{"id":1639545,"date":"2022-09-12T17:32:44","date_gmt":"2022-09-12T21:32:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1639545"},"modified":"2022-09-12T17:33:33","modified_gmt":"2022-09-12T21:33:33","slug":"hell-yes-dobbs-was-worth-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hell-yes-dobbs-was-worth-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Hell Yes, Dobbs Was Worth It"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">12<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhell-yes-dobbs-was-worth-it%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1639545&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Conventional DC wisdom <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/elections\/2022\/09\/10\/republicans-midterms-inflation-abortion\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">says<\/a> Republicans are about to pay a heavy political price for supporting the <em>Dobbs <\/em>decision that overturned <em>Roe v Wade<\/em>. The prospects of a Red Wave election are deteriorating. An \u201cinvisible army of women\u201d are <a href=\"https:\/\/newrepublic.com\/article\/167715\/roe-voters-flip-2022-midterms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">flocking<\/a> to register to vote. <em>Dobbs <\/em>had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.economist.com\/united-states\/2022\/09\/08\/the-demise-of-roe-v-wade-has-fired-up-the-democrats\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">fired up<\/a> Democrats. Joe Biden\u2019s fortunes, miserable for only a few months, have suddenly turned around. The Economist <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/gelliottmorris\/status\/1567531285924511745\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">says<\/a> that cheering on <em>Dobbs <\/em>was \u201cone of the worst political decisions of recent memory.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Even if all of this were true, and I\u2019m highly skeptical it is, \u201ccheering on\u201d the <em>Dobbs <\/em>decision was completely worth it. Just as cheering the overturning of <em>Dred Scott<\/em> or <em>Schenck <\/em>was worth it. Not everything is about short-term partisan gain.<\/p>\n<p>You might also cheer because if someone had told you ten, or even five, years ago that <em>Roe v. Wade <\/em>would be overturned, you wouldn\u2019t have believed them. <em>Roe <\/em>has been treated as a<em> <\/em>sacred text for over 50 years, not only by the press but by most of our institutions. The \u201cright\u201d to terminate life for convenience\u2019s sake had been irrecoverably tethered to feminism and progress. For millions, it probably remains the only SCOTUS decision they can name. And once the left procures a new \u201cright,\u201d it rarely relinquishes it. The prospect of there being six justices willing to uphold the Constitution in the face of this immense pressure was improbable, to say the least.<\/p>\n<p>So, yes, cheer.<\/p>\n<p>And, surely, once <em>Roe <\/em>was overturned, there would be a tumultuous political upheaval with a massive price tag? Even if we accept everything we\u2019re hearing about the political fallout over <em>Dobbs<\/em>, the blowback is quite underwhelming. If a two-point swing in the presidential approval rating during a midterm election is the price for overturning <em>Roe<\/em>, then it was maybe the greatest bargain in history. The consequences of <em>Dobbs <\/em>will dwarf that of, say, Obamacare \u2014 which cost Democrats the Senate, House, and over a thousand seats in lower races. Indeed, most Dems didn\u2019t wring their hands and regret the vote.<\/p>\n<p>Unlike Obamacare, a political decision, <em>Dobbs <\/em>was a judicial one. It might be impossible for the progressive to comprehend, but it\u2019s highly likely that not one of the justices who signed onto <em>Dobbs <\/em>believed \u2014 or cared \u2014 if it would be popular (other than perhaps John Roberts).<\/p>\n<p>Just because <em>Dobbs <\/em>was \u201cworth\u201d celebrating doesn\u2019t mean Republicans shouldn\u2019t have been better prepared for the probable outcome of <em>Dobbs v. Jackson Women\u2019s Health Organization<\/em>. It always amazes me how timid and ineffective Republicans are at making the pro-life case. Which makes me suspect many of them are unhappy that pro-life legislation is no longer just a theoretical proposition.<\/p>\n<p>There is bound to be <em>some<\/em> blowback. Full bans, without exemptions in cases of rape and incest \u2014 even if it is morally consistent \u2014 are probably never going to be popular nationally. But most Republican-run states allow for some level of first-trimester abortions, a position more in line with the mainstream than the Democrats\u2019 maximalist position on abortion on demand, for any reason, until birth, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/06\/06\/us\/politics\/joe-biden-hyde-amendment.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">funded<\/a> by the taxpayers. Few on the left, of course, need to worry about the consequences of their radical position they are almost never asked to defend it.  But, if, say, Ron DeSantis is the presidential nominee in 2024, he will be defending Florida\u2019s 15-week ban against Biden\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/corner\/once-a-champion-of-life-joe-biden-is-narals-man-now\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">NARAL-endorsed<\/a> extremism. I\u2019m not sure that works out exactly how Democrats imagine. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Democrats have been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/09\/12\/upshot\/polling-midterms-warning.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">fooling themselves<\/a> with favorable polling and <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/06\/29\/democrats-are-fooling-themselves-on-the-popularity-of-abortion\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">p<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/06\/29\/democrats-are-fooling-themselves-on-the-popularity-of-abortion\/\">ush polling<\/a> for years. Even if we conceded the tepid swing in momentum was real, it could be attributable to any number of issues, including an easing of high gas prices. Yet, I keep reading <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/2022\/09\/05\/abortion-roe-midterms\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">stories<\/a> about how abortion has put Republican control of the Senate in jeopardy. Where is the evidence? Which specific Senate race has turned on <em>Dobbs<\/em>? In Pennsylvania, where even the Democratic Party\u2019s senator still pretends to be pro-life, polls show Dr. Oz <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/live\/2022\/09\/08\/us\/primary-elections-midterms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">tightening<\/a> the race against John Fetterman. Herschel Walker seems to be <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/latest-news\/walker-leads-warnock-in-third-straight-poll\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">gaining<\/a> on Raphael Warnock. As <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/2022-election\/-best-opportunity-republicans-pose-serious-threat-cortez-masto-nevada-rcna47165\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">has<\/a> Adam Laxalt on Cortez Masto.<\/p>\n<p>Though I\u2019m no prognosticator, the evidence that <em>Dobbs<\/em> has been a critical factor in undermining Republican fortunes is unconvincing. Reuters <a href=\"https:\/\/graphics.reuters.com\/USA-BIDEN\/POLL\/nmopagnqapa\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">finds<\/a> that only 8 percent of Democrats view \u201cthe end of national abortion rights\u201d as their most important issue. Were any of these people going to vote for Republicans to begin with? Conservative <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/IAPolls2022\/status\/1567533218747891712\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">enthusiasm<\/a> remains high. Historically midterms during the first term of a new president are tough on any administration. Despite the White House\u2019s risible contention that the economy is humming, few people buy it. A new Marist poll <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/newshour\/show\/new-poll-shows-americans-views-on-economy-heading-into-midterms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">finds<\/a> that\u00a062 percent of Americans believe we\u2019re in a recession. The economy is, by far, the top concern of voters.<\/p>\n<p>After decades of indoctrination on abortion \u201crights,\u201d it\u2019s almost surely the case that a majority of Americans were under the impression that overturning <em>Roe <\/em>would mean a national ban on abortion. One recent poll <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WPAIntel\/status\/1567858231392755714\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">found<\/a> that 52 percent of registered Democrats still believe the Supreme Court outlawed abortions in the United States. The realization that this isn\u2019t so will also only temper any outrage over <em>Dobbs<\/em>. Then again, even if it didn\u2019t, it would be worth it. <\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">\n  David Harsanyi is a senior editor at The Federalist. Harsanyi is a nationally syndicated columnist and author of five books\u2014the most recent, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Eurotrash-America-Reject-Failed-Continent\/dp\/0063066017\/\">Eurotrash: Why America Must Reject the Failed Ideas of a Dying Continent<\/a>. His work has appeared in National Review, the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Reason, New York Post, and numerous other publications. Follow him on Twitter, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/davidharsanyi\/\">@davidharsanyi<\/a>.<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-comments mt-30 mt-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-comments-container d-flex flex-column align-items-center py-30\">\n    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"110\" height=\"106\" src=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/fdrlst-mark.svg\" class=\"img-fluid mb-20\" alt=\"The Federalist logo eagle mark\" \/>    <\/p>\n<p>Unlock commenting by joining the Federalist Community.<\/p>\n<p>    <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/plans\/pricing\/\" class=\"btn btn-on-white\">Subscribe<\/a>  <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Conventional DC wisdom says Republicans are about to pay a heavy political price for supporting the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v Wade. The prospects of a Red Wave election<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":831,"featured_media":1894504,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1639545","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1639545","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/831"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1639545"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1639545\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1894504"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1639545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1639545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1639545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}