Dem
51
GOP
49
Yesterday, we ran an item on Jill Filipovic's whining that Joe Biden doesn't understand that abortion is his ticket to victory. We listed 10 recent headlines showing that Biden is not asleep on the job, despite what Filipovic thinks. As if to emphasize that, Biden and Kamala Harris kicked off their joint campaign with a rally in Manassas, VA, on Tuesday. Here is a photo from their rally:
Do you get the impression that Biden is not planning to talk much about reproductive rights this year? We don't. If you happen to run into Filipovic today, kindly point our blog out to her. Thank you.
Biden and Harris and their respective spouses made a rare appearance together. Usually they campaign separately to cover more ground at the same time, so this is fairly unusual. Biden was introduced by a Texas woman, Amanda Zurawski, who almost died during her pregnancy in 2022. She noted that Trump brags about killing Roe and said: "Trump brags about killing Roe v. Wade. It is unthinkable to me that anyone could cheer on these abortion bans that nearly took my life."
Biden said that the person most responsible for Roe being repealed is Donald Trump, who appointed three right-wing justices to the Supreme Court. He added his take on the Supreme Court: "They ripped away a fundamental constitutional right that was in place for nearly 50 years."
Biden asked the people in the audience to do what they could to help the Democrats take over both chambers of Congress. He said that if Congress passed a bill to restore Roe and make it the law of the land by legislation, he would gladly sign it. Incidentally, Biden's choice of Manassas is not because he is a Civil War buff. House district VA-10, where Manassas is located, is an open seat because Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-VA) is not running for reelection due to a serious illness. And nearby swing district VA-07 is also an open seat because Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) is running for governor in 2025. Hence Biden's emphasis on congressional races. Both women flipped Republican seats in 2018. Given how close the House is and how close to the White House Northern Virginia is, expect Biden to show up more than a couple of times in Prince William, Fairfax, Loudoun, Orange, Culpeper, Spotsylvania and adjacent counties this year.
Protesters who oppose Biden's position on the war in Gaza interrupted his rally at least a dozen times. This is likely to happen at future rallies as well. In the event that the protests split the Democrats and elect Donald Trump, we suspect that the protesters are not going to be pleased with Donald Trump's Middle East policy, which is basically: "What Bibi wants, Bibi gets." (V)