MAGA in the States: Pushing Extremism and Attacking Americans’ Reproductive Freedom and Basic Rights
April 25, 2024
This week, MAGA Republicans across the country made their extremist leader Donald Trump proud as they carried out his anti-freedom agenda in their states – promoting violent rhetoric and attacking the rights of constituents they swore to serve.
Take a look at the latest:
Because of Trump, from Arizona to Florida, women face dangerous and extreme abortion bans. This week, Trump said the horrifying reality he unleashed after he overturned Roe v. Wade is “working out very well.” But across the country, women and doctors are confronting the suffering caused by Trump’s cruel anti-choice agenda.
Los Angeles Magazine: “Trump Says Roe’s Demise ‘Working Out Very Well’”
“Former President Donald Trump took his boast about overturning Roe v. Wade to a critical swing state Tuesday, even as he was stuck in court in New York City.
“Appearing remotely before going into court for his election interference trial, Trump told Philadelphia’s ABC6 that his administration ‘terminated Roe v. Wade.’
“’When you look at it and you look at what’s happening all over the country now, states are voting,’ Trump said. ‘Ohio just voted. All different by the way. It’s tailor made, and it’s really working out well for people and they’re very, very happy.’
“Ohio voters voted last November to amend the state constitution to protect abortion rights with about 57 percent support. Similar efforts have also passed in red states like Kansas and Kentucky and appear headed for the ballot in Florida and Arizona this November.”
AP: “Biden blames Trump for Florida’s 6-week abortion ban, says women nationwide face health crisis”
“President Joe Biden on Tuesday blamed Donald Trump for Florida’s upcoming abortion ban and other restrictions across the country that have imperiled access to care for pregnant women, arguing Trump has created a ‘healthcare crisis for women all over this country.’”
“On Tuesday, he chronicled increasing medical concerns for women in the two years since the Supreme Court ended federal abortion protections.
“‘There was one person who was responsible for this nightmare,’ Biden said. ‘And he’s acknowledged it and he brags about it — Donald Trump.’”
The 19th: “As abortion bans loom, Black families are left vulnerable”
“Abortion attacks aren’t slowing down as the clock ticks on Florida’s six-week ban and Arizona’s Supreme Court has paved the way to reinforce a Civil War-era law that criminalizes nearly all abortions.
“The consequences could be catastrophic for Black reproductive health, exacerbating existing disparities in access to care and alarming rates of maternal mortality, advocates and health-care providers fear.”
“‘Pretty much in the South, abortion care is null and void,’ Ciné Julien, a reproductive justice organizer for Florida Access Network, told Capital B.”
ABC News: “Arizona patients, doctors describe chaos, confusion over 1864 abortion ban”
“Clinics … have had to periodically halt abortion services since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. Abortion was allowed in Arizona up to 24 weeks, then a 15-week ban was put into place and soon, a near-total ban is set to go into effect.”
MAGA Republicans continue to double down on Trump’s attacks on our democracy: spewing election falsehoods and disenfranchising their own constituents.
AZ Central: “Grand jury indicts fake electors who falsely certified Donald Trump as 2020 winner in Arizona”
“Attorney General Kris Mayes, a Democrat, announced on Wednesday the grand jury had issued the nine-count indictment. It alleges the slate of Republicans sometimes known as fake electors and the Trump aides engaged in a conspiracy aimed at ‘preventing the lawful transfer of the presidency of the United States, keeping President Donald J. Trump in office against the will of Arizona voters, and depriving Arizona voters of their right to vote and have their votes counted.’”
“The Arizonans now facing charges include powerful and influential GOP figures: a former Republican Party of Arizona chair; a Republican national committeeman and executive at Turning Point USA and its political arm; and two sitting state senators — one of whom retains immense political power at the Arizona Capitol.”
Colorado Springs Gazette Op-Ed: “State GOP throws good money at bad lawsuit”
“Only a political party intent on becoming even more irrelevant and politically impotent could continue to pursue an irresponsible lawsuit doomed to fail.
“During the recent Colorado Republican state convention in Pueblo, where only 2,100 of 3,500 delegates actually showed up, speakers continued to claim the 2020 election was stolen from defeated former President Donald Trump including here in Colorado. They also condemned the ability of unaffiliated voters to participate in major party primaries.”
Baltimore Sun: “Elections board files motion to stop lawsuit, says plaintiffs are ‘trying to disenfranchise Maryland voters’”
“The lawsuit in Maryland is in line with a larger effort to target aspects of the voting process on behalf of the Republican Party and its presumptive presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump, who will likely face a rematch against President Joe Biden — the presumptive Democratic nominee.
“Miller called United Sovereign Americans’ tactic of filing lawsuits to challenge boards of elections’ adherence to the law over election results a litigation strategy, and said one organization affiliated with the group has received a cease and desist letter from New York Attorney General Letitia James.
“The trend in elections lawsuits challenging voter rolls, voter IDs and voting by mail began to skyrocket following the 2020 general election when Trump and his allies failed to overturn his loss to Biden.”
Raw Story: “’They will have thugs?’ Lara Trump’s claim RNC will ‘physically handle the ballots’ stuns”
“Former RNC Chairman Michael Steele blasted Lara Trump.
“‘Lara, you know why there was ‘a moratorium on the RNC for 40 years’? Because the RNC was caught cheating. The RNC was placed under a 1982 Consent decree for voter caging. Voter caging hinders an eligible voter’s ability to vote. The process involves efforts to identify and disenfranchise improperly registered voters solely on the basis of undeliverable mail. It often leads to the unwarranted purging of election rolls of otherwise eligible voters.’
“‘So,’ Steele continued, ‘given the continued lies about the 2020 election and your daddy-in-law claiming if he loses in 2024 it’s because the election is rigged, you’re planning to have your people ‘physically handle the ballots’–and we’re supposed to think that’s a good idea?’”
Echoing Trump’s promise of a “bloodbath” if he loses, MAGA Republicans in the states are pushing violent and dangerous rhetoric.
USA Today: “Tom Cotton, Kari Lake show how much Trump, Republicans have normalized violent rhetoric”
“One high-profile Republican, a sitting U.S. senator, suggested peaceful protesters should be thrown off bridges.
“Another high-profile Republican, often mentioned as a possible vice presidential candidate, told supporters to ‘strap on a Glock’ to prepare for this year’s presidential election.
“It would be nice to report that each of these public figures, Sen. Tom Cotton and U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake, respectively, faced bipartisan condemnation for their violent rhetoric. It would be reasonable, in a normal society, to assume such comments would bring a swift end to their political careers.
“That’s where we should be as a nation – unwilling to put up with bellicose garbage babbled by opportunistic loons.
“But it’s not where we are. Not even close.”
CNN: “GOP nominee to run North Carolina public schools called for violence against Democrats, including executing Obama and Biden”
“The Republican nominee for superintendent overseeing North Carolina’s public schools and its $11 billion budget has a history marked by extreme and controversial comments, including sharing baseless conspiracy theories and frequent calls for the execution of prominent Democrats.
“Michele Morrow, a conservative activist who last week upset the incumbent Superintendent of Public Instruction in North Carolina’s Republican primary, expressed support in 2020 for the televised execution of former President Barack Obama and suggested killing then-President-elect Joe Biden.”