Matthews: The big ruse: Democrats now claim to be ‘values voters’  

Wall Street Journal reporter Molly Ball recently published a story explaining how pro-abortion rights Democrats have “changed their message.” They are reaching into the conservative playbook and commandeering terms that have long been associated with the center-right movement. As the article’s subtitle says: “Supporters of abortion access have emphasized ‘freedom’ and ‘values’ in successful campaigns in red-leaning states, with more to come in 2024.”

Democrats have recently discovered that terms like “freedom” and “values” and even “limited government” resonate with the public. According to Ball, Democratic pollsters “found that the idea of freedom was central to their self-image as Americans, an idea that resonated with men and women alike and across ages, races and geographies.” 

But abortion supporters haven’t changed their opinions or their policies, just their words — or should I say “marketing”? It’s an odd, even deceptive, switcheroo, but Democrats think it’s working for them, and they might be right.

Democratic pollster Angela Kuefler, who has advised some winning abortion-issue elections, tells the Journal, “Talking about this [abortion] in the context of values really widens our support.” And she continues, “It’s the values language that allows us to win by such big margins.” So now Democrats are claiming they are the real “values voters.”  

The Family Research Council (FRC), a Washington, D.C.-based social-conservative organization, held the first annual Values Voter Summit in 2006 (since 2021, it’s been called the Pray Vote Stand Summit). Speakers and attendees are very conservative socially, politically and economically, and virtually all of them strongly oppose abortion.   

Democrats know they are co-opting a conservative message. Kuefler says, “The ‘freedom’ argument both speaks to a value we have and undercuts a Republican brand advantage.” The reporter adds, “By values, she [Kuefler] explained, she was principally talking about the idea of freedom.”  

Kuefler is certainly correct that the notion of freedom has been a conservative and Republican value, as has liberty. Either or both of those words are frequently used in conjunction with the ideals that have guided the post-war conservative and libertarian movements. The think tank where I work, the Institute for Policy Innovation, even has “freedom” at the top of the homepage as one of the three words defining the organization’s mission. “Innovation” and “growth” (i.e., policies that promote economic growth) are the other two.  

And Republicans are aware of the word heist. Ball writes, “Republicans have noticed the resonance with their liberty-loving voters. ‘They stole freedom!’ one antiabortion Republican consultant recently remarked.”  

Democrats are embracing other terms that have long been part of the conservative message. One pro-abortion rights group adopted the name “Kansans for Constitutional Freedom,” attempting to co-opt the center-right’s respect for the Constitution, even though the Constitution doesn’t guarantee Democrats the rights they’re pushing.   

And here’s a liberal, pro-abortion rights organization whose name blurs all the left-right lines: “Arkansans for Limited Government.”   

To be very clear, the large majority of those supporting abortion access are left-leaning people who want the government involved in virtually every aspect of our lives, from the womb-to-tomb. Or maybe in this case I should say after-womb-to-tomb.  

And there’s one more bizarre aspect of the left’s new “values” campaign. They want to ensure that the government doesn’t interfere in people’s health care decisions. One of the polling questions that Kuefler says registered so well was: “Should personal decisions like abortion be up to women rather than the government?”  

But the large majority of Democrats want the government to run the health care system. In a Gallup poll last January, 72 percent of Democrats said they would prefer a government-run health care system. Only 13 percent of Republicans agreed.   

If the government is running the health care system, the government will be making health care decisions. It is all about control, not freedom of choice. When Democrats passed the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare), they included a mandate to have health insurance — and only government-approved insurance policies qualified. Where was my freedom to choose the health coverage I wanted, or to have no coverage at all?   

If medical conditions preclude a couple from having children, can they opt out of ObamaCare’s contraceptive or maternity coverage? No. Everyone had to have coverage that included all of the government-mandated benefits, whether individuals wanted or needed those options or not.  

One more thing: Ball says, “at a time when their party’s stances on many other issues are unpopular,” the perceived success of stressing values and freedom in the pro-abortion rights fight means Democrats are thinking about taking that message to other policy fights. But they won’t be promoting American values, they will be pushing center-left policies hidden behind conservative-leaning phrases.  

Merrill Matthews is a resident scholar with the Institute for Policy Innovation in Dallas, Texas. Follow him on X@MerrillMatthews.