Ohio Is a Sign That Republicans Should Be Worried

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Republicans have long known that their views on abortion are not in step with the majority of the country—and there’s a reason that they tried, and ultimately succeeded, to kill it in the courts.

But on the latest episode of The New Abnormal, co-host Andy Levy describes how this week “was a real wake-up call” for Republicans, claiming that if they don’t realize the error of their ways, “it’s probably going to continue to cost them elections.”

This week, Ohio voters overwhelmingly rejected a ballot measure, Issue 1, that would have made it more difficult to pass amendments to the state constitution. Republicans had hoped to hinder a November referendum that has the potential to codify abortion rights into state law.

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“It turns out that almost every time…when they’ve tried to codify really extreme abortion bans, people have risen up, and women in particular have risen up, and said, ‘Outta here. We’re not letting you do this,’ Levy says.

“I think we saw that in 2022. There’s no reason to think this isn’t going to continue to really be a drag on their vote going into the future…I guess if you’re looking for a silver lining, it’s that this might be a real ‘Fuck around, find out’ moment for them.”

Plus! David Pepper, author of Saving Democracy and Laboratories of Autocracy, as well as the former chairman of the Democratic Party in the state of Ohio, joins the show to describe how voters “saw right through” Republicans’ efforts “to rig the rules of a constitutional amendment process.”

“Even their own voters did not respond well to this,” Pepper says. “There was lower turnout in the red parts of the state. There were some red counties that voted no, so it really did backfire.”

Then, senior vice president of Law and Policy at Everytown for Gun Safety, Nick Suplina, describes how ghost guns are more terrifying than you can imagine.

Listen to this full episode of The New Abnormal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon and Stitcher.