Some Democrats would have you think that, if the Supreme Court were to overturn Roe v. Wade, abortion would become a major election issue. But abortion doesn’t put gas in your car or food on your table, and it seems that Democratic strategists recognize it won’t save them in 2022.
Democrats are convinced their policies are incredibly popular and that enthusiasm always favors them, but that has been disproven when it comes to abortion time and time again. Now, Politico has published a piece interviewing “more than a dozen Democratic strategists, pollsters and officials” who are skeptical that even overturning Roe will alter the political landscape next year. Some may even advise their clients not to run on abortion at all.
It isn’t hard to see why. Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe thought abortion could save his floundering campaign for his old seat only for Virginia Republicans to dominate on Election Day. Indeed, polls showed that, of those who considered abortion the primary issue, 60% voted against McAuliffe.
Meanwhile, schools, COVID-19, inflation, and crime are preoccupying far more voters right now, and all of those issues are breaking against Democrats.
Where schools are being prevented from returning to normal, Democrats are typically in charge. Children are being forced to wear masks in schools thanks to guidance from President Joe Biden’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. COVID itself remains a problem as Biden and Democratic governors and mayors continue to hand down restrictions for their constituents, even though many of them refuse to abide by the rules they are forcing on everyone else.
Crime isn’t a problem that has gone away. Organized retail theft and high-profile smash-and-grab robberies have continued, and even some Democrats are now aware that they need to address it. The surge in homicides in Democratic-run cities and the anti-police sentiment fostered by Democratic leaders are still held against Democrats in polls, even as the “defund the police” movement has gone down in flames.
And then there is inflation. Gas, food, and energy prices have all gone up as Biden and Democrats concern themselves only with spending more money. Democratic allies in the media have decided that inflation is no big deal, and the White House has dedicated itself to telling us how great the economy is doing — even though the evidence in front of our faces shows otherwise.
Democrats painted themselves as responsible stewards of power as former President Donald Trump recklessly tweeted his way through four years as president. That charade came crashing down as they have failed to plot a path out of the pandemic, and Biden reminded everyone just how incompetent he is with his botched withdrawal from Afghanistan, which caused his approval ratings to plummet.
Abortion is not changing the political gravity of any of those issues. Democrats have screamed about the pending demise of Roe for years, but it hasn’t swung any major election yet. Abortion isn’t going to make Democrats seem competent or responsible, and it isn’t going to save them in 2022.
