Sadly, it's not a given that Americans would feel enough urgency about the current threats to democracy to turn out in droves for the Democrats this November, no matter what the January 6 committee hearings reveal this summer. But ending abortion and, as the Alito draft implies, contraception and marriage equality... those are issues that have immediacy and that people do understand. So while the leak of the draft opinion is a stunner, it does give us an extra two months to mobilize and organize for the midterms. Can't imagine that Republican campaign operatives across the country are happy about this. Let's get going!
The train wreck that is America continues to roll on. I wish I could say this is a surprise but we've known for 20 years this ruling was coming and the GOP played a masterclass long game to rig the judiciary. This ruling has been their intent since the Federalist Society was founded in 1982. And here we are. Democrats still don't know what to do other than be mad. Biden came into office saying he would look to fix the court - he hasn't and won't. Until Democrats start playing the same game the GOP is playing then this will only worsen.
“Playing the same game” to me means buying power outside of elected representatives or directly owning them, which means our votes won’t count and we have minority rule. Dems have a majority - we need a greater one to overcome the built in empowerment in our governing docs to the minority in the senate and electoral college.
Reinstated my Twitter acct so I can stay up on any organizing. Amee you do a fabulous job of keeping up with and analyzing the news. I appreciate your prospective.
I predicted six years ago that if The Former Guy was elected, he would place on the Supreme Court justices who would end Roe v. Wade. I was told at the time (and even after) that I was nuts, that I was alarmist or that I was just plain wrong. Well, here we are. If this draft opinion is accurate--and I think that it is, and that it is also very unlikely to change in any substantive way once it is formally released--exactly what I predicted is about to happen. The question now is, are "Blue States" ready? For the most part, I'd say that the answer is NO. "Red States" are studying ways to apply their anti-abortion laws outside their state's borders. Near as I can tell, only Connecticut has passed a law holding that the laws of the anti-abortion states are null and void inside its borders. ALL pro-choice states must do the same. We are already in the post Roe v. Wade era and we'd best prepare for it. Oh, another negative to think about: The Supreme Court isn't going to be satisfied with this, nor will social conservatives. They'll be coming for Obergefell next. Ditto what's left of the Voting Rights Act.
Count me as well among those who think that this draft opinion was likely released by someone who wanted to make sure that there is no "backsliding" by the conservative supermajority on the Supreme Court to allow the shell of Roe v. Wade to stand. A second motivation might have been that public anger and emotions tend to fade. Lest we forget, it was just over a year ago that The Former Guy stoked an insurrection, along with many members of his party. Yet, in just a few months, voters in this country seem set to give that same political party control of both houses in Congress. So, I'd part that part of the motivation in releasing the opinion is/was that there will be new issues that will certainly pop up between now and the election and people will simply forget about this horrific decision, or at least anger over it will fade.
Hi Amee, I've been a subscriber practically since the beginning of Shero. I've always enjoyed your articles because there's a lot of research behind them. I wanted to make you aware of a factual book, BROKEN WORDS that is quite eye-opening (no, it's not mine, but mine is eye-opening too.) I did quote from this book for my own book (with the author's permission.) Here are some the most salient and interesting facts (from the description).
Broken Words by Jonathan Dudley: The Abuse of Science and Faith in American Politics assesses the scientific and cultural factors leading evangelicals to certain stances on each issue, shows where they went wrong, and critically challenges the scriptural, ethical, and biological arguments issued by those leaders today.
About the Author
JONATHAN DUDLEY has appeared on CNN's Newsroom with Kyra Phillips and his writing has been featured on Slate, CNN.com, Salon, The Huffington Post, Religion Dispatches, AlterNet, and the Yale Daily News. He is a graduate of Yale University, holds an M.D. from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and is currently a resident physician at the Massachusetts General Hospital.
Amee, I think you would get a lot out of great material from this book. The best I've read on the evangelicals' history and actions that have gotten us to the point--and it was written in 2011! Straightforward, factual, fascinating.
I was going to make a comment, but then my youngest sister called. My comment leaked somewhere. I was in ethics class in 1973, struggling with abortion and fearing another B or C. I do recall though a similar incident 50 years ago when the abortion decision was leaked.
I'm 68. Abortion wasn't legal until I was in college. I remember the feeling of relief that washed over me. All this time, as we have gained more rights for women and many others, I have lived in fear of Roe being overturned because of all that means. It has always shocked me that many folks have no ability to look into the future and predict what might happen. We are so short-sighted.
What's next after overturning Roe? Targets include cohabitation, extramarital sex, LBGTQA rights, investigations into miscarriages by private citizens who get a bounty for all prosecutions, and, JMHO, the erasing of "United" from United States as states battle each other to advance/restrict all kinds of rights. Mass migration from between states is not out of the question. I don't think we can live with one another; we will live against one another.
Oh, and I expect thousands of pro-women's rights candidates to run for all kinds of offices because legislation is the only counterinsurgency that can retain people's rights.
“Predictable next steps after the Alito opinion becomes law: a nationwide abortion ban, followed by a push to roll back rights to contraception, same-sex marriage, sexual privacy, and the full array of textually unenumerated rights long taken for granted,’' Tribe wrote.
Sadly, it's not a given that Americans would feel enough urgency about the current threats to democracy to turn out in droves for the Democrats this November, no matter what the January 6 committee hearings reveal this summer. But ending abortion and, as the Alito draft implies, contraception and marriage equality... those are issues that have immediacy and that people do understand. So while the leak of the draft opinion is a stunner, it does give us an extra two months to mobilize and organize for the midterms. Can't imagine that Republican campaign operatives across the country are happy about this. Let's get going!
The train wreck that is America continues to roll on. I wish I could say this is a surprise but we've known for 20 years this ruling was coming and the GOP played a masterclass long game to rig the judiciary. This ruling has been their intent since the Federalist Society was founded in 1982. And here we are. Democrats still don't know what to do other than be mad. Biden came into office saying he would look to fix the court - he hasn't and won't. Until Democrats start playing the same game the GOP is playing then this will only worsen.
“Playing the same game” to me means buying power outside of elected representatives or directly owning them, which means our votes won’t count and we have minority rule. Dems have a majority - we need a greater one to overcome the built in empowerment in our governing docs to the minority in the senate and electoral college.
Reinstated my Twitter acct so I can stay up on any organizing. Amee you do a fabulous job of keeping up with and analyzing the news. I appreciate your prospective.
I predicted six years ago that if The Former Guy was elected, he would place on the Supreme Court justices who would end Roe v. Wade. I was told at the time (and even after) that I was nuts, that I was alarmist or that I was just plain wrong. Well, here we are. If this draft opinion is accurate--and I think that it is, and that it is also very unlikely to change in any substantive way once it is formally released--exactly what I predicted is about to happen. The question now is, are "Blue States" ready? For the most part, I'd say that the answer is NO. "Red States" are studying ways to apply their anti-abortion laws outside their state's borders. Near as I can tell, only Connecticut has passed a law holding that the laws of the anti-abortion states are null and void inside its borders. ALL pro-choice states must do the same. We are already in the post Roe v. Wade era and we'd best prepare for it. Oh, another negative to think about: The Supreme Court isn't going to be satisfied with this, nor will social conservatives. They'll be coming for Obergefell next. Ditto what's left of the Voting Rights Act.
Count me as well among those who think that this draft opinion was likely released by someone who wanted to make sure that there is no "backsliding" by the conservative supermajority on the Supreme Court to allow the shell of Roe v. Wade to stand. A second motivation might have been that public anger and emotions tend to fade. Lest we forget, it was just over a year ago that The Former Guy stoked an insurrection, along with many members of his party. Yet, in just a few months, voters in this country seem set to give that same political party control of both houses in Congress. So, I'd part that part of the motivation in releasing the opinion is/was that there will be new issues that will certainly pop up between now and the election and people will simply forget about this horrific decision, or at least anger over it will fade.
Correction: "I'd bet that part of the motivation in releasing the opinion............"
Serves me right for typing when I'm angry and depressed.
P.S. Really hope all those liberals who quit Twitter before this happened get back on it.
Hi Amee, I've been a subscriber practically since the beginning of Shero. I've always enjoyed your articles because there's a lot of research behind them. I wanted to make you aware of a factual book, BROKEN WORDS that is quite eye-opening (no, it's not mine, but mine is eye-opening too.) I did quote from this book for my own book (with the author's permission.) Here are some the most salient and interesting facts (from the description).
Broken Words by Jonathan Dudley: The Abuse of Science and Faith in American Politics assesses the scientific and cultural factors leading evangelicals to certain stances on each issue, shows where they went wrong, and critically challenges the scriptural, ethical, and biological arguments issued by those leaders today.
About the Author
JONATHAN DUDLEY has appeared on CNN's Newsroom with Kyra Phillips and his writing has been featured on Slate, CNN.com, Salon, The Huffington Post, Religion Dispatches, AlterNet, and the Yale Daily News. He is a graduate of Yale University, holds an M.D. from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and is currently a resident physician at the Massachusetts General Hospital.
Amee, I think you would get a lot out of great material from this book. The best I've read on the evangelicals' history and actions that have gotten us to the point--and it was written in 2011! Straightforward, factual, fascinating.
Here's the link:
https://www.amazon.com/Broken-Words-Science-American-Politics-ebook/dp/B004J4WN6C/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2TNN0NEM78M5P&keywords=broken+words&qid=1652043554&s=books&sprefix=broken+words%2Cstripbooks%2C635&sr=1-3
I was going to make a comment, but then my youngest sister called. My comment leaked somewhere. I was in ethics class in 1973, struggling with abortion and fearing another B or C. I do recall though a similar incident 50 years ago when the abortion decision was leaked.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-original-roe-v-wade-ruling-was-leaked-to-the-press-too-180980016/
I'm 68. Abortion wasn't legal until I was in college. I remember the feeling of relief that washed over me. All this time, as we have gained more rights for women and many others, I have lived in fear of Roe being overturned because of all that means. It has always shocked me that many folks have no ability to look into the future and predict what might happen. We are so short-sighted.
What's next after overturning Roe? Targets include cohabitation, extramarital sex, LBGTQA rights, investigations into miscarriages by private citizens who get a bounty for all prosecutions, and, JMHO, the erasing of "United" from United States as states battle each other to advance/restrict all kinds of rights. Mass migration from between states is not out of the question. I don't think we can live with one another; we will live against one another.
Oh, and I expect thousands of pro-women's rights candidates to run for all kinds of offices because legislation is the only counterinsurgency that can retain people's rights.
“Predictable next steps after the Alito opinion becomes law: a nationwide abortion ban, followed by a push to roll back rights to contraception, same-sex marriage, sexual privacy, and the full array of textually unenumerated rights long taken for granted,’' Tribe wrote.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/05/03/metro/harvard-law-professor-laurence-tribe-warns-alito-opinion-roe-will-unravel-other-rights/?event=event12