Stuff You Should Consume - April 17, 2023

Welcome to this week’s edition of “Stuff You Should Consume,”— a weekly compilation of interesting political content for Message Box readers.

“Focus groups: Pennsylvania swing voters detest MAGA and abortion overreach” by Alexi McCammond, Axios

Half of the voters were "pro-life" — but they did not support the decision by a federal judge in Texas that the FDA's approval of mifepristone is invalid and therefore should no longer be available.

- "It's between them and their God," said Donna B., a Republican "pro-life" voter. "I don't get gleeful about somebody who can't kill a baby."

- All but two of the 14 participants thought the judge's decision on mifepristone was an egregious display of partisan overreach.

“A brash new media network bets ‘Trump’ translates into Spanish” by Manuel Roig-Franzia, Washington Post

Marquez’s program is just one in a suite of 18 hours of daily news and opinion offerings from Americano, which started modestly last spring on satellite radio and has since shifted to traditional terrestrial radio, podcasts, internet audio and video streaming, and app- and web-based audio via the broadcast giant iHeart.

Its founder, Ivan Garcia-Hidalgo, a former Donald Trump surrogate who made a pile of cash selling personal protective equipment during the coronavirus pandemic, envisions a “Fox News in Spanish.” His network has adopted a Spanglishy, Trump-style motto: “No más fake news.” It has set a goal of airing on 50 radio stations in key political markets by the end of the year, which the company has estimated would give it the potential to reach as many as 10 million listeners — approximately 1 in 6 Hispanics in the United States. The timing is important, Garcia-Hidalgo said, because he wants his network “robust and ready” to play a role in trying to boost the percentage of Latinos voting Republican in the 2024 presidential election.

“Facing Tough Senate Race, Montana G.O.P. Looks to Change the Rules” by Nick Corasaniti, New York Times

The bill would rewrite the rules for the state’s next U.S. Senate race and only that race. The 2024 fight to oust Senator Jon Tester, a Democrat, is expected to be one of the tightest in the country.

The legislation would shift the contest from a traditional election into a “top two” primary system, making it exceedingly difficult for third parties to reach a general election ballot. Some believe the system would keep the state’s vibrant Libertarian Party from siphoning votes from the Republican nominee.

“This plan for a third-party presidential bid in 2024 is dangerous” by Jonathan Cowan, Rahna Epting, and Patrick Gaspard

Though it can’t win the race, No Labels can affect the outcome. In 2016, Trump won the battleground states of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan. In 2020, his share of the vote in each actually increased, but he lost all three. The reason? Biden won the votes of those who had chosen Jill Stein, Gary Johnson or another also-ran in 2016 by a 30-point margin. Such voters have peeled away before, and, if given the choice, they could certainly do so again, especially if lured by a well-funded campaign.

“Abortion Attitudes in a Post-Roe World: Findings From the 50-State 2022 American Values Atlas” by the Public Religion Research Institute

Just under two-thirds of Americans (64%) say that abortion should be legal in most or all cases, while roughly one-third (34%) say it should be illegal in most or all cases. More granularly, 30% say abortion should be legal in all cases, 34% say it should be legal in most cases, 25% say it should be illegal in most cases, and just 9% say it should be illegal in all cases.

The share of Americans who say abortion should be legal in most or all cases has continued to increase since PRRI began tracking abortion legality in 2010, when it was at 55%. The share of those who say abortion should be illegal in most or all cases has shrunk (from 42% in 2010 to 34% now), with the proportion who say abortion should be illegal in all cases seeing the largest decline (from 15% in 2010 to 9% now).