Spanky faced with major revolt over policy flip-flop

Friday night, August 30, GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump is scheduled to speak at Moms for Liberty's third national summit in Washington, D.C. The controversial far-right group has drawn widespread criticism for, critics say, an aggressive campaign to purge, from public schools, Black and gay literature that differs from its Christian nationalist agenda.

In a scathing article published the same day, Salon's Amanda Marcotte slams the Trump campaign's Moms for Liberty outreach as a "desperate" attempt to cope with Democratic rival Kamala Harris' advantage among women voters.

"Donald Trump has a woman problem — and it's not just his pending court cases regarding his sexual assault of journalist E. Jean Carroll," Marcotte argues. "Polling shows a growing divergence between male and female voters that could become the largest election gender gap in history…. It's not hard to see why most women despise Trump, a man who bragged about sexually assaulting women on tape."

Marcotte continues, "On the policy front, of course, Trump is the single person most responsible for the overturn of Roe v. Wade. The published agenda for his second term, Project 2025, includes plans for a national abortion ban and restrictions on contraception. Not only does Trump not try to hide his misogyny, but his campaign makes it a selling point in a bid to win over bitter male voters…. Trump's campaign is in danger if he can't get at least a few skeptical women to vote for him. "

But Marcotte emphasizes that Trump's Moms for Liberty outreach is unlikely to win over women voters — if anything, he risks alienating them even more.

"Moms for Liberty's fall from political grace has been as rapid as their rise to prominence," the Philadelphia-based journalist explains. "Associating with the group is more likely to hurt Trump with female voters than to help him."

Marcotte notes that although Moms for Liberty initially promoted themselves as a "parental rights" group, they were "in reality…. controlled by far-right activists with deep ties to Christian nationalism."

"When Moms for Liberty-linked school board members started taking actions like banning books and vilifying LGBTQ teachers, it provoked a nationwide backlash, with parents in affected communities coming together to kick Moms for Liberty members off their school boards," Marcotte observes. "It's safe to say the 'Moms for Liberty' brand is toxic now."

Donald Trump was put on notice by the head of an important organization that gets out the vote for conservatives that he can expect them to stay home in November if he refuses to come out in favor of the strictest of abortion laws.

Speaking with Politico's Ian Ward, Lila Rose, the longtime head of prominent anti-abortion group Live Action, fumed at the former president waffling on abortion rights as he takes on Vice President Kamala Harris who has made the right of a woman to control her body a key plank in her campaign.

Facing that, the former president has claimed he won't push for a national ban on abortions if re-elected — something his running mate J.D Vance was adamant about in recent interviews — and that, along with Trump saying he respects several exceptions, has Rose fuming and making threats.

Speaking with Ward, Rose raved, "The recent statements that they have been making — increasingly pro-abortion statements — and the positions that they are choosing to take are making it untenable for pro-life voters to get out the vote for them. This is, unfortunately, the path that they’ve chosen," adding, "I would not vote for Harris. If the election were today, I would not vote for Harris or Trump based on their policies and their statements and their positions."

"I think it’s very foolish what he’s doing. It’s politically unwise, it may cost him the election, and it’s morally unprincipled as well. Right now, it’s all about turnout. If he wants to galvanize his base, he needs to stop trying to pander to Kamala Harris’ base, because they’re never going to vote for him anyway," she warned before offering up, "It’s ironic that they might blame pro-lifers for an election but then they need pro-life votes. They’re kind of shooting themselves in the foot by blaming their own base."

Adding, "I think that it’s the job of the pro-life movement to demand protection for pre-born lives. It is not the job of the pro-life movement to vote for President Trump," she gave the former president a little wiggle-room saying he is getting "bad advice" from his inner circle to moderate his policies on abortion.

"In some cases, you can make the argument that it can be the right move to vote for the lesser of two evils. But part of our job is not to just accept whatever position we’ve been handed — especially from a politician who, in the past, has counted on our vote and has indicated that he is pro-life [before] changing his position," she explained but later added, "You can torture data to get it to tell you any number of things, but I think it’s completely false that pro-life is a losing issue. I think it completely depends on how it’s presented, on who’s presenting it, and of course the money involved. I know the state ballot initiatives are being trotted out as the reason why you can’t be pro-life in a federal election. I think that’s garbage."

"I think it’s very foolish what he’s doing. It’s politically unwise, it may cost him the election, and it’s morally unprincipled as well. Right now, it’s all about turnout. If he wants to galvanize his base, he needs to stop trying to pander to Kamala Harris’ base, because they’re never going to vote for him anyway," she warned before offering up, "It’s ironic that they might blame pro-lifers for an election but then they need pro-life votes. They’re kind of shooting themselves in the foot by blaming their own base."