Colman:  A BITTER LESSON FOR REPUBLICANS

Colman: A BITTER LESSON FOR REPUBLICANS

The Democrats would love to campaign in 2024 on the abortion issue (already settled by the Supreme Court), the phony Trump indictments and racism—which they are really the racists)

For the GOP to win in 2024 they need to disuse the issues that are important to the people of America, in their daily lives.  Such as

The almost 20% inflation in three years since Biden became President

The homeless, drug and mentally ill problem supported by the Democrats policies.

The failed government education and refusal to allow parents to speak out and participate in their children’s lives and education.

The selling out the U.S.A. for millions from Russia, China, Ukrainian and Romanian oligarchs.

These are issues people care about—the high price of food, gas, housing, health care.  Let the Democrats talk about phony indictments and abortion while the GOP speaks to the hearts and minds of the people.


A BITTER LESSON FOR REPUBLICANS

By Richard Colman, Exclusive to the California Political News and Views, 8/15/23

The presidential prospects of Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, and other Republican candidates for the White House may be in serious jeopardy before the November 2024 election.

What has happened?

Voters in Ohio, a Republican-leaning state, overwhelmingly rejected a plan to change the way the Ohio constitution can be amended.

On Aug. 8, 2023, Ohio voters, by a 57% to 43% margin, rejected a Republican plan to raise the majority needed for a constitutional amendment –- from a simple majority (50% plus one) -– to 60%.

The Ohio vote was held in August, a month when voter turnout was expected to be low and tilting toward the views of many Republicans.  Instead, voter turnout was large.

The August 8 vote was for what was labeled Issue One.

But there is more to know.

In November 2023, Ohio’s voters are scheduled to vote on a state constitutional amendment that will ease the state’s current restrictions on abortion.  According to polling, the amendment to make abortion easier is likely to pass.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Aug. 9, 2023, “Voters have favored abortion rights in referendums in half a dozen states since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022.”  In January 1973, the High Court ruled in Roe that abortion is legal during the first two trimesters of pregnancy.

To date, Republican candidates for president are opposed to abortion and want abortion restricted to the first few weeks of pregnancy.  These candidates, especially Trump and DeSantis, the Republican governor of Florida, have supported restrictions on abortion.

Polls show that a majority of Americans oppose restrictions on abortion.

Trump, who, in mid-2023, is the leading candidate to win the Republican presidential nomination in the summer of 2024, may find himself losing the general election in November 2024.

In 2016, Trump won the Electoral College vote for president but lost the popular vote.

In 2018, with Trump as president, Republicans lost control of the House of Representatives.

Two years later, in 2020, Democrats won control of the Senate, kept control of the House, and won the White House.

In 2022, Republicans were expected to make large gains in both the Senate and the House.  Instead, Democrats retained the Senate.  Republicans won control of the House by a small number of seats.  Original expectations were that Republicans would win the House by a substantial majority.

What happened in Ohio on Aug. 8, 2023, could signal the end of Trump’s political career.  Too many Americans oppose Trump’s stance on abortion.  Moreover, many Americans are displeased by Trump’s allegedly obnoxious personality.  As of Aug. 14, 2023, Trump has been indicted three times -– two times at the federal level and one time at the state level.

On Aug 11, 2023, an editorial in the Journal’s print edition stated, “Republicans spent half a century working to overturn Roe, yet they weren’t prepared for the democratic [sic] policy debate when that finally happened . . . last year.”  The editorial continued, “This political liability will persist until the GOP finds an abortion message that most voters can accept.”

The Journal is not known for taking liberal editorial positions on major issues.

Unless Republican presidential candidates modify their respective stances on abortion, the Democrats could hold onto the White House in 2024.