On Friday, the Supreme Court did what was teased back in early May: It overturned Roe v. Wade, much to the shock of easily duped lawmakers. Suddenly women in at least a dozen states were unable to procure a safe and legal abortion. More states are bound to follow, and there’s fear that that’s just the beginning of even more infringements on civil rights. Though it’s the endgame of a long con that began decades ago, there hasn’t been much rejoicing. Even Donald Trump, who stacked the court with rightwing extremists, has reportedly trashed it in private, fretting that it may lead to backlash from voters.
On Sunday, others tried to play damage control. Peggy Noonan, longtime conservative columnist and former Reagan speechwriter, participated in a panel on NBC’s Meet the Press. She offered some advice to her buds.
“You know what the Republican party should do now?” she said. “ It should use this victory, if you see it that way, to change itself and become a party that helps women — to change its reputation and become a party that helps women and children become responsible and supportive.”
Before she could even get halfway through her line, her fellow panelists, including host Chuck Todd, were laughing. Was it because the party is still largely beholden to a former president who’s been credibly accused of sexual misconduct by several women? Was it because they just took rights away from women?
In any case, they weren’t the only ones laughing at Noonan’s logic.
On Meet the Press this week Peggy Noonan tried to say with a straight face that the Republican Party should "use this victory" to reform itself and improve its standing with women. Watch as the whole panel dissolves in laughter. pic.twitter.com/SDCleEQWxx clip via @DavidEdwards.
— Jay Rosen (@jayrosen_nyu) June 26, 2022
https://twitter.com/orchidsuzie/status/1541086527098322949
The entire "Meet the Press" panel laughed out loud at Peggy Noonan today when she said the GOP "should become a party that helps women" after its abortion "victory." pic.twitter.com/uSth0nkutC
— David Edwards (@DavidEdwards) June 26, 2022
https://twitter.com/MattGoldberg/status/1541089774165004288
Peggy Noonan is so disconnected from reality…. so, nothing has really changed. That kind of ignorance and lack of self-awareness is just the prerequisite to be a Republican. https://t.co/6gjUYjs8Bm
— Grant Stern (@grantstern) June 26, 2022
Peggy Noonan just made me roll eyes on #mtp with her comment about how Republicans should take this overturning of Roe as a win and now show women how much they care about them. 🙄
Needless to say, everyone else at the roundtable giggled because they living in reality.
— just me and dog (@GdCopBdCop) June 26, 2022
https://twitter.com/BromonaQuimby/status/1541061424600043521
Meanwhile, there are people on the right celebrating the destruction of Roe v. Wade. One of them, Rep. Mary Miller, told a crowd at a Trump rally that it was a victory for “white life.”
You can watch the entire panel discussion in the video above. Noonan’s comments begin around the 7:45 mark.