Dear Biden: Do Better

Of course, there is no magic wand here no one, Biden included, has the ability to reinstate Roe's protections overnight. But the tenor of Biden's responses to criticism of his initial inaction has been that since he can't do much, why do anything at all? Biden has long shown an unwillingness to champion abortion rights. But he's also long been desperate for the presidency. His tepid response to Dobbs signals a troubling failure to understand his responsibilities to the voters who elected him, and to comprehend the power of political messaging that messaging is, arguably, politics itself. Instead his paralysis allows the anti-abortion right to further dominate the conversation, a rookie mistake from a 79-year-old who has spent 50 years on the national political stage. Now is the time to make sure that tens of millions of highly motivated, pissed-off voters feel heard, seen, and appreciated. And yet the White House is blaming "activists" for getting grabby about reproductive freedom. This contempt for the abortion providers, storytellers, funders, and clinic defenders who have dared to demand better from the president and the Democratic Party while risking their careers, their families, and sometimes their lives in support of abortion access reeks of condescension toward some of the party's most reliable supporters. And it is an unforced error that could cost Biden.