There's a scene from Season 3 of "West Wing" that pops up every time the Christian Culture Crusaders win something regarding a woman's right to choose.
It's a conversation was between White House staffer Josh Lyman and political consultant Bruno Gianelli regarding Josh getting appropriations to the Justice Department for a tobacco lawsuit.
Josh was convinced it was a win. Bruno knew it wasn't.
This is how Bruno convinced Josh it wasn't a win. He said:
You don't want the money, you want the issue.
This has echoed in my head ever since SCOTUS overturned Roe and it all falls under the adage:
Be careful what you wish for. You just might get it.
I realize that The SCOTUS-6 and their fellow travelers on the Evangelical Christian Right have done incredible damage to the society. There is no real way for it to be described.
Certainly not by someone who never had a uterus (and by that I mean me).
We'll start with a news frame from the Business Insider:
Doug Mastriano won the Republican nomination for governor in Pennsylvania by leaning into the culture war, using his Facebook live streams to rail against vaccine requirements, "Critical Race Theory," and members of his own party who failed to embrace conspiracy theories about the 2020 election.
But this avowed opponent of abortion — who welcomed last week's Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade — is now trying to pivot conversations away from the question of reproductive rights, admitting that the issue is a boon to Democrats.
And:
"The Democrats and their friends in the traditional media want us to focus on this, and now on the Roe v. Wade decision, instead of dealing with life," Mastriano told the right-wing news outlet. "And most people in this country are concerned about inflation, gas prices, food not on the shelves, baby formula, and just on and on. So this is all a distraction."No sir, it's not a distraction. It's life and death. And PA State Senator (and now GOP candidate for PA Gov) Doug Mastriano is on the wrong side.
This is what he said after a draft of the Dobbs decision was leaked in May:
Our nation is now on the precipice of reversing this science-denying genocide. Thanks to President Trump, a conservative majority on the Supreme Court is set to right this historic wrong. Since I was elected to the Senate, there has been no more important issue to me than the right to life. [Emphasis added.]
And then there's this from the Philadelphia Inquirer:
Mastriano said he would allow no exceptions for rape, incest, or a danger to the life of the pregnant person. He also said he believes life starts at “conception” and “we’re gonna have to work our way towards that,” a signal that he would also support a total abortion ban.
This is the issue, Senator. It's not a distraction.
This is not pro-life. This is forced-birth and it's utterly cruel.
Be careful what you wish for.
