MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell showed that Republicans have a history of lying about abortion, and don’t mean anything they say on the issue.
O’Donnell said:
Republican elected officials, especially presidential candidates, do not mean what they say about abortion, they never have. They have always been posturing, and none of them ever wanted to deal with the reality of their position on abortion, which we are now dealing with, and the people of Arizona are dealing with tonight, having been thrown back to 1864. To live by a law written by one man who no one elected to anything, back when Arizona was a territory, a half-century away from becoming a state. Make America great again now means make America great the way it was in 1864. When the territory of Arizona was fighting on the side of the confederacy in the civil war to preserve slavery in America and imposing laws on women and doctors and nurses that everyone in Arizona has to live with tonight.
The Democrats in the state legislature in Arizona tried to repeal that law today, and the Republicans blocked it, and so the Republicans in Arizona, actively made the decision today that the people in Arizona must live as if it were 1864, and it wasn’t even a state. And so, reporters can and should hound Donald Trump on the campaign trail about the five-year prison sentences that doctors and nurses and support staff and drivers are facing in Arizona, now, but you should also stand outside George W. Bush’s home in Texas and demand an answer from him. Is this what he wanted when he chose Samuel Alito for the Supreme Court? Or was George W. Bush just playing the game of abortion politics? Just like every Republican did before him. The game was never to win. The game was to keep the game going.
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
Video:
Lawrence O’Donnell, “Republican elected officials, especially presidential candidates, do not mean what they say about abortion, they never have.” pic.twitter.com/UKmIHABWBg
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) April 11, 2024
Abortion was always a get out the vote scheme for Republicans. They never wanted Roe overturned, because then they would have to deal with the policies that they have been advocating for decades, but never wanted to implement, because they would be politically disastrous.
The dog was never supposed to catch the moving car.
The problem is that after decades of brainwashing their supporters with anti-choice talking points, Republicans can’t admit that their previous position was a lie, and in the era of Trump, they are governed by extremists, so the party is jumping off of the political cliff one after another while reassuring the person in line behind them that abortion won’t matter in November.
Abortion will matter, which is why Trump is running quickly away from it, but the ex-president is like an arsonist. Trump keeps fleeing the scene, but also returning to marvel in and take credit for his blaze.
Republicans have a history of lying about abortion, which is why no one should believe them now.
A Special Message From PoliticusUSA
If you are in a position to donate purely to help us keep the doors open on PoliticusUSA during what is a critical election year, please do so here.
We have been honored to be able to put your interests first for 14 years as we only answer to our readers and we will not compromise on that fundamental, core PoliticusUSA value.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
