It’s not shocking that Democrats at this week’s candidate forum focused exclusively on the abortion part of Bernie Moreno’s response. Moreno, a Trump-backed challenger to incumbent Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, was joined by Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose and Ohio Sen. Matt Dolan. Moreno talked about making life easier for people trying to raise families in America, which led to these comments about strollers. The Brown campaign used this to create this ad:
Bernie Moreno believes women need assist with strollers, not access to abortion. pic.twitter.com/bdErihjyQ5
— Sherrod Brown (@SherrodBrown) February 22, 2024
Brown’s hits also included The New Republic To take to Moreno’s comments:
Moreno said his daughter recently returned home after visiting him. “Mom is carrying what looks like equipment worthy of an F1 team,” Moreno said. “People helped her on that plane. He helped put the stroller away, helped her with the seat.
“These are things we can do,” he said. “Let’s be pro-mother, pro-family policy.”
Apparently, Moreno just volunteered to personally assist each parent carry ponderous strollers and navigate logistically sophisticated situations.
[…]
Moreno may also find that his opposition to abortion is quite unpopular with Ohio voters. In November, an overwhelming majority of citizens voted to enshrine abortion protections in the state constitution. The result was a huge blow to Secretary of State Frank LaRose, who supported the anti-abortion side of the referendum and is running against Moreno for the Republican Senate nomination.
Emotions are running high over abortion, so it’s not surprising that Democrats who like this issue didn’t hear the last part of Moreno’s response, which reads: favors a 15-week ban as the upper limit, with common sense restrictions, including exceptions for rape, incest and maternal life. This is the actual position lost in the liberal rancor, probably because it is not as unpopular as people think. Despite all the left’s adoration for European socialism, most nations there ban abortion after the 15th week of pregnancy. Late-term abortion isn’t even up for debate – it’s banned.
There are two reasons this issue will arise in the Buckeye State. The first and most evident is that this is all Democrats need to do this cycle, apart from bullshit conspiracy theories about Russians using House Republicans to interfere in the 2024 election. If that’s not it, it means the Kremlin has a blackmail file against Trump. These theories have long been debunked, and only sniffing bath salts are the last vestiges of this audience. The problem is that it’s massive enough to keep CNN and MSNBC alive.
The second issue ties into the first, which is that Democrats are desperate to make Ohio a competitive state again and see abortion as an issue to bring the state into play in 2024. Hopes on the left are buoyed by the passage of the recent abortion referendum bill, which amended the state constitution and made the act a constitutionally protected law. Fifty-six percent of Ohioans supported the measure, which meant a significant number of Republicans voted for it. But like most issues, abortion is nuanced, as are the results of previous failed pro-life initiatives – all of which have gone up in political flames.
Until this referendum, Ohio was like this written off by Democrats because it has become a credible Republican state. On the other hand, it’s the same in Kansas – and Jayhawkers rejected a right-to-life amendment to their state’s constitution in 2022. It wasn’t close: 59 percent voted “no” on the issue. Behind the hysteria may lie the tea leaves of consensus. Kansas no longer provides funding for abortion at the state and federal levels; it has parental consent laws and a 20-week ban. If I had to guess, Kansas voters rejected the amendment not because they adopted a pro-abortion stance after Dobbs, but because they felt they had sufficient legislation on the issue. Liberals pointing to Kansas as a warning to the GOP may be right, but let’s face it: its abortion laws would make NARAL vomit.
Americans do not support a complete ban on abortion, but they are also not fascinated by the extremist agenda, which is also evident on the other side of this issue. Democrats want to allow abortion up to the moment of delivery. This was discovered by the Washington Post in 2013. 60 percent women supported a 20-week ban. This seemed to be a popular position also.
Both sides must realize that their programs are not popular with voters. Republicans have little room to maneuver in contacts with voters. Democrats don’t, because generations of their supporters have become more radical and enraged on the issue thanks to the appearance that the liberal wing of the Supreme Court, specifically Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, will live forever.
Abortion on demand and taxpayer-funded are as unpopular as those who call for a total ban. There must be a meeting inside, which Moreno seems to be offering, but all the left heard was “baby strollers!”
