this post was submitted on 08 Jan 2024
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“The president has been adamant that we need to restore Roe. It is unfathomable that women today wake up in a country with less rights than their ancestors had years ago,” Fulks said.

Biden has been poised to run on what has been described as the strongest abortion rights platform of any general election candidate as he and his allies look to notch a victory in the first presidential election since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022.

Last month, Biden seized on a case in Texas, where a woman, Kate Cox, was denied an abortion despite the risk to her life posed by her pregnancy.

“No woman should be forced to go to court or flee her home state just to receive the health care she needs,” Biden said of the case. “But that is exactly what happened in Texas thanks to Republican elected officials, and it is simply outrageous. This should never happen in America, period.”

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[–] givesomefucks 76 points 5 months ago (16 children)

Party spent decades not codifying it...

Didn't fight for Obama's SC seat, just accepted that the next president would pick it to try and help Clinton...

Took no actions since Roe was overturned...

But we're supposed to believe next term it'll be fixed?

They haven't even held a vote yet so voters will know what Dems are going to vote against it.

Why would anyone take Bidens word on this? Isn't the safe bet to assume the same thing will happen as the last campaign promises? Meaning as soon as he assumes office Biden will either "look into it" or he'll say there's not enough D votes so he can't try.

And the voters still won't know if their representatives would actually support party platform.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 5 months ago (12 children)

Please identify the Congressional term that had a pro-choice majority that could have passed federal abortion protections but did not. Do beware of the caveat that up until quite recently, the Democrats had a substantial minority faction of anti-abortion politicians from the south.

No one who's complained about the Dems apparently just deciding to miss what would be one of their greatest political victories for shits and giggles has ever been able to identify when this would have actually passed, but hey, maybe you'll be the first one.

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[–] [email protected] 38 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Abortion rights are super fucking important, but frankly, I’ll just settle for “not snatching defeat from the jaws of victory”, which the Democrats are basically world champions at.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 5 months ago (1 children)

He's working really fucking hard at ensuring his defeat with Netanyahu's help. I'd be disgusted with his self-sabotage even if I didn't care about Palestinians.

[–] agitatedpotato 6 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (2 children)

Literally the only way he could try and lose more voters is to go full beto and tell Americans hes coming for their guns. You can be mad at the fact, but if you deny that that would lose him votes you're delusional.

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[–] go_go_gadget 23 points 5 months ago (1 children)

The minute he gets elected "whoops I forgot I can't do shit without the Senate. Sorry everybody"

[–] [email protected] 29 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (8 children)

I mean, his administration has done lots of things within their power to help protect reproductive rights. You're not wrong they'd need the senate to codify roe v wade or even be able to get a judge on the supreme court. They'd probably need to end the filibuster to get it through too.

Here's a summary of some of the executive actions they have taken. https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/08/politics/what-is-in-biden-abortion-executive-order/index.html

His administration has also launched multiple lawsuits across the country trying to protect abortion rights, and defended against Republican lawsuits trying to restrict them further. Having all these federal agencies making rules and regulations trying to support rather than restrict reproductive rights is still important.

So you're right that he can't codify roe v wade nationally without senate and house control as well as getting rid of the filibuster or some miracle cooperation by republicans. But all of the executive actions, the resources of the justice department, etc could be used to attack reproductive rights rather than defend them if a republican were to be elected.

[–] AA5B 10 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

I’d argue he may even have gone beyond his power. While I wish he could have done more, an awful lot of what he completed is through executive decision, despite Congress. It seems like he’s had to go way beyond the norm for us as a democracy (while avoiding the craziness on the Trump regime). I only hope he hasn’t planted the seeds to increase authoritarianism, for whenever in the future someone I disagree with inevitably gets elected

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 5 months ago

The right says that banning guns and drugs would not help as they would be on the black market. I wonder when they would come to realize the same situation with abortion.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 5 months ago (1 children)

It feels so much like Biden is fucking with us... There's a whole year left in this term!! You think i don't see this? You think we're actually that stupid? I want to at least be lied to less obviously!

God what a slap in the face

[–] [email protected] 23 points 5 months ago (8 children)

I mean, what's he supposed to do right now? Republicans still control both houses of congress (or, at least, hold enough seats to render both houses impotent). The upcoming congressional elections matter as much as (or potentially more than) the presidential election.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 5 months ago

And next term, when the Republicans control both houses of Congress, he also won't be able to do anything about abortion.

This is why I've stopped believing presidential candidates when they say they're gonna do things. They're one branch of government, so there's only so much they could possibly do, and even that will take years.

[–] givesomefucks 8 points 5 months ago (1 children)

He had zero issues going around Congress to "sell" weapons to Israel to be used in an o going genocide...

Bonus points:

They "bought" the weapons with American taxpayers money after Biden had just given it to them.

Why can Biden go around Congress for that, but not for what would help Americans?

[–] LifeInMultipleChoice 10 points 5 months ago (8 children)

Because the president can't create a constitutional amendment. They are not a member of the legislative branch. He can provide emergency military support, being the leader of the executive branch (head of the military)

I don't agree with what he did, but it is under his perview apparently. Much like he can send our troops to fight for ~90 days before needing congressional approval. Essentially creating a situation that you are already in a war by the time congress can say no

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[–] Steve 11 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (2 children)

They did nothing when the decision was leaked.
Nothing when it was official.
Nothing in the years since.
Why?

So they could use it as campaign chip in this election.
Fuck off.

Both parties use their constituency as pawns, rather than employers. It's why we all need to support Represent Us and the Forward Party who are trying to make our representatives actually represent us.

[–] BrianTheeBiscuiteer 18 points 5 months ago

Since 2023 the Democrats haven't had a majority in the House and prior to that they only had a pseudo-majority in the Senate because of Manchin and Sinema. They passed the Right to Contraception Act and it died in the Senate. They passed the Women's Health Protection Act of 2022 and it was voted downin the Senate (also get fucked Manchin). Ensuring Access to Abortion Act passed and died in the Senate. Biden, via the Pentagon, is reimbursing members of the military for travel to seek abortion.

You want them to do more? Get them a real majority in both chambers. Granted, they squandered previous majorities by not codifying abortion access but as I recall the last big, heavily opposed bill they passed (Obamacare) still only made it through with a slim margin and if abortion access was a part of that bill it may not have passed.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 5 months ago

To say they did nothing just isn't true. In all of 20 seconds of searching you could have found this https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/07/08/fact-sheet-president-biden-to-sign-executive-order-protecting-access-to-reproductive-health-care-services/

Maybe they could have done more? Sure.

[–] Linkerbaan 8 points 5 months ago

Just like he did everything in his power to ~~tackle student loans~~ send weapons to israel.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 months ago (3 children)

"Restoring Roe isn’t the only item on Biden’s to-do list. In a second term, the president would aim to “finish the job,” on a slate of priorities his administration has already begun pushing for, Fulks said, including banning assault weapons and high capacity magazines, cutting the cost of insulin and expanding student loan forgiveness."

This all sounds like shit he should have done in his first term if he wanted Dems to have any faith in him whatsoever.

[–] FlyingSquid 30 points 5 months ago (30 children)

You seem to think a president can act unilaterally. Or that Joe Manchin and Kirsten Sinema weren't holding the senate by the balls until the house got taken by Republicans two years ago.

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[–] [email protected] 30 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (14 children)

He did cut the cost of insulin, and it kicked in Jan 1st.

He did push student loan forgiveness and the SCOTUS knocked it down after a Republican lawsuit.

More.... https://www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/archive/2023/10/why-dont-bidens-political-wins-register-with-voters/675547/

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[–] NounsAndWords 16 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Abortion, guns, medical costs, student loans.

It's more a list of generally winning issues for Democrats to be trotted out ever 2-4 years. With the added 'benefit' of Republicans fucking up abortion rights so bad that now it's a flagship issue for Dems more than it has been since Roe.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Honestly, Republicans fucked this up for themselves. Abortion was the classic wedge issue. Single-issue voters that wanted abortion banned would come out every 2-4 years to vote for the candidate who claimed to be pro-life, who would then make a token effort then shrug when nothing changed, rinse-repeat. Now, those voters have no reason to come out and people that are actually affected negatively have EVERY reason to come out.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago (1 children)

In my country it's called anti-abortion. Is it ever called this in the US? I think it frames it better, as everybody here is pro-living-things

[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 months ago

That’s exactly why they like to call it a pro life stance, even though nobody’s life is preserved. Not mothers in need of emergency medical care. Not fetuses with debilitating medical deficiencies. It’s a fake stance that projects compassion without actually having any.

[–] Cyberflunk 5 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Hold medical legislation hostage?

Classy.

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