This is part three of a multi part series on two of the most polarizing issues in this country, guns and abortion. Saturday we looked at what happened last week to set all this off again and yesterday we dove into each issue to see how we got to today. In this section we are going to look at what each side is likely to do next and what it means going forward.
The effect of the Supreme Court clearly having moved to the far right is not something that happened with the last President, although that was the final piece of the puzzle. The conservative movement in this country has been working methodically and relentlessly for the past fifty plus years to make this happen.
They have focused their attention on local and state elections where they have taken control of many legislatures, election officials, mayor and governor offices, and have elected, or appointed, very conservative judges. This has been their game plan and they took a long range view to make it happen.
On the liberal side, their focus has been on trying to get everyone to come together in unity and pass legislation they feel helps everyone. Their failure at this has been monumental. They still don't recognize that the other side doesn't care about working together, they only care about getting their agenda in place.
For the past fifty plus years the conservative movement has been the leading domestic terrorist organization in the United States. They have accounted for hundreds of bombings, murders, attacks, and intimidations around the country as they work to force their agenda on us all. They don't talk about it, although they are starting to become much more open about their love affair with these groups.
Bombing abortion clinics, occupying state capitols, intimidating voters in line to vote in communities of color, false narratives on conservative media, killing abortion doctors, assaulting the nations capitol and trying to kill the Vice-President, and on and on has been their calling card. The Republican party has embraced them because they are them, it has been a part of their strategy for years.
If you think the latest two wins for them is the end of the line then you haven't been paying attention. They are going to go after social security, Medicare, same sex marriage, voting access, and abortions nationwide, to just name a few issues they have their sights set on. This is only the beginning for them as they now are empowered to move things along faster then originally planned.
The movement will continue to focus attention on local and state elections where they can much easier control what happens and who wins. This weekend, for example, a South Carolina Republican committee overturned the primary election of one of their own to install a different Republican as the winner. There was no proof, no reputable witnesses, yet because one guy said his loss was unfair, they overturned the results.
If they are willing to do that to their own imagine what they are willing to do against the other party winners. In Iowa this weekend, a truck driver purposely drove into a pro choice peaceful parade and ran over several of the protestors. A bipartisan gun bill was passed and signed by the President. It was a political optic move by the GOP and the bill is way watered down from what the Democrats are looking for.
The bill enhances background checks for gun buyers under 21 years of age, provides billions of dollars for mental health services and to harden schools, and closes the so-called "boyfriend loophole" to prevent convicted domestic abusers from purchasing a firearm for five years. The plan also provides $750 million in grants to incentivize states to implement crisis intervention programs, clarifies the definition of a Federally Licensed Firearms Dealer and creates criminal penalties for straw purchases and gun trafficking.
All of that sounds nice, and any bill is a start, but it still doesn't stop the problem of the killing guns getting into the hands of anyone that really wants one. Meanwhile this distraction here keeps us from focusing attention over there where Republicans are continuing their assault on the middle class and poor by seeking more tax breaks for the 1% and corporation, eliminating non whites from entering the country, installing even more conservative judges, and assaulting democracy as they try to move America to an Autocracy.
So what have the Democrats been doing to help themselves gain some traction? Well they have been sitting around, wringing their hands, crying about how unfair it is that the courts are going against them, and how the states are taking away rights, and waa, waa, waa poor us.
Their game plan is to reach across the aisle to get the GOP to work with them on enacting legislation while the GOP has no interest in doing so. Also, they are frantically working on registering more voters, especially in states where they have already passed stricter voting laws making it very difficult for traditional Democratic voters to vote.
They are fighting among themselves. The far left feels that the mainstream Democrats aren't going far enough to push the country in the direction they want us to go, even though most of the country isn't interested in their agenda. They have no leadership, agenda, or game plan for wresting back control where they have lost ground.
So while the conservative movement has a plan in place, and they are working the plan, the other side is running around with their heads cut off trying to change fifty plus years of a well oiled machine overnight. Right now this is looking like a gigantic failure and it only will get worse.
So, what can each side do to either continue the winning streak or start to break into the red wall that is building in this country. Answers tomorrow.