Baby Boomer Political Illusions

Much to write and say, and there will be time for all of it, but as I listened to the SCOTUS argument today on abortion, I was struck by how much this feels like the rise of Trump.

I truly, deeply sympathize with those who built (or thought they were building) a conservative movement through the Republican Party that was powered by millions of grassroots constitutional conservatives committed to the free market, a robust American presence in the world, rule of law and social conservatism, only to find, past the peak of their influence, that it was a house built on sand. They learned that, actually, there were other commitments driving much of the Republican base, and that base passed over Rubio and Bush and Walker and Pawlenty and Kasich to act on those commitments. Some have had healthier reflections on what went wrong, where they miscalibrated, than others.

Today just might mark the comeuppance of the hubris, the certitude, of the pro-choice movement which over the last decade moved to a posture of “offense,” deciding the legality of abortion wasn’t enough, and that abortion must be celebrated. The Washington Post celebrated this new strategy, championed by Cecile Richards, in the Summer of 2016. Since that story, Richards stepped down from Planned Parenthood, as Ilyse Hogue would step down from NARAL, and the champions of their bold new strategy would leave in their wake a Senate controlled by Republicans, a White House occupied by Trump and a Supreme Court that was fundamentally altered. Questions were asked today in the Supreme Court that I’m sure they had hoped would never be asked again, questions that run counter to their view of history.

The New York Times Magazine has a cover story this weekend that purports to assess where the pro-choice movement went wrong, but it reads more like convenient blame-shifting.

What do we do when reality is not quite what we thought it was? Where do we go from our point of recognition? What generational delusions are we under?

I’m not making any predictions here, but noting a kind of feeling: that of a class of establishment Baby Boomers seeing the political projects they invested in wither on the vine.

More on this, and other topics, soon…