Here's the thing about the US Government
While it's a representative body, I think we need to understand who they represent
I am under no illusions that the Founding Fathers actually meant the phrase, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.” when they wrote it. At least not the all men part. But it did feel like we made some major strides to be more inclusive in the last 100 years.
However, today, in 2025, our legislative body represents the few, yet again. In a 2014 study, the authors, Martin Gilens and Benjamin I. Page, prove exactly that. In an unsurprising turn of events, most legislation passed requires lobbying to do so, meaning that the people or corporations with the most money win. The top 200 companies in the five years leading up to the study spent around six billion dollars lobbying Congress. The return on their investment? Over four trillion dollars in total, paid for by tax payers.
A non-monetary conclusion: the amount of public support does not change the likelihood of a law being passed. Literally. Studying the 20 years prior the publication, the authors proved that the majority of Americans have a “near zero” affect on passing legislation. Put plainly, if 0% of Americans support an issue or 100% of Americans support an issue - the likelihood of a bill being passed in favor of that support is always 30%.
Nothing proves this more than the overturning of Roe V Wade. Over 60% of Americans believe that abortion should be legal. Only 36% believe it should be illegal in almost every case - so why and how did that 36% get enough power to bring cases up to the friendliest Supreme Court in decades?
WHY?
Let’s take a look at the history and then the money. Because in 1973, when Roe V Wade became the federal law of the land, the only outspoken folks against it was the Catholic Church. The majority of Republicans believed in abortion rights, a la the Libertarians - “not my circus, not my monkeys” kinda way. But from the brilliant, conniving mind of Jerry Falwell, we see the Moral Majority rise in 1979. The pro-life movement was a uniting factor for the Christian Right. A reactionary move once the Supreme Court said that religious schools, found all over the south to combat integration, that proved to be discriminatory would lose their tax-exempt status.
The Christian Right found their spokesperson in Norma McCorvey, the Jane Doe in the original case (Roe was another anonymous woman), who seemingly made a 180 degree turn on her ideas on abortion. It was all a lie. In 2017, she admitted on her death bed she accepted over 500,000 dollars to say what they needed her to say.
But the pro-life movement, while only representing 36% of American voters still managed to get exactly what they wanted - overturning of Roe V Wade. And people will argue it’s states’ rights and that BS. But we can talk about that a different time.
HOW?
Money baby. A quick internet search will tell you that billions of dollars were funneled to conservative causes surrounding the pro-life movement from 1999 to present day. To name a few:
Alliance Defending Freedom
Richard and Helen Devos’s Foundation
Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation
John M Olin Foundation
National Christian Foundation
Now, these billions of dollars were not exclusively for the pro-life movement, but apart of the big push to move the entire United States political spectrum to the right. Meaning, conservative think tanks like the Heritage Foundation were built; politicians were elected who appointed conservative judges; the Tea Party was founded; it’s all fucking linked.
But my point stands. Even though the majority of the electorate believes that abortion should be accessible, the law of the land that held firm for nearly fifty years was washed away.