Politico, an online news source on politics, ran a story on August 24, 2022, which was headlined, "Politics Post Roe," and which was sub-headlined as follows: "Checkers Instead of Chess." The article suggests that the Supreme Court's recent reversal of Roe v. Wade is now seen as having some real political implications for elections scheduled for this November.
As the article put it:
Even Democrats who were initially skeptical about the political effect of Roe v. Wade’s overturning have by now come around to the idea that it’s significantly altering the midterm election landscape. They’re even more convinced after Democrats won a special election they had no business winning in New York on Tuesday night.
What do you think my reaction is to this "news flash" that taking away a fundamental constitutional right from women is, in fact, likely to result in some serious political push back? Here is my reaction. Are you ready?
DUH!
In fact, the main point of the Politico news story was that Democrats didn't seem to understand, right off the bat, that taking away political freedoms long enjoyed will have (and SHOULD have) major political effects. Politico says that the Democrats were playing "checkers not chess," and blew an opportunity to magnify the impact of what the Supreme Court has done.
I won't speculate on the political strategy of the Democratic Party. You will remember, I am sure, what Will Rogers said about the Democratic Party. You will also remember, if you have been reading my blog for awhile, that I supported Bernie Sanders in both 2016 and 2020, and have greatly bemoaned the anti-democratic conduct of the party that claims that "Democratic" name.
What I want to stress is this: The dimensions and characteristics of the "political world" we inhabit will depend on what we do, and when people see that political choices do have significant impacts they will start believing, once again, that it is worthwhile to spend their time and energies getting politically engaged, to achieve the results they want. That is, basically, what the Politico article is saying.
Of course, it's best to play "chess" not "checkers," but the key thing, for me, is to PLAY. The contours of the political reality in which we reside is shaped by what we do.
So, if you don't think that it is good that the Supreme Court has stripped away a woman's Constitutional right to choose to have an abortion, then get mobilized and change the realities! There is plenty of time to have a big impact in November.
When people's freedoms are taken away, will they start trying to do something about it?
Yes. They will!
Thank goodness for that!
Image Credit:
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/politico-nightly/2022/08/24/post-roe-political-regrets-sink-in-00053648
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