GOP strategists want the party to state that it doesn't favor banning all abortions

[Demovictory9]

GOP strategists urge congressional candidates to campaign against a national abortion ban
Disturbed by tough election losses on Tuesday, Republicans say the party needs to make clear to voters, in speeches and TV ads, that it doesn't favor banning all abortions.

________

Three GOP sources told NBC News that party operatives fighting to win control of Congress are making a concerted push Wednesday to encourage Republicans to make clear to voters, in speeches and TV ads, that they don’t favor a national ban on all abortions.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee “is encouraging Republicans to clearly state their opposition to a national abortion ban and their support for reasonable limits on late-term abortions when babies can feel pain with exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother,” said a source familiar with NRSC strategy. “They are encouraging candidates to contrast that position with Democrats’ support for taxpayer-funded abortion without limits.”

That means in campaign speeches and TV ads, the source added.

____

Law’s group commissioned a deep dive of polling and focus groups on abortion by Axis Research earlier this year that found that the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision overturning the national right to abortion has sharply changed voter perceptions.

The term "'pro-life' is perceived as support for a flat ban on abortion without any exceptions, the most restrictive anti-abortion position," Axis Research President Brenda Gianiny wrote in a Sept. 6 memo that was recirculated by Republican operatives Wednesday and viewed by NBC News.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/republicans-urge-congress-candidates-oppose-national-abortion-ban-rcna124253

[gratuitous]

1. Brilliant strategy

It might be more credible if Republicans hadn't been doing their level best to deprive women of their bodily autonomy for the last 40 or 50 years. Own your ignorant cruelty, you assholes. Try not to splat too hard as you and your worthless party plunge off that cliff.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

43. GQP releases new party emblem re: abortion

[Johonny]

2. The problem is their candidates want to

Ban abortion and their base want to Ban abortion. I mean, it's like their only policy.

[NCIndie]

3. It's a bit friggin' late for that. Good lord.

[Demovictory9]

5. I know!!! Some red states have basically banned it..like Texas

[NotHardly]

4. So, basically LIE to get into office ... GOP perfection

[John Shaft]

11. Lying is pretty much all the republicans have

They don't offer solutions or governance.

[redqueen]

27. Like Tricia Cotham apparently did.

She was elected as a Democrat in 2022 to represent District 112. Cotham formally changed her affiliation to the Republican Party on April 5, 2023, granting the North Carolina House Republicans a supermajority. Prior to her party switch, Cotham had campaigned on a traditional Democratic Party platform and had voted for abortion rights legislation. Shortly after her party switch, Cotham cast the deciding vote for legislation to restrict abortion access in North Carolina.

[LiberalFighter]

31. Shouldn't people like her be pregnant all the time?

[redqueen]

38. She should be recalled that's for sure nt

[keep_left]

6. That's going to land the GOP in hot water with a lot of the anti-abortion groups...

...who advocate for precisely such a ban. In particular, the radtrad/EWTN wing of Catholicism is notoriously fanatical about their thought-terminating cliché "from conception to natural death". They really do mean what they say.

[EarlG]

8. Indeed

This reeks of desperation. GOP strategists want their candidates to do something which will turn off a big chunk of their base. You have MTG out there saying GOP voters hate the party because it’s not extreme enough, while strategists are saying the only way to win is to go soft on abortion. They’re screwed either way.

The fact is, they are cemented in the public consciousness as the party that overturned Roe v Wade and wants a federal abortion ban, and the public really hates that.

[underpants]

33. Be careful what you ask for, you just might get it

Pro-Life was the perfect single issue voter topic for 50 years. Just say it and you never have to spend any more resources on THIS BLOCK of voters. Done. In your pocket.
The problem is these little minions wanted action so they started getting elected and taking action. Then the big money said Yeah! We want Roe OVER and Mitch complied.

[Mr.Bill]

44. I've always said

if the Democratic party backed off on abortion and guns, the republican party would have practically no reason to exist.

[MadameButterfly]

46. except those are only their stated goals. Their real goal is

more money for rich people

[underpants]

50. Racists and polluters

That is still their true core.

Excellent read here
The Real Origins of the Religious Right
They’ll tell you it was abortion. Sorry, the historical record’s clear: It was segregation.
By RANDALL BALMER May 27, 2014

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/05/religious-right-real-origins-107133

[MadameButterfly]

61. Abortion came later when they needed a cause

Frank Schaeffer's dad instrumental in starting this, he wrote a book about it.
Thanks for the article

[underpants]

51. They'd still tell them that only they can protect them

Talk radio and Fox has them captive. It doesn’t matter what’s actually going on in fact they just flat out make stuff up. One line somewhere on a report or in a story can become a whole thing.

Section 230 of the FCC - internet liability is a perfect example. 230 gives internet providers the ability to allow anything they want without liability. The right has turned it completely around saying it’s censorship.


Excellent read here
The Real Origins of the Religious Right
They’ll tell you it was abortion. Sorry, the historical record’s clear: It was segregation.
By RANDALL BALMER May 27, 2014

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/05/religious-right-real-origins-107133

[TheRealNorth]

54. Lies for Christ

Is a thing nowadays.

[Septua]

7. The National Republican Senatorial Committee "is encouraging Republicans...

..to clearly state their opposition to a national abortion ban and their support for reasonable limits on late-term abortions when babies can feel pain with exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother...”

Which sounds a lot like what we had with Roe...

And some are already changing the verbal tone...talking in terms of "limits" rather than bans. I just hope the voters will watch what they do, not what they say and accept they will say anything to get elected, then do whatever necessary to stay elected.

Tim Scott is already on record supporting a national ban on abortion. So, if he does a 180 now, we're supposed to believe he's had a change of heart? Two or three of Trump's SCOTUS picks said they wouldn't mess with Roe if appointed. How did that work out?

[phylny]

62. They mention "late-term abortions" as if it's a real thing.

It's already "limited," because it isn't a medical term, and 1.3% of all abortions happen later in gestation, and not because the pregnant person just changed their minds.

But we here know that.

https://www.parents.com/pregnancy/my-body/pregnancy-health/theres-no-such-thing-as-late-term-abortion-here-are-the-facts/

[Freethinker65]

9. Easy. Prove it by quickly rescinding all of the forced birth laws enacted in GOP controlled States.

Waiting.

[PortTack]

10. In others more lies...anything to win. Seems the young voters are calling bull shit!

[TheRealNorth]

19. Yeah, but the MSM will probably fall all over itself....

See, see how the Republicans are being reasonable now? I can see CNN easily giving the GOP cover.

[Six117]

30. Precisely.

They have zero credibility. They do nothing but misinform, mislead, obfuscate; whatever, it all comes down to lies. We've gotten too good at finding new ways to say that.

Watch and believe what they do, nevermind what they say -that goes for their operatives in the media as well.

[ExWhoDoesntCare]

12. Uh huh

[Zambero]

13. And then there are those "no exception" states

where Republicans also intend to prosecute women who travel to another state for the procedure, along with any medical professional offering advice or referral along those lines. I recall the recent instance of a 10-year old impregnated girl from Ohio who had to be transported out of Ohio in order to obtain a legal abortion. Right-wing heads quickly exploded over that. So it seems as if the national GOP wants to put a moderate shade of lipstick onto their intrusive pig, but it won't work as long as idealogues in their party enact Draconian laws that limit or abolish long-held reproductive rights.

[CaptainTruth]

14. Right, from the party that lies constantly?

Sure... I'll believe them.

NOT!

[ProudMNDemocrat]

15. Too late, RNC..That ship left the dock already.

Your leader is on tape and the record saying were it not for him, Roe v. Wade would still be the law of the land.

The position taken by the MAGA party is set in stone and Tim Scott is saying he is for a National ban. Limit is the same as BAN when referring to abortion.

[MadameButterfly]

47. for decades they've said leave it to the states

Turns out they were lying about that too. So of course they're lying about this

[no_hypocrisy]

16. What "not all" means: 99.9% of abortions

will be banned.

Orwellian Doublespeak

[House of Roberts]

55. 'Not all' also means only abortions are banned after

women find out they're pregnant. Before that, it's OK.

[ancianita]

17. Some crap strategists they've got if they're only just now figuring this out. PLUS, they've used the strategy of LYING

for so long, that women and their allies will never trust their votes to rethugs again.

Rethug "strategists" -- namely, their owner/donors -- are hopelessly stupid -- lying and banning and asset stripping and parasitism and racism and misogyny have never been viable political strategies.

[jaxexpat]

18. They can say that 'til the cows come home.

Until they reverse the draconian statutes they've installed in Texas and elsewhere they'll never convince people they're not who they seem.

Still, I find it hard to understand how Elvis' cousin lost the battle for governor to an actual inbred robot troll, another failed medical experiment.

[MadameButterfly]

48. not enough ballots in Black counties. And

a very red state. Alabama nearly elected a rapist over Doug Jones. Nothing but Republican rape elects a Democrat in these states.

[yellowcanine]

20. Yes, that will make voters trust them on abortion. Right.

The pubbies keep thinking their problem is messaging. No, it is the anti-abortion POLICIES they have been implementing for the past 40 years. No amount of message tweaking is going to erase that.

[Sky Jewels]

23. Deep down most of them know it.

But they are fucked either way they go. It's lose the base vs lose the majority of voters.

[bringthePaine]

21. absolutely! gonna need more popcorn...🤣🖕

[Sky Jewels]

22. For 50 years we've heard "abortion is murder!"

Now it's "JK!"

[sop]

59. Abortion was a very effective issue for the GOP till they started criminalizing it.

[JHB]

24. Translation: Run on being OK with how things were under Roe v Wade, without mentioning it directly...

...and run against the fantasy monster ooga-booga Democrats that only exist in the fevered brains of Republican voters.

And completely ignore the fact that those same fevered brains will turn on you the second you look to be backsliding and being weak-kneed when TOTAL VICTORY IN THE NAME OF GOD is at hand.

You already boarded this crazy train, boys. Everybody on the train knows it, everybody off the train knows it. You try to hang halfway off just because you can see it speeding toward a gorge with no bridge really won't fool anybody.

[Wounded Bear]

25. repubs: We don't want to take away ALL of your rights, just some of them...

Yeah, that'll work.

Problem is, it probably will work with their ignorant base.

[spanone]

26. Too late.

[MagickMuffin]

28. Sen Lindsey Graham has already stated publicly that they want a national ban

They’ve shown us who they are, believe them. They cannot change who they are by proclaiming themselves to be anything different.

[underpants]

29. "Ban" heard interesting commentary from an outgoing Va Senator

Joe Morrissey if anyone is familiar with him. He’s a pro-life Dem and he gathered children with his underage office assistant. They are now divorced.

He said that any mention of “ban” was not good messaging. I actually agree.

What’s odd here is that the GOP now is running away from a pillar of their existence over the last 50 years.

[republianmushroom]

32. Those of GOP party persons are OK, but those of anybody else is not.

Quite simple.

[Delmette2.0]

34. Dear GOP,

You have been bought and paid for your votes. It can't be changed or forgotten.
Suck it up cupcake.

Sincerely,
Intelligent Women and Men.

[Grins]

35. And there's the contradiction!

“…their support for reasonable limits on late-term abortions when babies can feel pain with exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother,” said a source familiar with NRSC strategy.”

- So if the fetus can feel pain - No abortion.
- But - if the fetus CAN feel pain, and/or pregnancy was because of rape or incest, or the life of the mother is threatened - Good-bye kid!

[kwolf68]

36. I don't want to hear from you if you are "Pro Life" EVER

...Unless you protest against the death penalty, unless you are 100% pacifist, unless you support a national health care plan that covers every human life, unless you start reading the ENTIRE 2nd amendment and promote sensible regulations so nut jobs can't get guns leading to the death of human LIVES, unless you support environmental regulations that prevent deadly toxins from entering our environment and thus by extension entering human LIVES.

If you can't do that then you are not pro-life, you are a lying sack of shit, you are pro forced-birth. "Pro Life" as a moniker would be akin to the KKK slapping a BLM patch on their white sheets.

[Lanius]

37. Two things. One is this will cost the GOP their crazy evangelical base, which I'm all for

because that will cost them elections.

And the other thing is they might say this, but a Republican president would still sign a nationwide ban if one landed on their desk. They might say they wouldn’t call for one, but they also wouldn’t turn it down if the GOP got hold of both houses of Congress and drafted a bill banning abortion.

Bottom line is you can’t trust Republicans when it comes to anything, but especially on abortion.

[moreland01]

39. They just end up revealing themselves for the hypocrites they always were . . .

It reminds me of how my dad was so staunchly, overly Catholic and preached the 10 commandments to us ad nauseum, but had no problem with war and killing. Said "The pope says it's okay.".

I have more respect for the "All abortions are murder." crowd than the waffling hypocrites. They use abortion to gain political power and that's it. If their minor daughter or affair-of-the-month got pregnant, they'd have her at the clinic post haste.

[cstanleytech]

40. Little late for that kiddies as that cats out of the bag and it's has

had it's own litter of kittens.

[Scrivener7]

41. Too late assholes. And no one's going to believe it anyway.

[Firestorm49]

42. Having the words dribble out of their lying

mouths, and actually doing something about it are two entirely different things. It’s hard to accept anything they say with any degree of trust.

[Alpeduez21]

45. Perfect. Talking about abortion banning is great for Dems

Or course, this reasoning begs the question; what abortions do you want to ban? How much autonomy do you want to take away from women? I mean I know the answer but I’d sure like to watch you sputter through clarifying the reduction of women’s rights

[keithbvadu2]

49. "State" a lie.

Remember how long "settled law" lasted.

[spanone]

52. Another BIG LIE for the party

[MOMFUDSKI]

53. Day Late and a buck short.

Get outta my face

[LisaM]

56. They are also misrepresenting the Democrats' position.

We don't want abortion with no exceptions. I don't know of a single Democrat who wants to abort a viable fetus.

[Aviation Pro]

57. Too late...

...something about a horse and a barn.

[canuckledragger]

58. And they would be lying completely about that.

Considering what the fascists have already done in other states.

[BaronChocula]

60. But you do Blanche!

You DO favor banning all abortions!