Republicans so far have been unable to present a unified and effective response to Democrats attacking their record on women.
The ascendance of Vice President Kamala Harris as the impending Democratic nominee, and widespread revulsion to J.D. Vance's comments about women and families, have knocked Republicans off balance, and they have not found a way to counter that doesn't make them sound, in the suddenly common parlance, weird, reported NOTUS.
“What my side of the aisle needs to do is encourage the media to ask Democrats: ‘So what’s your limit on abortion? Is it birth? Is it two weeks before birth? Do you have no limits on abortion?'" Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) told the website.
Democrats have painted Donald Trump's running mate and other conservatives as "weird," saying their views are out of step and extreme. Even Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), who infamously placed a months-long hold on hundreds of military promotions to protest paid leave and reimbursements for service members who travel to get an abortion, tried to back away from Vance's remarks about "childless cat ladies."
“The message to women is: We’re all for nuclear family, but we’re also, if you don’t want to have kids, fine, I mean, it’s up to you,” Tuberville said. “As a human being, everybody gets to make their own decisions in this country.”
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Abortion rights remain broadly supported by Americans two years after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling, and Republicans have endured a string of defeats related to the issue since then, but Trump has repeatedly boasted that justices he nominated overturned that ruling — and Vance has expressed support for a national ban.
“Republicans muddled the message, and it’s going to be hard for them,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), "and if you don’t think the Democrats see that and have seized on it, you’re not looking at what they’re all running on, everyone from Harris on down the ticket.”
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), a staunch anti-abortion advocate, has criticized Vance's remarks about childless women and tried to soften the GOP vice presidential nominee's proposal to punish non-parents with higher taxes.
“I think our message ought to be, ‘We want to help you start a family, we want to give you control over raising your own family,’” Hawley said, but he wasn't certain the GOP has successfully communicated that message. "We'll see."