing while under a republican super majority. Look ok to you? No? Then it’s time to vote them out!” “I’m (insert name), I’m a Democrat running for such and such, and I approve this message.” Fade out. And scene.