Conservatives’ Second Act Is Waiting for the Biden Intermission to End

This piece first appeared in our weekly newsletter, The Fallout.

One of the few bright spots in the aftermath of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade two years ago is the way in which voters have responded in droves to support abortion rights and access. Abortion is a winning issue for progressives and Democrats.

I really hope President Joe Biden got that message going into tonight’s first presidential debate, because everything about this year’s election is different—including the role abortion policy will play in it. Reversing Roe wasn’t just some exercise in constitutional rulemaking by Federalist Society ideologues; it was a direct assault on our democratic norms made possible by Trump appointees who shamelessly reversed precedent to usher in a new era of socially regressive policies. All by judicial fiat.

The Supreme Court’s power grab in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization was just a preview of how conservatives plan to govern from here on out, including the role the Court will play in enforcing Project 2025’s authoritarian agenda.

This is not business-as-usual electoral politics—this is American-bred fascism, and it requires a different response that goes beyond messaging and targeting districts around “Restoring Roe.” We need to plainly talk about both the reproductive oppression and threat to democracy that conservatives pose in the same breath. Reproductive oppression is a hallmark of authoritarianism, and we know conservatives are not stopping with upending abortion access. IVF and contraception are under threat right now, and unwinding access to both will be a key policy goal of any incoming GOP administration. And while we wait for this never-ending Supreme Court term to wrap, the justices will start the next one in October by squarely stepping into the fight over gender-affirming care for minors.

Dobbs was always just the beginning. The upcoming election will offer up a clear understanding of what conservatives’ second act looks like.

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