American Bridge 21st Century Weekly Recap: October 27, 2023
Our top moments of the week
Republicans have one thing on their mind: banning abortion. This week, they elected an anti-abortion extremist as Speaker of the House, refused to answer a yes or no question about exceptions for rape and incest survivors, and continued plotting a statewide abortion crackdown.
Here are their biggest moments of the week:
1. Speaker MAGA Mike Johnson
On Wednesday, Mike Johnson officially became the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives after a whopping four elections and countless closed-door meetings.
In response, American Bridge 21st Century President Pat Dennis released the following statement:
“Mike Johnson is nothing but an anti-abortion, anti-marriage equality, election-denying extremist whose only loyalty is to Donald Trump — not the American people. We’re just weeks away from a government shutdown, and all Republicans have done is bicker amongst themselves and compete to be Trump’s most influential lackey in Congress. If Republicans truly believe that this guy is their best bet to get things done and prevent a shutdown, we’re all screwed.”
Read more about MAGA Mike here:
Insider: ‘House Speaker Mike Johnson did work for a ‘crisis pregnancy’ center that used a van to find pregnant women
HuffPost: New House Speaker Thinks Creationist Museum Is ‘Pointing People To The Truth’
The 19th: House Speaker Mike Johnson has long opposed abortion and LGBTQ+ rights
The Gambit: We listened to House Speaker Mike Johnson’s podcast so you don’t have to
2. Daniel Cameron Won’t Answer If He Personally Supports Exceptions for Survivors of Rape and Incest
During Monday’s debate, Republican Kentucky gubernatorial nominee Daniel Cameron was asked to give a simple “yes” or “no” to the question of whether he believes survivors of rape and incest should be allowed to get an abortion.
Did he answer? Nope.
Watch for yourself:
3. Carolyn Carluccio Won’t Drop Election Conspiracies
On Tuesday, The Philadelphia Inquirer editorial board endorsed Judge Daniel D. McCaffery for Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court — rejecting his MAGA and anti-abortion extremist opponent, Republican Carolyn Carluccio.
The board cited Carluccio’s refusal to accept basic truths like that the 2020 election was not stolen, her lack of candor on her anti-abortion record, and playing political games for rejecting her candidacy.
“It is beyond disturbing that any candidate for public office — let alone the state Supreme Court — is still stoking bogus election claims or giving elusive answers to simple questions.”
4. Are These ‘Reasonable’ Republicans Privately Plotting an Abortion Crackdown?
On Wednesday, Rolling Stone reported that Republicans running for state legislative office in Virginia are saying, behind seemingly-closed doors, that they want to go even further than Glenn Youngkin’s draconian 15-week abortion ban — particularly concerning given Youngkin has said he will sign any anti-abortion rights legislation they put across his desk.
Youngkin’s ban proposal is an election-year charade designed to give cover to the very anti-abortion extremists he is bankrolling. Under a Republican trifecta in Richmond, a full ban is not just on the table — it’s the plan.
“But the woman wanted to know where [Republican State Senate candidate Bill] Woolf really stood, and whether he would support restricting abortion access even further if he’s elected. He didn’t say no. “I think we have to talk about it, right?” Woolf answered, according to a recording of the exchange shared with Rolling Stone, making him the latest Virginia Republican to leave the door open to a more restrictive ban if his party gains control of the General Assembly this November.”
5. Tim Sheehy Took the Dough But Now Says No
A new report from HuffPost found yet another brazen display of flip-flopping and “double-dipping on partisan issues” by Montana GOP Senate candidate Tim Sheehy. The report found that Tim Sheehy “received a $210,000 grant from Democrats’ American Rescue Plan — a federal COVID-19 relief package that Sheehy has repeatedly condemned on the campaign trail.”
This isn’t the first time Tim Sheehy has been two-faced on an issue. As HuffPost noted, “Sheehy is benefitting from federal aid that he now argues is driving inflation is just the latest example of him and his company double-dipping on partisan issues.” Other examples include:
- Sheehy has flip-flopped on climate change, now calling it a “climate cult” while his business is touting itself as “fighting on the front lines of climate change.”
- Sheehy deleted mentions of climate change and environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) from his company’s website in the lead-up to the launch of his Senate campaign.
- Sheehy has “shied away” from past support of Ukraine. Before his launch, Sheehy called for “soldiers, planes, bombs, and bullets” to help Ukraine but now he says the U.S. should end its involvement.
