politics

He's working really fucking hard at ensuring his defeat with Netanyahu's help. I'd be disgusted with his self-sabotage even if I didn't care about Palestinians.

I mean, his administration has done lots of things within their power to help protect reproductive rights. You're not wrong they'd need the senate to codify roe v wade or even be able to get a judge on the supreme court. They'd probably need to end the filibuster to get it through too.

Here's a summary of some of the executive actions they have taken. https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/08/politics/what-is-in-biden-abortion-executive-order/index.html

His administration has also launched multiple lawsuits across the country trying to protect abortion rights, and defended against Republican lawsuits trying to restrict them further. Having all these federal agencies making rules and regulations trying to support rather than restrict reproductive rights is still important.

So you're right that he can't codify roe v wade nationally without senate and house control as well as getting rid of the filibuster or some miracle cooperation by republicans. But all of the executive actions, the resources of the justice department, etc could be used to attack reproductive rights rather than defend them if a republican were to be elected.

I mean, what's he supposed to do right now? Republicans still control both houses of congress (or, at least, hold enough seats to render both houses impotent). The upcoming congressional elections matter as much as (or potentially more than) the presidential election.

Since 2023 the Democrats haven't had a majority in the House and prior to that they only had a pseudo-majority in the Senate because of Manchin and Sinema. They passed the Right to Contraception Act and it died in the Senate. They passed the Women's Health Protection Act of 2022 and it was voted downin the Senate (also get fucked Manchin). Ensuring Access to Abortion Act passed and died in the Senate. Biden, via the Pentagon, is reimbursing members of the military for travel to seek abortion.

You want them to do more? Get them a real majority in both chambers. Granted, they squandered previous majorities by not codifying abortion access but as I recall the last big, heavily opposed bill they passed (Obamacare) still only made it through with a slim margin and if abortion access was a part of that bill it may not have passed.

To say they did nothing just isn't true. In all of 20 seconds of searching you could have found this https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/07/08/fact-sheet-president-biden-to-sign-executive-order-protecting-access-to-reproductive-health-care-services/

Maybe they could have done more? Sure.

You seem to think a president can act unilaterally. Or that Joe Manchin and Kirsten Sinema weren't holding the senate by the balls until the house got taken by Republicans two years ago.

Abortion, guns, medical costs, student loans.

It's more a list of generally winning issues for Democrats to be trotted out ever 2-4 years. With the added 'benefit' of Republicans fucking up abortion rights so bad that now it's a flagship issue for Dems more than it has been since Roe.

Well, after they dangle it long enough that most states amend their constitution via ballot proposal, they will start to promise to fix ACA, even though they could have done that in 2021, or repeal citizens untied (even though they could have done that in 2021), or fix the voting rights act (even though they could have done that in 2021).

It feels like they’re just dangling common sense things to motivate people.
Republicans have wedge issues. Democrats have unfulfilled promises. Neither leads or governs.