Trump, Dobbs decision giving Democrats a 'shot' in the midterms, argues Washington Post editorial board member

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A Washington Post editorial board member argued on Monday that former President Donald Trump and the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade are giving Democrats a "shot" in the midterms. 

"On the Democratic side, the big reveal turned out to be that the party isn’t as dead as everyone thought. Democrats overperformed in multiple special elections. The party’s voters are feeling more energized. President Biden’s job approval ratings have ticked up. The political handicappers have tweaked their predictions in Democrats’ direction. November could still go badly for Team Blue, but the once forecast red wave seems to have lost momentum," Michelle Cottle wrote. 

The editorial board member said that after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization case, Republicans lost momentum. 

"Republicans are the proverbial pooch that finally caught the car — a car now threatening to turn them into a greasy patch of political roadkill. Which would absolutely serve them right," she wrote.

POLL: DEMOCRATS' MIDTERM CHANCES IMPROVE WHILE INFLATION AND ABORTION REMAIN TOP ELECTION ISSUES

Pro-choice demonstrators gather outside the Supreme Court in Washington, June 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Cottle said the political outlook brightened for Democrats after the Dobbs decision. "The Democratic Party is still sharply divided among its center, left and far-left factions, with the capacity for rowdy progressives to hurt moderate Democrats in battleground states. But for now, the combination of Dobbs and Trumpism on the march is acting as a pretty potent glue," she said. 

She added that Democrats were going hard against Republicans on abortion and "learning to love their inner culture warrior."

"Republicans are scurrying around, trying to avoid getting hit by the backlash over the end of Roe. Multiple candidates are claiming more nuanced positions and softening their rhetoric as they tiptoe away from the more aggressive stances of their past. At least a couple have scrubbed their websites of anti-abortion statements," Cottle contended. 

Cottle added that this was a turning point in the culture war debate. 

Former President Trump stressed the importance of restoring law and order in his first speech in Washington, D.C., since leaving office. (Getty Images)

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"If Democrats can keep the pressure on, abortion politics could prove increasingly painful and destructive for Republicans, stretching well beyond this crazy election season," the Washington Post editorial board member wrote. "Couldn’t happen to a more deserving party."

President Biden has repeatedly attacked "MAGA Republicans" in recent weeks in multiple speeches and said on Monday that they were "full of anger, violence, hate and division."

President Biden delivers remarks on what he calls the "continued battle for the soul of the nation" in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Sept. 1, 2022. (Reuters/Jonathan Ernst TPX Images of the Day/File Photo)

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"I want to be very clear up front, not every Republican is a MAGA Republican. Not every Republican embraces that extreme ideology," Biden said at a rally in Milwaukee. "I know because I've been able to work with mainstream Republicans in my whole career," Biden said during a Labor Day speech. "But the extreme MAGA Republicans in Congress have chosen to go backwards, full of anger, violence, hate and division."