Good point. Is that an accurate statistic, already?!

@fishline79 I apologize. I misread it, it's actually way worse than I initially thought. The 62% higher maternal mortality rate in red states was before the Dobbs decision and was generally caused by "maternity care deserts". Areas in a state that functioned as if there was a ban because there was no access. But the Dobbs decision will increase the size of these deserts to the size of at least the state it's in, but more likely, multiple states. The bigger the desert, the fewer women will have the means to traverse it. They are expecting the disparity between red and blue states to grow apart even more than the 62%.
Republicans can claim all they want that they do this shit because they love fetuses, but the undeniable fact is that they hate women and are perfectly fine with them dying.

@ChestRockfield Or they use the excuse that they are "pro life" but that only applies to unborn fetuses and not people on death row, or people who die for lack of essential medical treatment.

At least the Dems. still have all of the old policies, like environment, Climate change, govt. regulation, increase taxes on the rich, racial equality, women's rights, etc. They still matter to many of us liberals, but the Repubs. have to rely on the newer, hot button, minority values like guns and birth control and immigration, which ring bells to a narrower constituency (at least I hope so).

@fishline79 The Dems still talk about those old policies, but almost none of them actually mean it, and the voters caught on to that long ago, so that is why I think Biden will lose, to whoever the Repubs nominate, because the voters now, justifiably, hate and distrust both parties. That is why we are seeing such continual ping-ponging of the voters swinging back and forth between the two major parties each election cycle, because what most of them really want, is a viable third party to vote for, that actually has the so-callled old policies of the New Deal Dems of the past.

@TomMcGiverin If you were right, then where was the great red wave? High gas prices, inflation, Afghanistan and all that goes with a mid-term election, plus whatever you say is going against the Dems. It should have been a tsunami. In the end, there was not enough to flush until the 15th go.
So what went wrong? Need we ask, it was Trump. Whining on and on about the 2020 election and sounding as attractive as those windmills he hates. Not only that but hand-picking a series of Muppets* for an election whose only criterion for endorsement was loyalty to him.
Now if the GOP had taken this into account. If they turned their backs on Trump or at least distanced themselves from him. Then you might have a point but that's not the case. Even those who are actually on the ballot against him can't bring themselves to call him out for the losing treasonous crook that he is and the American voters (at least the independent ones) know it.

*Apologies to Muppets

@273kelvin Just see what happens next year with the pres. election. I predict that tons of voters who normally vote blue will stay home, while all of Trump's base will turn out. So, while I'm not sure how the congressional races will turn out in that election, I still believe the Dems will lose the presidential race next time, with Biden running, no matter who the Repubs nominate, Trump or DeSantis. And of course, the Dem leaders of the party, and Biden, are banking on abortion and Trump's legal problems being enough for them to win the presidential race, no matter what, but I think they are overestimating the power of the abortion issue as well as how much Trump's legal problems matter to most voters..

@TomMcGiverin I ask again, if you are right what happened in 2022? The world and his wife (inc. a lot of Dems) predicted a red wave and...? If Trump runs Dems will walk through fire to stop him, whilst traditional Rep voters will split their vote or abstain just like they did in 2020 & 2022 in significant numbers.
But what if someone like DeSantis wins the nomination? Well, unless Trump drops dead he is not going anywhere. Do you think he will accept not being nominated or will he run as a 3rd candidate?

@273kelvin Touche. What can I say?

@273kelvin If Trump loses the nomination, which is unlikely, I do not think he will run as an independent or with a third party.

@TomMcGiverin So what do you think will be the deciding factors in that decision, his loyalty to the party/country, his stoicism or his humility?
Bear in mind that whilst he is still a candidate, he can claim that any/all court cases against him are politically motivated. Also given the slow nature of the legal system, most of these will be coming to fruition in 2024.

See my reply to 273Kelvin