Four months from the November midterm elections, President Biden is plumbing the depths of unpopularity. Only 39% or so of Americans approve of the job he’s doing.
Some Democrats seem to assume abortion politics will save them, as suburban girls revolt towards the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade. They’re renewing their marketing campaign to pack the High Court with two or possibly 4 extra
Sonia Sotomayors.
A member of President Biden’s fee on Court reform, former federal Judge
Nancy Gertner,
is saying she’s “deeply frustrated” with Mr. Biden for failing to satisfy the second.
Not to spoil the progressive reverie, however look once more on the polling, beginning with the newest Harvard/Harris survey, which was carried out after the Court overturned Roe. Fifty-five % of voters, together with 61% of girls, say they oppose that reversal. Yet many individuals, as typical, don’t appear to know what precisely Roe enshrined, which was an unrestricted proper to abortion earlier than about 23 or 24 weeks.
When, particularly, do the respondents assume abortion must be authorized? Starting with probably the most restrictive, 37% say solely after rape or incest. Another 12% say till six weeks of being pregnant, and 23% say as much as 15 weeks. Add these figures collectively and it’s practically three quarters of voters (together with 75% of girls) who need a coverage that Roe deemed unlawful.
As for the livid response to the lack of Roe, 59% of voters, together with 61% of independents, say it’s “wrong” for Democrats to name the Supreme Court “illegitimate.” Also, 62% say individuals shouldn’t be allowed to protest exterior the Justices’ personal properties, and 51% consider such activists must be arrested. As for the election, 36% say Roe’s reversal makes them extra prone to vote for Democrats, 36% say the identical for Republicans, and 29% say it gained’t matter.
This is one survey, and the standard caveats apply, however the image is remarkably constant. (See our June 10 editorial, “The Contradictions of Abortion Polling.”) Democrats won’t respect the median view on abortion, and their invoice in Congress suggests they don’t. But lots of them appear not even to understand it.
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Appeared within the July 8, 2022, print version.
Source: www.wsj.com”