Boston Globe | Believe Lindsey Graham: Abortion is on the November ballot

If Republicans take control of Congress, there will be a vote on a national abortion ban.

By Joan Vennochi
Column Originally Appeared in the Boston Globe

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham just confirmed what his party wants voters to forget: If Republicans take control of Congress, there will be a vote on a national abortion ban.

When Graham introduced a bill on Tuesday to ban most abortions nationwide after 15 weeks of pregnancy, he seemed a little off message. Shouldn’t he be talking about the price of eggs, on a day when the latest Consumer Price Index report gave Republicans new ammunition to hang inflation around the necks of Democrats? After all, based on recent polling, Republicans have an advantage when the issue is the economy, while Democrats and many independent voters are motivated by abortion rights. That split is causing some Republicans to back away from pre-election talk about more restrictions. Not Graham. “If we take back the House and the Senate, I can assure you we’ll have a vote on our bill,” promised the senator from South Carolina.

And, don’t be fooled by the seemingly dismissive attitude of Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican minority leader, who after Graham’s announcement said he thought the issue should be left up to the states. “I think they’re trying to have it both ways — pander to their base, while reassuring other people this is a state’s rights issue,” Rebecca Hart Holder, executive director of the abortion rights group Reproductive Equity Now, told me. She also has no doubt the ultimate goal is what Graham said it is — and neither should voters.

Trying not to alienate all voters who support some abortion rights while keeping their antiabortion base happy is a dilemma for Republicans and a gift to Democrats. “The Democrats are already fired up and it‘s not just Democrats. Prochoice people are fired up,” said Hart Holder. Graham’s words, she added, “were grease on the fire.”

They certainly fired up Democratic fundraising efforts and attacks on Republican opponents.

In an email request for campaign contributions — which arrived Wednesday morning with the subject line “pissed off right now” — US Representative Tim Ryan, who is running for a Senate seat in Ohio against Republican J.D. Vance, wrote, ”The future of abortion rights will be decided in November’s election.” He added: “This is one of the closest Senate races in the country and my far-right opponent, J.D. Vance is as anti-choice as they come. He even called pregnancy from rape ‘inconvenient.’” And even before Dan Bolduc was officially declared the winner of New Hampshire’s Republican Senate primary, incumbent Democratic Senator Maggie Hassan sent out emails blasting him as “an anti-choice extremist” who “would vote to ban abortion nationwide.” Once it was official, she quickly released an ad attacking his anti-abortion stance.

In Massachusetts, where an overwhelming majority of voters believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases, a focus on abortion rights only helps Attorney General Maura Healey, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate, and hurts her Republican opponent, Geoff Diehl.

Soon after Graham’s proposal made headlines, Healey jumped on the issue with an email that read: “Right wing-extremists will do whatever they can to ban abortions across the country. We need governors who will stand up for reproductive freedom.” The email also notes that as a state lawmaker, Diehl cosponsored legislation to ban abortion.

Diehl currently trails Healey by 18 points, according to one recent poll. Yet he does lead Healey with independents, or unenrolled voters, by 45 percent to 38 percent. And of voters surveyed, 41 percent said the economy is the most important issue. “Republicans should be talking pocketbook issues. People are hurting right now and worried about the economy,” said Holly Robichaud, a Republican consultant who advised Chris Doughty, a more moderate Republican who lost the gubernatorial primary to Diehl.

If only Diehl could take that advice — but the Republican extremists he embraced won’t let him.

Since last week’s primary, Diehl has tried to edge away from some of the agenda associated with his endorsement from Donald Trump. For example, in an interview that touched on abortion rights, Diehl said that, “What’s important is people in this state have spoken through their legislators. ... My job, whether I like it or not, is to make sure that we protect those rights.”

However, a Congress controlled by Republicans can do exactly what Graham proposed — institute a national abortion ban that eviscerates them. Believe Graham when he says that’s the plan.