The Nov. 7 elections were a sobering reminder that we live in a godless country. For the sane, it’s terrifying to realize the people voting with you on which laws and politicians will hold power have forgotten what human dignity is. Still, the blame for Ohio voters passing Issue 1 is not with the immoral hoards. Conservatives are responsible for this loss.
Voter turnout for Tuesday’s election was embarrassingly low, considering the topic of constitutional importance was whether or not the state would be creating an open season for the killing of unborn babies. It seems like such a no-brainer. Of course, the littlest ones among us deserve the most care. Conservatives had the chance to remind our fellow countrymen what it means to protect the truly vulnerable in our society, and instead, they stayed home.
The 57% of Ohio voters who chose to put abortion rights in the state constitution yesterday is right in line with national public opinion on the matter in recent years: Surveys have consistently shown ~60% support for legal abortion. https://t.co/d6MdEWwl6z pic.twitter.com/TngQzCpxZY
— John Gramlich (@johngramlich) November 8, 2023
Despite all the talk about being the party of common sense, the unofficial numbers show that only 48% of Ohio’s eligible voters showed up to vote on Tuesday. This continues a trend of decreasing voter turnout that started in 2018. This excludes the 2020 presidential race, but outside of having former President Donald Trump on the ballot, there hasn’t been a single issue that forces otherwise apathetic Republican voters to cast their ballot. (ROOKE: Leftist Moral Rot, Not Conservative Bullying, Killed The Alabama Drag Queen Preacher)
Completely stupid and naive to tell pro-lifers to compromise on abortion. The pro-abortion side isn’t interested in compromise. They’re for abortion on demand through all nine months without apology – nothing less. They will fight as adamantly against a 25 week ban as they will…
— Allie Beth Stuckey (@conservmillen) November 8, 2023
The Republican Party failed miserably to prepare for this election. ABC exit polls found that “46 percent of people who voted in Ohio today said they voted for Biden in 2020, versus 43 percent for Trump.”
Surely, there are a lot of reasons why people did not show up to polls yesterday that have nothing to do with their views on abortion. However, it is undeniable that this issue deserves galvanizing support from the party that claims to understand the importance of human life and what it means to give everyone a chance at life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
The narrative coming from the GOP machine is that abortion is a losing issue. While gaining favor with the Susan B. Anthony List is important in a Republican primary, they act like any general election leaves them with both hands tied behind their back. The idea is to ignore it and hope their opponent doesn’t bring it up.
Voting is possibly one of the easiest ways Republicans can participate in their government — so it’s shocking there were not enough voters willing to show up to protect innocent life on Tuesday. Still, why would any voter wait in a government line on a cold November Tuesday to vote for a political party’s objectives when they act like losing is all they can deliver?
Democrats run every election with the understanding that defeat is not an option and the only way to win is if voters actually cast their ballot. It’s no surprise when they mop the floor with Republicans. The GOP’s leadership can’t even reach out to ballot and voter registration expert Scott Presler, who runs a one-man machine ping-ponging operation across the country, teaching people how to create more Republican voters.
Presler says he has contacted GOP Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel for 207 unanswered days to ask for help in overhauling their campaign strategy, according to a Wednesday Twitter post.
Today is day #207 of my asking the @GOPChairwoman for a response.
— #ThePersistence (@ScottPresler) November 8, 2023
Why wouldn’t the leader of the GOP want to connect with someone who single-handedly created the party’s only effective response to the Democrat’s well-oiled election machine? Did they decide that losing every election and blaming it on Trump would be an effective voter turnout strategy in the future? The base is tuning them out and refusing to show up to vote.
It’s not enough to sprinkle a few yard signs around town a couple of weeks before the race is over. Democrats act in military precision, going door-to-door and getting their voters to the polls. (ROOKE: The Only Thing The GOP Loves More Than Donor Money Is Losing To The Dems)
Where is the GOP’s outreach to the thousands of young people marching for life around the country every year? The perfect group to ask to go out and spur voters into action. Democrats dominate Republicans in these off-year races because they concentrate on voter turnout no matter what’s on the ballet or how it gets counted.
GOP messaging needs to change. Republicans have no answer when Democrats go on television and claim that the GOP wants to take away the right to an abortion, even for cases of incest, while flashing some stock footage of a little girl playing with her toys. The cases of abortion from rape or incest are nominal compared to the number of elective abortions performed in the U.S. Still, it’s hard to fathom a little girl getting pregnant after a horrific rape, and Democrats understand the messaging behind it puts conservatives on defense.
Rather than compassionately convey their answers to helping single pregnant women get the support they need or calling for harsher punishments for abusers, the GOP flounders. Conservatives should be telling women they are important enough to protect during their most vulnerable time. Single women vote for the Democrats offering them death because the only other political party is putting its head down, hoping not to get called on.
Mary Rooke is a reporter at the Daily Caller and host of “Trad-ish with Mary Rooke.”
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller.