The beginning of the end of Roe v. Wade arrived on election night in November 2008. While people like me celebrated the victory of Barack Obama as president and believed (mistakenly, as it turned out) that the country really had changed - I recall saying to friends that we had “finally won the election of 1968" - what really happened was the “movement conservative” opposition was given the reality of its worst nightmare happening; remember that the night before Obama was inaugurated, Mitch McConnell led a meeting of Republican leaders with the topic being how to make Obama a one-term president. They didn’t succeed in doing that, but they did succeed in blocking his chances of progress for six of the eight years he was in office.
HOW ROE DIED is Hawk's Eye View of the cause of death. Rahm Emmanuel was a lead perpetrator. His stupidity in firing Howard Dean, DNC chairman and creator of the Fifty State Strategy was major. I would add that the Democratic Party deserves as much shame for this as he does. It didn't protect Dean or follow the Fifty State Strategy. How is the party doing in rural counties, in Red and Purple states? Emmanuel had a concentrate on the winnable states strategy for the 2010 midterms. How did that turn out? Read Hawk's Eye View if you want to weep some more. This is a limb by limb, vein by vein autopsy. I don't think it is solely about the death of one of our constitutional rights to privacy. As TC has written, there is more to come. What about a national ban on abortion? I will not count the losses ahead... let's count instead the millions upon millions of us that will mobilize. We saved the Affordable Care Act; how about saving the USA from the 6 and that cadre with plans to rule our country in the coming Dark Ages, USA?
Thanks for the step-by-step exposition of how we got to this miserable day and for laying part of the blame on Rahm Emmanuel and Obama for not recognizing the progression of the movement conservatives.
I must voice my disappointment, too, in Biden for holding too long onto the hope that his "friends" across the aisle would work with him. McConnell would not and will not let that happen unless it inures to his personal benefit. Could Biden have foreseen that Roe v. Wade was on its last legs and have done anything to prevent Dobbs v. Jackson?
Tom, I think this dovetails to an earlier post you had which demonstrated that the late adoption by the GOP of anti-abortion advocacy was actually an intentional catspaw to recruit anti-Black evangelical leaders who were trying to broaden their appeal via opposition to abortion. Maybe a link would be helpful? (I think Prof. Richardson has posted similar.)
In retrospect it’s galling that we (or at least professional Democratic politicians) didn’t anticipate a “culture war” backlash when we elected a Black president. I recall Dean getting the boot. My memory (could be wrong) was that there was a little second guessing of the decision but not enough to matter. I guess we were all rather hopeful that the nation had turned a corner.
I recall election night in 2008. I was in Tokyo that day, having voted by mail before I left on a business trip. I hadn’t looked at any polling before I left and was too tired to check before going to bed. I got up early for a business breakfast and got back to the hotel a bit before noon Tokyo time. Turned on the TV and found the feed from American television. And that’s when I first heard that Obama had won and that McCain had just conceded. I was gobsmacked. I didn’t know what to feel. We actually had done it. We had overcome 400 years of evil. And then the camera focused on Jesse Jackson, standing in the middle of Grant Park, all by himself, no entourage, tears streaming down his face. And I started to cry, too. Sitting in that hotel in a foreign land.
I don’t know. Maybe we shouldn’t be too hard on ourselves. It was a cathartic experience and emotionally unexpected. I suppose it isn’t unreasonable that we thought the country had changed, that we finally were listening to the better angels. And that we could go back to business as usual. And drop our guard.
You nailed it. Obama. Emmanuel. Howard Dean! How could Obama allow that firing to happen? My eyes were fogged by the magic of Obama. But, when I saw him drink the glass of water in Flint, the fog started to lift. Now, this. (And, Biden was there. So, why did he call McConnell an honorable man? Why all this nonsensical talk the last 17 months about bipartisanship? It’s driven and continues to drive me crazy. We need fierce leadership.) ❤️🤍💙
I sometimes wish you weren't the historian that you are because it would be much easier to dismiss your presentations as fantasy constructed on rumors and legends. However, you are quite capable, a good researcher and an excellent writer and, given the summation you delivered today, it becomes incumbent on all of us to choose capable candidates, work to get them through the primaries and then work even harder in the general election to get them into office and keep reminding them of who they owe their jobs to. The course we're on can still be changed but if we thought that ending the war in Vietnam and regaining the civil rights that black people should never have lost was hard, that was just a warm-up.
btw, EVERYONE needs to GRAB the latest issue (June 27th) of "The New Yorker" for the profile on DeSantis. it's very important for all of us to know as much as possible about this guy, who is a lot more dangerous than he even appears to be (which is already pretty dangerous) because he's a whole lot smarter than he looks or talks, which means he's THAT much more ambitious and cynical. and ready to tell any lie at all if it brings him closer to....
Dean's "Fifty State Strategy" was brilliant. It worked. David Pepper of "Laboratories of Autocracy" put out a 2-minute video over the weekend illustrating with a WHITE BOARD exactly how this strategy has been used by rethugs against Democrats. If I can find the link, I'll post it. In a nutshell, Dems have given the entire fight over to the rethugs, focusing narrowly instead of broadly. Now we seem to have a DNC and a DNCCC that by and large does nothing except send out letters, texts, and emails soliciting donations. Every Dem candidate appears to be on his or her own. Judging from the number of solicitations I get every single day, there is absolutely NO plan, no strategy, no coordination at all. One would think, with mass murders and now individual murders via coat hangers and alley abortions, there would be more than enough ammunition for Dems to use, to mobilize, to strategize. But no. It's haphazard. Perhaps there are enough of us to "win" in 2020 as a ragtag bunch of angry revolutionaries, but the odds are against us pulling this off as long as the rethugs are funded by the deep and dark pockets of dirty KochKKKers and their ilk. Pardon my pessimism today, but all I see, hear and feel is anger and frustration and NO "Fifty State Strategy." We need Dean back at the helm, or, if not him, someone with his sharp mind, passion, and drive.
One question: what on earth was Emmanuel's "rationale" for abolishing a system that worked? I can understand that he held animosity for Dean and took revenge on him personally, but an entire STRATEGY? That's just boneheaded.
HOW ROE DIED is Hawk's Eye View of the cause of death. Rahm Emmanuel was a lead perpetrator. His stupidity in firing Howard Dean, DNC chairman and creator of the Fifty State Strategy was major. I would add that the Democratic Party deserves as much shame for this as he does. It didn't protect Dean or follow the Fifty State Strategy. How is the party doing in rural counties, in Red and Purple states? Emmanuel had a concentrate on the winnable states strategy for the 2010 midterms. How did that turn out? Read Hawk's Eye View if you want to weep some more. This is a limb by limb, vein by vein autopsy. I don't think it is solely about the death of one of our constitutional rights to privacy. As TC has written, there is more to come. What about a national ban on abortion? I will not count the losses ahead... let's count instead the millions upon millions of us that will mobilize. We saved the Affordable Care Act; how about saving the USA from the 6 and that cadre with plans to rule our country in the coming Dark Ages, USA?
Thanks for the step-by-step exposition of how we got to this miserable day and for laying part of the blame on Rahm Emmanuel and Obama for not recognizing the progression of the movement conservatives.
I must voice my disappointment, too, in Biden for holding too long onto the hope that his "friends" across the aisle would work with him. McConnell would not and will not let that happen unless it inures to his personal benefit. Could Biden have foreseen that Roe v. Wade was on its last legs and have done anything to prevent Dobbs v. Jackson?
Tom, I think this dovetails to an earlier post you had which demonstrated that the late adoption by the GOP of anti-abortion advocacy was actually an intentional catspaw to recruit anti-Black evangelical leaders who were trying to broaden their appeal via opposition to abortion. Maybe a link would be helpful? (I think Prof. Richardson has posted similar.)
In retrospect it’s galling that we (or at least professional Democratic politicians) didn’t anticipate a “culture war” backlash when we elected a Black president. I recall Dean getting the boot. My memory (could be wrong) was that there was a little second guessing of the decision but not enough to matter. I guess we were all rather hopeful that the nation had turned a corner.
I recall election night in 2008. I was in Tokyo that day, having voted by mail before I left on a business trip. I hadn’t looked at any polling before I left and was too tired to check before going to bed. I got up early for a business breakfast and got back to the hotel a bit before noon Tokyo time. Turned on the TV and found the feed from American television. And that’s when I first heard that Obama had won and that McCain had just conceded. I was gobsmacked. I didn’t know what to feel. We actually had done it. We had overcome 400 years of evil. And then the camera focused on Jesse Jackson, standing in the middle of Grant Park, all by himself, no entourage, tears streaming down his face. And I started to cry, too. Sitting in that hotel in a foreign land.
I don’t know. Maybe we shouldn’t be too hard on ourselves. It was a cathartic experience and emotionally unexpected. I suppose it isn’t unreasonable that we thought the country had changed, that we finally were listening to the better angels. And that we could go back to business as usual. And drop our guard.
But we are not going to make that mistake again.
I hope.
This is one of those letters where I hate that Substack only has a “like” button. This one deserves a “😭” or a “🤬”.
You nailed it. Obama. Emmanuel. Howard Dean! How could Obama allow that firing to happen? My eyes were fogged by the magic of Obama. But, when I saw him drink the glass of water in Flint, the fog started to lift. Now, this. (And, Biden was there. So, why did he call McConnell an honorable man? Why all this nonsensical talk the last 17 months about bipartisanship? It’s driven and continues to drive me crazy. We need fierce leadership.) ❤️🤍💙
I sometimes wish you weren't the historian that you are because it would be much easier to dismiss your presentations as fantasy constructed on rumors and legends. However, you are quite capable, a good researcher and an excellent writer and, given the summation you delivered today, it becomes incumbent on all of us to choose capable candidates, work to get them through the primaries and then work even harder in the general election to get them into office and keep reminding them of who they owe their jobs to. The course we're on can still be changed but if we thought that ending the war in Vietnam and regaining the civil rights that black people should never have lost was hard, that was just a warm-up.
btw, EVERYONE needs to GRAB the latest issue (June 27th) of "The New Yorker" for the profile on DeSantis. it's very important for all of us to know as much as possible about this guy, who is a lot more dangerous than he even appears to be (which is already pretty dangerous) because he's a whole lot smarter than he looks or talks, which means he's THAT much more ambitious and cynical. and ready to tell any lie at all if it brings him closer to....
Excellent post, TC.... I'd totally forgotten about the 50 State strategy and Howard Dean, and Rahm Emanuel's role.
Dean's "Fifty State Strategy" was brilliant. It worked. David Pepper of "Laboratories of Autocracy" put out a 2-minute video over the weekend illustrating with a WHITE BOARD exactly how this strategy has been used by rethugs against Democrats. If I can find the link, I'll post it. In a nutshell, Dems have given the entire fight over to the rethugs, focusing narrowly instead of broadly. Now we seem to have a DNC and a DNCCC that by and large does nothing except send out letters, texts, and emails soliciting donations. Every Dem candidate appears to be on his or her own. Judging from the number of solicitations I get every single day, there is absolutely NO plan, no strategy, no coordination at all. One would think, with mass murders and now individual murders via coat hangers and alley abortions, there would be more than enough ammunition for Dems to use, to mobilize, to strategize. But no. It's haphazard. Perhaps there are enough of us to "win" in 2020 as a ragtag bunch of angry revolutionaries, but the odds are against us pulling this off as long as the rethugs are funded by the deep and dark pockets of dirty KochKKKers and their ilk. Pardon my pessimism today, but all I see, hear and feel is anger and frustration and NO "Fifty State Strategy." We need Dean back at the helm, or, if not him, someone with his sharp mind, passion, and drive.
One question: what on earth was Emmanuel's "rationale" for abolishing a system that worked? I can understand that he held animosity for Dean and took revenge on him personally, but an entire STRATEGY? That's just boneheaded.
Thanks for this well-researched, essential analysis. It is a benchmark.