This piece first appeared in our weekly e-newsletter, The Fallout.
Now that Donald Trump has introduced Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) as his operating mate, the Republican presidential ticket is full. Selecting Vance because the vice presidential candidate says many issues to voters, with one message maybe loudest of all: The conservative backlash towards bodily autonomy goes full velocity forward.
Vance is just not solely a faux-populist political grifter—he’s additionally a die-hard pro-natalist who believes in utilizing the ability of the state to limit and redirect reproductive autonomy to serve conservative financial coverage pursuits. Along with vocal assist of a nationwide abortion ban and voting towards protections for in vitro fertilization, Vance is on the file as opposing no-fault divorce, child-care subsidiesand the thought of ladies working exterior the house on the whole. They’re positions that align conveniently with big-money conservative donors like Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, and the acknowledged coverage objectives of the Heritage Basis’s Undertaking 2025.
As I stated final week on this e-newsletterregardless of media headlines on the contrary, there’s no proof Republicans are moderating on something, not to mention abortion.
It will get worse.
Vance is simply 39 years previous and poised to turn into the face—and future chief of—the conservative motion and Republican Occasion. Nominating Vance is their succession planning, and his lack of political expertise an asset, not a legal responsibility. With Vance, there’s no threat he’ll stand as much as Trump in any capability the best way former Vice President Mike Pence did.
As soon as once more, it’s a straight line connecting reproductive oppression and autocracy.
