Democrats Can’t Let Republicans Get Away With Their “Pro-Family” Rebrand

By Danielle Deiseroth

On Wednesday, only one candidate at the second 2024 Republican presidential primary debate was asked about the impending crisis facing millions of parents across the country. On September 30, pandemic-era child care funding is set to expire. With families already feeling the pinch of high prices due to inflation, this child care cliff has the potential to push hard-working families across the country to the brink. 

Alarmingly, new polling from Data for Progress finds that 53% of women voters say they would consider cutting their work hours if they lost access to child care. Sixty-seven percent of voters, including 70% of parents with at least one child under age 18, support $16 billion in continued funding to prevent child care scarcity and keep child care costs from increasing. The overwhelming support among parents and non-parents alike underscores that voters recognize that strong American families mean a stronger America for all.

Meanwhile, Republicans are hinging their 2024 electoral prospects on rebranding themselves as the “pro-family” political party. Over the next year, Republicans will be working overtime to convince voters they’re going to deliver for families — and Democrats cannot let them get away with it. 

Earlier this year, Republicans in Congress introduced their “Parents’ Bill of Rights,” laying the groundwork for a central plank of their 2024 platform. In recent years, they’ve tried to market their efforts under the banner of “parents’ rights” — seizing upon parents’ unease about COVID-19 school closures to usher in a new era of book bans and curriculum censorships. Now, when you hear Republicans talk about their family agenda, it has more to do with undermining LGBTQ+ rights and censoring discussions on race than it does with tangible solutions to improve the health and well-being of America’s children.

In 2022, the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade flipped the culture war on its head. Republicans’ position to restrict abortion at the state and federal levels proved incredibly unpopular, and it’s a big part of why women voters fueled Democrats’ historic overperformance in the 2022 midterms. Seemingly acknowledging that their stance is an electoral loser, Republicans are now trying to rebrand themselves from “pro-life” to “pro-baby” as they continue to support national abortion bans.

To re-elect President Biden and win control of Congress next year, Democrats won’t just need to maintain their 2022 margins — they’ll need to improve on them. That means refusing to allow Republicans to claim the “pro-family” and “pro-freedom” labels by consistently reminding voters of GOP efforts to restrict fundamental rights and cut taxes for the wealthy. However, in addition to calling out Republican hypocrisy, Democrats must offer voters a clear contrast and a positive vision for how the government will provide working families with much-needed economic relief.

Unlike banning books or restricting reproductive health care, Democratic pro-family policies give Americans the freedom to make choices for their families. And they’re not controversial — polling from Data for Progress finds that policies to expand access to health care, child care, education, and more are popular with voters across party lines.

Increasing the quality and affordability of long-term care for seniors and people with disabilities ranks among the most popular policies we have ever tested, with support from over 90% of voters. We also find strong support for policies that truly protect children across the country — including paid family and medical leave, universal pre-K, reducing the cost of child care, and permanently expanding the enhanced Child Tax Credit (CTC). Notably, these policies are more popular among women, who typically bear the brunt of family planning and care. 

In U.S. Census Bureau data released this month, the child poverty rate jumped to 12.4%, up from 5.2% last year. The rise can be partly attributed to the expiration of pandemic-era family policies like the CTC, which allowed millions of children to have their basic needs met for the first time. One analysis found that if the CTC was extended in 2022, 3 million children would have been kept out of poverty. 

Republicans are using false “pro-family” and “parent’s rights” branding to make it seem like they’ll actually do something for American families. But in reality, they care more about pitting different types of families against one another rather than ensuring Americans have access to the health care and support systems they need to lead happy and healthy lives. 

If Republicans are the only party talking about families in 2024, then Democrats have already lost. Too much is at stake to allow the GOP to define the narrative on family policy — Democrats should make sure to consistently tout how their agenda is delivering for families, how Republicans are taking choices away from them, and how Democrats will finish the job in 2024 to expand childcare, paid leave, postpartum care, and more. 

Voters already express strong support for the care agenda – Democrats just need to make sure they know which side to choose next year.

Danielle Deiseroth (@danielledeis) is the Executive Director at Data for Progress.