The White House multiplies speeches, like the one this Tuesday (18) in Washington, in an attempt to contradict predictions for the November 8 elections. Traditionally, the ruling party usually suffers a blow in this type of election, which is held every two years to renew seats in the Chamber of Representatives, part of the Senate and dozens of governors.
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This year, Democrats face a potential tsunami of dissatisfaction over the president's unpopularity, the post-pandemic economic situation and the culture wars over education, gender issues and abortion.
It's in abortion that Biden sees a potential game changer, after the Supreme Court overturned the historic sentence Roe vs Wade which half a century ago established access to abortion throughout the country.
“The first bill I will send to Congress will be to codify Roe vs. Wade,” said Biden, regarding the case law annulled in June.
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Women across the country, starting in my home, have lost a fundamental right,” Biden said.
Biden mentioned the “chaos and anguish” of women seeking to terminate their pregnancies since the Supreme Court decision. And he added that Republicans have banned abortion in 16 states, where 26,5 million women live.
The president insists on the importance of the electoral result. He also warned that even if the Republicans win, will veto any attempt to ban abortion nationwide. And if the Democrats maintain the majority in the lower house, a national abortion rights law will be drafted, which overturns the Supreme Court decision.
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Impulse, yes, but votes?
There is no doubt that the right to abortion provokes heated debates on the political scene.
Roe vs Wade legalized the procedure throughout the country, while the decision of Supreme Court returned power to state governments, letting them dictate the rules in their territory.
The issue mobilizes, but is it enough to change votes in three weeks?
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The bad news for Democrats is that abortion is low on voters' list of concerns.
A newspaper survey “The New York Times”/Siena released this week shows that 26% of potential voters consider the economy to be the most important thing, and 18%, inflation, which is breaking records in four decades. Abortion reached 5%.
Furthermore, the research shows a surprising shift in independent women's voting intentions. In September, this group supported the Democrats, in relation to the Republicans, by 14 points, but, in the last poll, they supported the Republicans, by 18 points.
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(To AFP)
