Ron and Rand Paul (Gage Skidmore)

Several years ago, I had a conversation with a friend I like to discuss politics with about the future of the GOP. I told her Republicans have long wanted to overturn Roe V. Wade. My friend said that if they ever tried that it would cost them at the polls because women would vote against Republican candidates en masse.

At the time I agreed, but now I see Republican states across the country implementing draconian anti-choice laws like Alabama’s that would jail women for 99 years, even if they had an abortion outside the state! And it’s not just Alabama. Other states, such as Florida and Ohio, are testing anti-abortion laws. These laws are unconstitutional and would be argued up to the Supreme Court, where the 5–4 conservative majority might offer a favorable ruling.

But it’s not just abortion that conservatives want to do away with. I’ve also learned that Republicans don’t just want to outlaw Roe V. Wade, they also want to overturn the entire 20th century, essentially that means eliminating all of the progressive legislation passed by Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson. Women’s rights are in the GOP’s crosshairs, but black people should be worried too.

I see civil rights and affirmative action laws as next up on the chopping block. Christian fundamentalists are a huge voting block in the GOP, and the move to overturn Roe V. Wade is a gift to them. If Trump and his cronies overturn Roe V. Wade, fundamentalist Christians will keep voting GOP for decades. But white supremacists are another key GOP constituency. These are people who believe that this country should maintain its white male hegemony and the wrong side won the Civil War.

Trump is a white supremacist/nationalist and his comments and policies back up this belief. When Trump called African nations “sh*tholecountries” and launched attacks, backed by national policy, on Latino immigrants, he sent a message to white supremacists showing he was in their corner. And he continues to send them blatant messages such as refusing to congratulate the no. 1 pick in the NFL draft Kyle Murray, who is black. Instead, he congratulated the no. 2 draft pick Nick Bosa, who’s made racist social media comments. Trump has also insulted the intelligence of black journalists and politicians.

If you don’t believe this can happen, understand that we live in unusual times. We have to expect the unexpected and the outrageous. Plus, the far-right has shown it’s okay with legal discrimination. Texas Republicans are pushing a state bill that allows any certified worker to refuse service based on their religious beliefs. So in Texas, a mechanic could refuse service to a gay couple by complaining their lifestyle offended his religious sensibilities.

There is also a strain of libertarianism that has argued that people should have the right to discriminate. Their point is that the government has no business telling you what to do in your home or business. And Sen. Rand Paul has made this point. During an interview with The Louisville Courier-Journal , he criticized the Civil Rights Act.

“I think it’s a bad business decision to exclude anybody from your restaurant — but, at the same time, I do believe in private ownership,” he said.

Interestingly enough his father Ron Paul was surrounded by white supremacist followers back in the days when having racist workers could still kill your presidential campaign. Ron Paul also said he would have voted against the Civil Rights Act.

According to Alternet writer Cody Fenwick, some states might use a successful overturning of Roe V. Wade to go back to the old state’s rights argument.

“The Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide with its 2015 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, critics of the decision made the same type of argument — insisting that Texas or Louisiana shouldn’t have to govern marriage in the same way as California. If the ‘states’ rights’ argument is successfully used in overturning Roe, it could also be used in overturning Obergefell,” said Fenwick.

In the Trump era, I’ve learned to not say things can’t get worse.