WASHINGTON — In the hours following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe V. Wade, Democrats in tight races like Rep. Angie Craig launched urgent fundraising appeals. These appeals seem to have touched a nerve with Democratic donors.
Craig appealed that Tyler Kistner, my opponent, calls himself “100% pro-life” and would gladly support Republicans’ agenda to ban abortion if elected. He refuses to defend abortion access. It is crucial to preserve MN-02’s integrity and keep the House in blue during this pivotal time in our nation’s national history.
MinnPost spoke with Kistner, a Republican who said he was pro-life but would back abortion if a mother’s life were in danger. These are the foils of Democratic appeals that fill email boxes and social media channels.
Democrats such as Craig are hoping to capitalize on the fear and anguish many pro-choice Democrats feel about the loss of constitutional right to abortion and new threats in the state legislatures.
Craig’s fundraising email stated that “(As) GOP state legislatures pass more severe anti-abortion legislations and congressional Republicans push to ban the entire country, it is clear this is the Republican Party’s priority.”
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz asked for $10 to “win in November” as a fundraising effort.
Walz stated that “Our Republican adversaries have promised to ban abortion completely if we win,” Walz added.
In a text message sent by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee almost immediately following the court’s ROE decision Nancy Pelosi asked for $15 donations from contributors to “defeat any Republican for what they have done.”
A smaller number of Republicans are raising money in hopes that Democrats in Congress will codify abortion rights. This is something that was attempted last month, but failed in the U.S. Senate.
Michelle Fischbach (R-7 th), who attended a GOP press conference to praise the Supreme Court on day of its Roe ruling, didn’t directly ask for campaign donations but did place a button on an email campaign about abortion that allowed supporters request a yard sign. People who requested a yard sign were directed on a page that had a button that said “donate”.
Fischbach appealed that while we should celebrate today’s historic moment, we must also be vigilant for the vitriol from the radical left and unpredicted retribution. “Left-wing politicians already called for the expansion of the Supreme Court, the impeachment of Justice Kavanaugh and the elimination the filibuster from the United States Senate.”
Donations can spike dramatically when high-profile events like the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg are reported.
It’s evident that the abortion issue is causing more Democrats to write checks than Republicans. The DCCC’s fundraising speed increased after a draft Supreme Court opinion was leaked to the public on May 3. According to reports filed with the Federal Elections Commission, the DCCC raised almost $12 million during May. The DCCC’s GOP counterpart, the National Republican Congressional Committee, headed by Rep. Tom Emmer (R-6 th), raised just $9 million in May. Now that Roe’s reversal is official, the fundraising gap will likely widen.
Rep. Betty McCollum, D- 4 th, reminded potential donor that she voted for Roe to be codified into law and “I will never stop fighting for abortion rights.”
“But I cannot do it alone. McCollum stated that this is the time for everyone to demand federal action in order to finally achieve these goals.
McCollum chief staff and campaign advisor Bill Harper stated that the appeal raised almost $10,000 in just one day.
Harper stated, “That is a very positive response from us, especially considering that every federal and state Democrat of Minnesota was sending similar emails.”
He said that while younger pro-choice protestors may have marched in protest, older, more wealthy women were more likely open their wallets.
Harper stated that Harper received the maximum amount of donations when Harper put out her appeal. Harper also said that women who have never donated to Harper’s campaign were able to give more.
Now MinnPost is launching a fundraising appeal:
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Ketchup on the Wall
Washington D.C. was not only shaken by the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade but also the shocks caused by this week’s revelations from a surprising witness at an expeditiously arranged hearing of the January 6 special committee.
Cassidy Hutchinson was a White House chief of staff aide and told lawmakers that Trump tried to seize control of a presidential vehicle to reach the Capitol to prevent a mob from stopping Congress from certifying the win of President Joe Biden.
Hutchinson also stated that Trump and his closest friends were warned about violence Jan. 6. She added that Trump threw his lunch at Oval Office wall after learning from William Barr, the then-Attorney general, that there was no evidence that widespread fraud occurred in 2020’s election. Hutchinson claimed that she and a White House valet removed ketchup from the wall.
Trump called Hutchinson “a liar” in a series on Truth Social, which he and his friends created after he was banned Twitter.
He wrote, “Her Fake Story… Is ‘Sick’ and Fraudulent.”
Jan. 6 hearings were postponed while the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate were on extended July 4th break. When Congress returns to work, hearings will continue. There is little evidence that they are changing minds in a country that has become partisan.
Quinnipiac’s recent poll revealed that 64% of respondents believed the attack was planned and not spontaneous. Democrats claimed 84%, while independents stated 61%. The Republican respondents were split with 49% saying the attack was planned and 46% saying that it was spontaneous.
However, Americans are divided on whether Trump did something wrong by trying to alter the results of the 2020 election. 46% said he had committed a crime while 47% said he didn’t. These results are basically unchanged from the Quinnipiac University Poll of April 6, 2022, which was taken several weeks before the Jan. 6 hearing.
Emmer wins (partially) on the jail-health issue
Despite political polarization, Rep. Tom Emmer won a bipartisan victory on a bill he co-sponsored with a Maryland Democrat Rep. David Trone.
Emmer, a House Republican who is active on mental health issues, sponsored a bill to allow people incarcerated in jails prior to their trials to continue on Medicaid. In the current system, inmates who are currently being held must be transferred to any health program offered by their institution. This could cause disruption for people who are receiving treatment for mental disorders.
Just before the U.S. House went on a two-week recess it approved legislation that allowed juvenile detainees to continue to receive Medicaid-funded mental healthcare while they waited for trial. Although this is only a partial victory, adult inmates will still lose their Medicaid coverage. Emmer stated that the bill would “help our local law enforcement better handle the shockingly large percentage of inmates suffering from mental illness.”
He stated that “pretrial detainees, by definition, are presumed innocent,” in a speech to the U.S. The House floor. “As a matter if due process, we shouldn’t be denying critical benefits to anyone who is not convicted of any crime.”
The Restoring Hope for Mental Health and Well-Being Act was approved on a vote of 402-20. It would allow for more and better programs, grants, and activities that are focused on mental and behavioral healthcare.
The bill would expand access to opioid and other drug treatment. It would eliminate a requirement that individuals have been addicted to opioids for at most one year before they can be admitted to an opioid treatment program.
The Restoring Hope for Mental Health and Well-Being Act was approved by the House. Another measure sponsored Emmer and Trone was also passed. It would establish a new office within the Department of Health and Human Services to streamline intervention in behavioral health crises.
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