ABC’s so-called Powerhouse Roundtable on Sunday’s This Week, members of the liberal media said the quiet part out loud when they admitted that Democrats have an “extreme” stance on abortion and bragged that they don’t have to answer for it. Of course, this occurred following the anniversary of the overturning of Roe v Wade.
Since the show was dominated by talk of the weekend mutiny in Russian ranks by the Wagner PMC, the anniversary of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization took a bit of a backseat. “We had the one-year anniversary of Dobbs and we’ve seen a dramatic impact in the United States when it comes to abortion policy,” fill-in host and chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl announced when they finally got to it.
He then put up a map of the United States and openly worried about the proliferation of pro-life laws:
Take a look at the map of the U.S. We now have effectively illegal abortion in 14 states. We have – And Florida is not even on there in this regard in terms of states that will have a six-week abortion ban because Florida's ban is not in effect yet. But this is a dramatic change in abortion policy just a year after this decision.
Looking to NPR White House correspondent Asma Khalid, Karl admitted there are “extreme positions on either side” but only focused on the right, adding, “Where we see Republicans are going, is not a majority potion in this country.”
Khalid proceeded to brag that since Republicans achieved their goal of overturning Roe, the ball was in the liberals’ court and that they “don’t have articulate” what their policy positions actually are, just tell people GOP policy is bad:
Look, I think the politics have just fundamentally shifted. When Roe was the law of the land, it was far easier for Republicans to point at that and say “we don't want that” and then Democrats had to be on the defensive. Now, that equation has entirely flipped and, you know, Democrats are very eager. This White House thinks this is a very politically popular position for them to be in heading into 2024 because they don't have to articulate what they're for. They can just point at the Republicans.
Washington Post congressional reporter Marianna Sotomayor was also happy about the position the Democrats were in. “I mean, they've already seen so many different elections on the local level, state level, and obviously during the midterms where we have seen just a lot of enthusiasm from the Democratic base,” she boasted.
If only those three worked in an industry whose job it was to ask politicians the tough questions and hold them accountable for their “extreme” policy positions. But they wouldn’t even allow the conversation to be had.
Former Trump Chief of Staff Reince Priebus tried to argue that the Democratic position of abortions up until the moment of birth was widely unpopular, but Karl repeatedly interrupted him (Click “expand”):
PRIEBUS: There's a 70 percent place on this issue and that's Americans support a 15-week first-trimester abortion ban. Part of the problem is in a lot of these battleground—
KARL: Ban on abortion after the first trimester.
PRIEBUS: After the first trimester. A lot of these battleground states –
KARL: I mean, that’s not where a lot of these states are. I mean, That’s not where Florida – Florida, you know.
Priebus was the odd man out in terms of policy position, the other member of the panel was former Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Donna Brazile who said she needed “an exorcism” performed on her after watching the Faith and Freedom Coalition conference celebrate the end of Roe.
ABC’s refusal to dive deeper into the left’s “extreme” abortion position was made possible because of lucrative sponsorships from Fisher Investments and Verizon. Their contact information is linked.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
ABC’s This Week
June 25, 2023
9:43:14 a.m. Eastern(…) Asma Khalid (NPR wh corr) Marrianna Sotomayor (WP congress reporter)
JONATHAN KARL: We had the one-year anniversary of Dobbs and we’ve seen a dramatic impact in the United States when it comes to abortion policy. Take a look at the map of the U.S. We now have effectively illegal abortion in 14 states. We have – And Florida is not even on there in this regard in terms of states that will have a six-week abortion ban because Florida's ban is not in effect yet. But this is a dramatic change in abortion policy just a year after this decision.
DONNA BRAZILE: 300, can you imagine? It's been a total mess, I think, and given this issue to the state.
First of all, we should trust women, and women of faith, to make this decision with their family. But to lose access, especially women in several of those states you just put up. They are afraid to go to the emergency room even when they are sick because they are afraid they will be turned away, and they have been turned away. And women in certain states have to drive several days just to get to the next available clinic. This is a decision that should be made between women and their doctors and their families.
And the politics I've been hearing especially after watching the Faith and Freedom Conference, I need an exorcism now because I heard so many lies, so many lies about women and how women make this decision. This is why President Biden has recommitted himself to fighting for women's access to have the full range of reproductive health care. This is why the vice president – who’s a great vice president – Kamala Harris, has said she will also fight for women's access and including access to contraception.
KARL: Asma, on the politics of this. The country is divided on abortion but the extreme positions on either side, including where we see Republicans are going, is not a majority potion in this country.
ASMA KHALID: That’s right.
KARL: So, how worried are Republican about how this will play out? It hurt them in 2022. It seemed to.
KHALID: Yeah. I mean, I think, there seems to be some disagreement amongst Republicans about how popular of a position this is. Right? We saw Mike Pence over the weekend calling for a nationwide abortion ban and encouraged his fellow Republican 2024 contenders to join him in having a 15-week abortion ban.
Look, I think the politics have just fundamentally shifted. When Roe was the law of the land, it was far easier for Republicans to point at that and say “we don't want that” and then Democrats had to be on the defensive. Now, that equation has entirely flipped and, you know, Democrats are very eager. This White House thinks this is a very politically popular position for them to be in heading into 2024 because they don't have to articulate what they're for. They can just point at the Republicans.
KARL: Reince?
REINCE PRIEBUS: There's a 70 percent place on this issue and that's Americans support a 15-week first trimester abortion ban. Part of the problem is in a lot of these battleground—
KARL: Ban on abortion after the first trimester.
PRIEBUS: After the first trimester. A lot of these battleground states –
KARL: I mean, that’s not where a lot of these states are. I mean, That’s not where Florida – Florida, you know.
PRIEBUS: That’s my point. They don’t have. A lot of these states, like Wisconsin, they don't have a law on the books. When Scott Walker was governor of Wisconsin with a Republican legislature they passed a 20-week ban, which would have resolved the problem in Wisconsin.
Here’s the other part. You’re talking about politics. The Democrats have gotten very, very good in these battleground states where you only have two percent of the voters that are deciding all of these elections in all of these states. They’re micro-targeting in places like Madison. They're paying $400; here's ten people to get them to the polls and you get ten people and you get ten people and it's all about abortion.
And without an answer on the other side of stumbling and bumbling your way through the campaign trail, you are going to get beat unless there's a clear answer on this issue from Republicans across the country.
KARL: And Democrats think this will be a winning issue for them.
MARRIANNA SOTOMAYOR: Oh, absolutely. I mean, they've already seen so many different election on the local level, state level, and obviously during the midterms where we have seen just a lot of enthusiasm from the Democratic base.
I do want to say, one thing we won't be seeing anytime soon on Capitol Hill is a federal ban.
KARL: A national ban. There's not the votes for it.
SOTOMAYOR: It’s just not going to happen.
KARL: That’s just the bottom line. Thank you very much. That's all for the Roundtable.
