Many on both sides of the aisle have speculated that the SCOTUS draft was leaked to Politico by an unknown liberal angry at the direction the Court is going and hoping to sway the Court back into the pro-Roe camp. If so, that plan has backfired horribly. Not only has Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas said that he and the other justices will not be “bullied” by leftist activists, but a new CNN poll shows that the anticipated end of Roe may have a cooling effect on Democrats going to the ballot box in November. Republicans, on the other hand, are likely to show up in larger-than-usual numbers.
That is a double whammy for Democrats.
As leftist foot soldiers — responding to the leaked SCOTUS brief — have descended on the homes of conservative Supreme Court justices and attacked Catholic churches and at least one pro-life center, they have failed to achieve their hoped-for reaction of swaying both the justices and the public. Instead, it appears that — showing themselves to be the criminals (and likely terrorists) that they are — they have hurt their worthless cause.
On Friday, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas — speaking at the 11th Circuit Judicial Conference in Atlanta — made it clear that he and other conservative justices are keeping their eyes on the wider canvas and refuse to be swayed by the threats, intimidation, and other terrorist tactics of the Left. Addressing the leaked draft, he said, “We are becoming addicted to wanting particular outcomes, not living with the outcomes we don’t like,” adding, “We can’t be an institution that can be bullied into giving you just the outcomes you want. The events from earlier this week are a symptom of that.”
The takeaway: Never negotiate with terrorists. Do not feed the trolls. Refuse to be led by foot-stomping, screaming “protesters” who bear all the marks of petulant toddlers. Stand your ground and do what is right. Period.
And while the actions of leftist foot soldiers — under the direction of their leftist masters — have backfired where the court is concerned, a CNN poll appears to show they have also backfired where voters are concerned.
The CNN poll is part of an ongoing poll the network has been conducting in conjunction with SSRS for many years. The most recent survey indicates that — despite Democrats’ hopes that SCOTUS’s likely overturning of Roe v. Wade would galvanize liberal voters — Democrat turnout for the midterm elections may not increase much, if any. But the opposite is true of Republican turnout.
The folks over at CNN appear to be at a loss to explain their own poll results, reporting:
The share of registered voters who say they are extremely or very enthusiastic about voting this fall rose 6 points between the first survey and the second, but that increase is about even across party lines. Among Democrats, 43% now say they are extremely or very enthusiastic, up 7 points. Among Republicans, it’s 56%, up 9 points. And voters who say overturning Roe would make them “happy” are nearly twice as enthusiastic about voting this fall as those who say such a ruling would leave them “angry” (38% extremely enthusiastic among those happy, 20% among those angry).
This appears particularly confusing to CNN, since — according to their polling — the “angry” crowd outnumbers the “happy” crowd:
The share of Americans who would be angry in the wake of such a ruling (36%) sharply outweighs that who would be happy (17%), and some of the poll’s findings suggest the issue could become a motivating factor for Roe supporters should the draft opinion become the final one. Younger adults are particularly apt to say they would feel angry if Roe were overturned (47% among those younger than 45, compared with 26% among older adults). But younger voters remain far less enthusiastic about casting a ballot this fall — just 9% of them are extremely enthusiastic about voting this fall vs. 31% of older voters.
And as Daily Wire reports:
The poll also noted that a majority of Americans — 66% — say that Roe should not be entirely struck down and 59% would support federal legislation that established a right to abortion nationwide. But that may also be a doomed prospect, given the current makeup of Congress and the likelihood that Republicans will see gains rather than losses in November.
And while the Daily Wire cited Newt Gingrich in its assertion that Republicans are poised to see gains in November’s midterm elections, the poll also seems to confirm that assertion. Gingrich may be a neocon establishment type, but even a blind squirrel finds an occasional nut. As the poll shows, in response to the question, “If the elections for Congress were being held today, which party’s candidate would you vote for in your Congressional district?” responses show a growing Republican gain. In the survey taken April 28-May 1, 2022, 44 percent said they would vote Democrat and 45 percent said Republican. But in the survey conducted May3-5, 2022 — just days after the previous survey and after the leaked SCOTUS brief and leftists’ response to it had filtered into the public consciousness — the numbers were 42 percent Democrat and 49 percent Republican.
Since the survey takes into account those who plan to vote third party as well as those who do not plan to vote at all, it is worth looking at how all the numbers shifted in those few days. Not only did Democrats lose two percentage points, but Republicans seem to have gained in both those who had planned to vote third party (an apparent gain of one percent) and those who had not planned to vote at all (an apparent gain of one percent).
So it appears that Republicans are gaining in those who had intended to vote Democrat, those who had intended to vote third party, and those who had not intended to vote.
This fits nicely into what has been seen as a growing trend — remarked upon even by Democrat strategists — showing that Democrats are facing a thorough trouncing in November. Unless Republicans can figure out a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory (as they have been known to do in the past), a Republican majority in both houses is all but a foregone conclusion.
And given the voting public’s disgust with Biden and his policies (especially as related to the economy, foreign policy, and — to lesser, but still meaningful, degree — domestic policy) the trend points to a strong probability of a Republican victory in the 2024 presidential election.
