the essence of conservative rule right now. It is a fundamentally minoritarian rule
And I think that the place where I suspect it will have the most political impact is where it will make things like total abortion bans without rape and incest and health of the mother exemptions very live issues.
Jane Coaston: Yeah. Im so curious about that because, again, this has been the carrot waved in front of social conservatives and the Republican Party for 50 years. So theres been a lot of absolutism discussed among people who are opposed to abortion, particularly on the right, that they are well aware does not poll well.
Jesse Wegman: Jane, the entire Republican platform for the last several decades has been winning on things that dont poll well.
Jane Coaston: Right, exactly.
Jesse Wegman: I mean, this is the essence of conservative rule right now. It is a fundamentally minoritarian rule. The Democratic candidate has won more votes for president than the Republican candidate in seven of the last eight elections. And yet we have a six-to-three supermajority of conservatives on the Supreme Court.
Its an astonishing sleight of hand. Its how these lawmakers have gotten power and then wield power, explicitly contrary to the wishes of a majority of Americans.
Researchers of democracy and comparative democracy have found that curbs on womens rights are correlated with democratic backsliding, and that the two move hand in hand. When womens rights are more restricted, more reduced, you have more backsliding in democratic practices.
And were seeing that happen here. Were seeing these curbs on womens rights at the same time as were seeing backsliding.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/03/opinion/reproductive-rights-roe-the-argument.html