re: #56 Jay C

I’ve been reading Megan McArdle’s stuff for a long time, and her basic shtick hasn’t changed much: basically right-wing boilerplate tricked out with enough of the glitter-and-tinsel of “libertarianism” to (nominally) differentiate itself from the rude vulgarisms of, say, a Charlie Kirk or Jack Posobiec. And of course, all from a safe, “respectable” chair at the WaPo….

But I notice even Megan’s “confession of error” here seems to focus mainly on “polling” and “opinion” factors, and tries to deflect away from what (IMO) is the main issue with the post-Dobbs political landscape: i.e. that the “pro-life” lobby is hellbent on instituting a system of extreme restrictions on women, womens’ health issues, and reproductive choices in general (and on the healthcare system as well), that are anything but “libertarian” ….

I think that’s what has come as such as shock to the pundit class, that without the guardrail that was Roe in place, the Repubs immediately careened over the edge to the tune of “Onward, Christian Soldiers!” They didn’t expect to wake up the morning after Dobbs dropped to find out that red states had all sorts of bans and restrictions on the books that would snap back into place the moment Roe was overturned. They’re seeing how hollow words like “states rights” and “personal freedom” really are when uttered by Republicans and it’s making them very uncomfortable.