All this stuff seems to tie into a trend I'm seeing from conservatives/Pubs: A war on the 14th amendment (equal protection).
I've heard more about the 14th amendment (and "unenumerated rights") and how it shouldn't be used to grant so many rights (what a fucking bizarre position to take, people have too many rights) over this last SC confirmation hearing than I've really ever heard before.
It sounds like as Republicans move toward establishing a narrative delegitimizing the 14th for the sake of getting Roe overturned, they're willing to burn everything else predicated on the amendment to the ground to get what they want.
Also ties into the "personhood" argument for the unborn: if they're a person then the 14th can be turned around and applied to them thanks to the language of the amendment.
the reason they might be making these "embarrassing errors in defense of their dubious legislative policies about rights-limiting via constitutional arguments" is really just them getting very close to understanding the toxicity of their inhuman beliefs, which fundamentally run counter to the "American exceptionalism" that they seem to believe exists, but never willing to acquiesce to that lesson, simply handwaving away their failure to do simple logic with "No, but God wants it
this way, anyway."
Republicans are fundamentally bigoted, theocratic psychopaths. They have no talent and no skill for modern society, and certainly not for leadership. These are all of them ghouls, screaming in the expanding darkness of their decaying religio-fascist cult. They are the biggest threat to human advancement and achievement in the world today. They aren't just trying to eradicate democracy at home, they have been actively sabotaging it around the world, especially after empowering not-at-all-shy fascists like Bannon and Miller, via Trump and the brain cult. Look how the GOP has championed Trumps attempt to dissolve Ukraine, how several GOP congresscritters took a vacation in Russia on July 4th in support of their actual president.