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First, let's recognize the situation on the Supreme Court *social* ideology. Their key ideology - for plutocracy, for blocking the power of the people and their government to restrict the wealthy and powerful - is firmly entrenched and the reason they're there from billions being spent and the Republican Party's first or second priority being to put them there. This is about the secondary, social ideology.
For the last century, the key to understanding Republican electoral politics, besides its semi-hidden agenda for plutocracy and its weaponizing of propaganda, is how the election of FDR showed them that they cannot win honestly. That FDR and Democrats stomped them so thoroughly into the ground as being electable they have been desperate since about having ways to attract voters.
From the FDR era, who were you going to vote for, the Democrats who cared about the American people and fought for millions of jobs, protections for workers, created programs like Social Security and later Medicare, who were the declared opponents of the rich fat cats who wanted to exploit the American people - or the servants of those fat cats who had nothing but plutocracy to offer?
The first big example of what this caused with Republicans desperate to find a reason for Americans to vote for them was "the red scare", wild claims that Democrats allowed communists into the government who threatened to betray the country and make the US communist. Typical of Republican lies, it was idiotic and many fell for it, and Republicans got total control in 1952.
I won't make this longer with a lot of examples, but they refined this with issue after issue, and the relevant one for this post we're getting to is abortion.
Support for abortion rights gradually increased through the 1960's. The rich had access. JFK was able to refer a young mistress to a helping doctor when a false alarm for pregnancy happened. By the late 60's some states began to legalize abortion. Governor Ronald Reagan signed a bill making California the third state to increase access to abortions. In 1973, Roe v. Wade was issued.
For years, it was just 'progress'. There was some controversy, but it wasn't a big political issue. the Southern Baptist Convention repeatedly issued declarations supporting the right to abortion in the 70's after the ruling. Running for President in 1980, Reagan in a speech to evangelicals didn't mention abortion, but he did mention they should have the right to racial segregation.
What changed was that quickly as president, Reagan recognized evangelicals - who had a history of supporting liberal values like caring for the poor - as an opportunity for Republicans to win them over for votes, much as Republicans had won over the south after Democrats led the civil rights laws.
Reagan quickly found the issues evangelicals cared about, and developed a partnership with the new "Moral Majority" led by Jerry Falwell, beginning the strong pursuit of making Evangelical Americans into Republican voters. Quickly supporting overturning Roe v. Wade became a requirement for Republican politicians and a crusade for Reagan.
For the last century, the key to understanding Republican electoral politics, besides its semi-hidden agenda for plutocracy and its weaponizing of propaganda, is how the election of FDR showed them that they cannot win honestly. That FDR and Democrats stomped them so thoroughly into the ground as being electable they have been desperate since about having ways to attract voters.
From the FDR era, who were you going to vote for, the Democrats who cared about the American people and fought for millions of jobs, protections for workers, created programs like Social Security and later Medicare, who were the declared opponents of the rich fat cats who wanted to exploit the American people - or the servants of those fat cats who had nothing but plutocracy to offer?
The first big example of what this caused with Republicans desperate to find a reason for Americans to vote for them was "the red scare", wild claims that Democrats allowed communists into the government who threatened to betray the country and make the US communist. Typical of Republican lies, it was idiotic and many fell for it, and Republicans got total control in 1952.
I won't make this longer with a lot of examples, but they refined this with issue after issue, and the relevant one for this post we're getting to is abortion.
Support for abortion rights gradually increased through the 1960's. The rich had access. JFK was able to refer a young mistress to a helping doctor when a false alarm for pregnancy happened. By the late 60's some states began to legalize abortion. Governor Ronald Reagan signed a bill making California the third state to increase access to abortions. In 1973, Roe v. Wade was issued.
For years, it was just 'progress'. There was some controversy, but it wasn't a big political issue. the Southern Baptist Convention repeatedly issued declarations supporting the right to abortion in the 70's after the ruling. Running for President in 1980, Reagan in a speech to evangelicals didn't mention abortion, but he did mention they should have the right to racial segregation.
What changed was that quickly as president, Reagan recognized evangelicals - who had a history of supporting liberal values like caring for the poor - as an opportunity for Republicans to win them over for votes, much as Republicans had won over the south after Democrats led the civil rights laws.
Reagan quickly found the issues evangelicals cared about, and developed a partnership with the new "Moral Majority" led by Jerry Falwell, beginning the strong pursuit of making Evangelical Americans into Republican voters. Quickly supporting overturning Roe v. Wade became a requirement for Republican politicians and a crusade for Reagan.