Kansas votes 62% to retain the right to access an abortion in its constitution.

[Desk trauma]

Minority rule is not a viable plan for America. Republicans will either move back toward American values or they will join the Whigs.

The former would be a better alternative, but the latter would work.

You forgot option C: reject democracy entirely if it doesn’t go their way.

 

[The Barbarian]

ou forgot option C, rejected democracy entirely.

I think the extreme right has abandoned outright fascism, for the "illiberal democracy" concept of minority rule, such as we see in Russia or Hungary.

 

[RocksInMyHead]

So what the GOP needs to do is install the right judges in the Kansas Supreme Court, right?

In theory, yes, though it's not so simple. Kansas has a rather complicated process for Supreme Court nominations that's relatively non-partisan. The governor (currently a Democrat, but she's up for reelection this year) makes the final selection, but she has to choose from a slate of three candidates presented by a nonpartisan commission (the majority of the members are appointed by the state bar association).

Kansas Supreme Court Nominating Commission - Ballotpedia

Justices are periodically up for a retention vote (6/7 will be in 2023), but it's pretty rare for justices to not be retained, and the only one who has had a retention vote since that decision was made (he was part of the majority opinion) was retained handily.

 

[essentialsaltes]

there's not much that the legislature can do to override the will of the people.

I assume they could still play around with various restrictions. Sonograms, waiting periods, varieties of red tape and hoops for the facilities to jump through.

 

[essentialsaltes]

I think the extreme right has abandoned outright fascism, for the "illiberal democracy" concept of minority rule, such as we see in Russia or Hungary.

There's always stochastic terrorism directed at the gears of democracy.

Man charged after allegedly threatening to shoot voting machines at elementary school

 

[The Barbarian]

There's always stochastic terrorism directed at the gears of democracy.

Yeah. I know a guy who was initially into the Q Anon thing. He tells me that that movement is full of people who only want to wreck what exists now.

 

[Belk]

To all those pro-lifers who were celebrating the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe vs. Wade; remember when I said this was likely to backfire, because the American public doesn't like autocrats telling them what they must do?

Told ya so. This will set the pro-life movement back by years.

Edit: I don't think this is a good thing; I think it's a very bad thing.

I don't know. If they can pivot to some of the issues that actually make women choose abortion it might advance their cause significantly. Admittedly that would require they change their ideology in other areas dealing with conservative bugaboos.

 

[The Barbarian]

I don't know. If they can pivot to some of the issues that actually make women choose abortion it might advance their cause significantly.

That would be a useful tactic for us. Sometimes, it's easier and more effective to reduce incentives to do things that we don't like, than it is to try to force people to stop doing those things.

There are, for example, religious groups who will guarantee an adoption for any child where a woman decides not to abort.

 

[Desk trauma]

Admittedly that would require they change their ideology in other areas dealing with conservative bugaboos.

I don’t see that happening. Enforcing Conservative sexual ethics is more important than stopping abortion as demonstrated by prolife groups not being active in contraception provision despite such programs being shown to drastically reduce the abortion rate. There is no separating the pro life movement from sado-moralism and authoritarianism.

 

[The Barbarian]

There is no separating the pro life movement from sado-moralism and authoritarianism.

Not every pro-life person is like that. There's a huge difference between those who want to protect the unborn, and the cynical politicians and activists who are just using it as a convenient issue.

 

[Belk]

Not every pro-life person is like that. There's a huge difference between those who want to protect the unborn, and the cynical politicians and activists who are just using it as a convenient issue.

Not all, but certainly a good percentage. I know that when I joined a pro-life group in hopes of directing it towards a data driven reduction in abortions I was quickly ostracized as they only wished to introduce legislation banning abortion outright. I have since run into a fair number of Christians on this board who would be open to the idea, but the majority seem to be of the more authoritarian side.

 

[The Barbarian]

I'm with you on this. Seems to me that the goal should be fewer abortions. I'm very concerned that the Supreme Court may have made it seem like a patriotic thing to favor abortions.

 

[Desk trauma]

Not every pro-life person is like that.

Every pro life organization is, that some rank and file disagree is irrelevant if that disagreement does not translate to a change of trajectory.

 

[Pommer]

Anyone remember the big push for an anti-flag-burning amendment? It took some courageous people to vote it down. I'd voted for Bush Sr. in 1988, but after that debacle and his others, never voted Republican again.

I think I remember that a Senator from Delaware was a co-sponsor of that bill, (recalling a political cartoon by Mike Luckovich).

 

[Nithavela]

In theory, yes, though it's not so simple. Kansas has a rather complicated process for Supreme Court nominations that's relatively non-partisan. The governor (currently a Democrat, but she's up for reelection this year) makes the final selection, but she has to choose from a slate of three candidates presented by a nonpartisan commission (the majority of the members are appointed by the state bar association).

Kansas Supreme Court Nominating Commission - Ballotpedia

Justices are periodically up for a retention vote (6/7 will be in 2023), but it's pretty rare for justices to not be retained, and the only one who has had a retention vote since that decision was made (he was part of the majority opinion) was retained handily.

I'm sure some smart GOP mind will think of something.

 

[NxNW]

There's a huge difference between those who want to protect the unborn, and the cynical politicians and activists who are just using it as a convenient issue.

When the end result is the same, the motivation hardly matters.

 

[The Barbarian]

When the end result is the same, the motivation hardly matters.

The ends don't justify the means, IMO. In this case, the means may have set pro-life back by years.

 

[Pommer]

Not every pro-life person is like that. There's a huge difference between those who want to protect the unborn, and the cynical politicians and activists who are just using it as a convenient issue.

But such is all politics, people glomming (in a “good way”) together around a central set of issues.
Now, as we know, politics is difficult, more difficult for the average American to pay strict attention to (largely due to trying to survive in a cruel and heartless capitalist system that has probably stifled them with debt), and need BIG THEMES to rally around, so that they can know “which side” they’re on.
Abortion is one of those issues.

 

[Hvizsgyak]

Guess we'll have to see if the GOP realizes that their policy plans are not interesting to a majority of voters. They could change their goals to line up with what voters want and actually have a chance to win elections, or perhaps they'll continue doubling down on trying to outdo each other in how much they can alienate the voting public.
Seems like either way America wins.

And the mutilated and murdered unborn child loses. What a sick society we live in.

 

[Hvizsgyak]

Now the question is, do state legislators have some work around that allows them to ignore this vote and restrict abortion anyway?[/QUOT

Since murder is wrong then yes the state legislators can stop this mob rule mentality of making abortion legal under the state constitution. I would love to see the turn out for that particular vote. Once people see how gruesome abortion is to the unborn child, they wane from it. Our country has to protect life from the moment of conception to the time of natural death. This is not a religious view, this is a humane view.