Thread by @RabbitHoleAaron

There is a false narrative going around

“Obama could have codified #RoeVsWade when he had a supermajority but chose not to. Therefore there is no point in voting for Democrats and #VoteBlueNoMatterWho”

This is misleading at best and harmful at worst

Here are the facts 👇

When Obama was sworn in, there were:

56 Democrats + 2 Independents in the Senate

Al Franken’s victory was not acknowledged by Republicans until July

Republican Arlen Specter did not become a Democrat until April

Amongst these 56 Democrats there were pro-life Democrats from red states like Arkansas and Nebraska

Including Ben Nelson who held Obamacare hostage until there was an amendment preventing Obamacare policies from covering abortion

The Pro-Life Democrats and their NARAL Pro-Choice scores per @OnTheIssuesOrg

Ben Nelson (NE) 7%
Mark Pryor (AR) 29%
Mary Landrieu (LA) 43%
Kent Conrad (ND) 43%
Byron Dorgan (ND) 43%
Blanch Lincoln (AR) 50%
Evan Bayh (IN) 50%
Tim Johnson (SD) 50%

So let’s separate the Pro-Life vs. Pro-Choice Democrats

48 Pro-Choice Democrats
8 Pro-Life Democrats
2 Pro-Choice Independents

In April, Republican Arlen Specter became a Democrat

His NARAL Pro-Choice score: 21%

But to be fair, he did vote Pro-Choice towards the end of his career. Let’s include him in the
Pro-Choice group:

49 Pro-Choice Democrats
8 Pro-Life Democrats
2 Pro-Choice Independents

In July, Al Franken was finally sworn in

50 Pro-Choice Democrats
8 Pro-Life Democrats
2 Pro-Choice Independents

Even with Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski being Pro-Choice...

There was NEVER a filibuster proof Pro-Choice supermajority

This is important because we cannot simply say

“There is no point in voting for Democrats because they did not codify #RoeVWade"

If we had shown up in the 2014 midterms and Democrats held the Senate,

Antonin Scalia would have been replaced by Merrick Garland

If we had shown up in 2016 for Hillary Clinton, RBG would have been replaced by a liberal justice

Point being, Pro-Life voters showed up and voted for 50 years to achieve their lifelong dream of seeing #RoeVsWadeOverturned

Of course the Democratic party leaders need to LEAD as AOC puts so accurately:

https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1540755955373277186?s=20&t=urfwofLcCOzcKrdtd5GShA

But we also need to be ready to show up this November and #VoteBlueNoMatterWho