One of my favorite parts of any election cycle where Republicans are poised to do well is when some “Republicans” come out to remind their party that wanting to see a full ban on abortion is totally going to kill any chances they have of winning in the upcoming election. 2022 is proving to be no exception.

Take noted Absolutely Still A Conservative Bill Kristol, for example.

In NRSC chair Sen. Rick Scott's 11-point plan for a Republican Congress, point #9 asserts "unborn babies are babies" and "abortion takes a human life." This surely implies a federal law banning abortion. GOP House and Senate candidates: Are you for this?https://t.co/D4G9D8yzGa

— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) February 22, 2022

Nevermind that the GOP has held that position for years – decades, even – almost all of which Kristol was in the party and supporting them.

These talks have been gearing up since December when an unnamed GOP consultant told Axios that it could derail the party’s hopes and dreams this November.

Why it matters: The GOP has the best political environment in a decade leading into the midterms — and the last thing top party operatives want is for the Democratic base to become energized if the Supreme Court narrows or overturns Roe v. Wade.

• As one longtime GOP political operative put it to Axios, it’s one “big flare-up” that could “derail what could be a 2010-level victory next year for the party and the movement.”
• “Republicans and operatives in the party, I don’t think they’re ready. They better get ready before this decision comes out,” the operative said.

The big fear among these Republicans is the Supreme Court, which is poised to rule on the matter this summer (and it doesn’t seem to look good for abortion advocates at the moment). It seems that everyone on the left is already terrified about what could happen, and now some Republicans are worried it’ll hurt their power or their income. The horror.

But there are a couple of things in play here, and a possible abortion “boost” in Democratic turnout is likely not going to help all that much.

Emerson is out with a new poll that currently has the GOP at +9 on the generic ballot and has President Joe Biden at 42 percent approval. The Federal Reserve appears poised to raise rates by about half a point in the near future, which will almost assuredly cause a recession. The Biden Administration continues to flail about on virtually every issue, which a new international crisis on the verge of adding to that.

Partisan Democrats are likely to be motivated if the Supreme Court alters or eradicates Roe this summer, but it will probably not be that big of a motivator to keep Democrats in power if literally everything else is crumbling all around them. Which it appears to be.

So, these “Republicans” and consultants who are worried aren’t really focusing on all the data, just the same, tired worries of election cycles past. Worries that never really pan out.