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Obamacare, abortion and the ease of extremism

If conservatives got their wish and saw Roe struck down tomorrow, they would probably be surprised by how painful and unsatisfying theyd find the legislative process that followed.

By Megan McArdle | Updated on February 08, 2017
If conservatives got their wish and saw Roe struck down tomorrow, they would probably be surprised by how painful and unsatisfying they’d find the legislative process that followed. (Photo: AP)

As Republicans struggle to find a way to repeal and replace Obamacare, and liberals and conservatives gear up for a battle over Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, it strikes me that the same lesson can be drawn from both phenomena: how much easier it is to hold radical opinions when you have no hope of passing legislation.

What do I mean by that? Well, consider the Judicial Wars. Of course, different people will have different dates for the start of that long conflict, but there’s a plausible argument that it began with the sweeping decision in Roe v. Wade. At a stroke, the Supreme Court cut down all the nation’s abortion laws, and took the question out of the political process.

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