A handful of states are headed to one-party rule — and its drama – By Lisa Kashinsky (Politico) / Nov 2, 2022
When the convenient political foil is gone, the intraparty squabbling begins.
BOSTON — Democratic legislative leaders in deep-blue Massachusetts knew they wanted to expand abortion access and shore up protections for patients and providers after Roe v. Wade fell.
There was just one problem: Republican Gov. Charlie Baker.
Baker supports abortion rights but he vetoed parts of a 2020 bill codifying them into state law over issues with access to the procedure later in pregnancy. The possibility he could do so again this summer spurred unusually public squabbling between Democrats over what Baker would approve.
Baker ultimately signed the abortion bill. But the episode shows how Democrats have spent the last eight years either using the Republican as a foil — or blaming him for being an impediment who “makes it harder to actually get things like abortion protections over the finish line,” Mike Connolly, a progressive state representative, said in an interview.
CONTINUE: https://www.politico.com/news/2022/11/02/one-party-rule-midterm-elections-00064535
