Legoktm, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Featuring the Fabulous Dadbots: Mark M., Dave S., Mark O., Dennis Curley, and Geoff Carter
Next up on the agenda, after SCOTUS dumps Roe, is a federal level statute banning abortion. What, say you? I thought the most cherished hope of conservatives was to return abortion authority to the states. After all, they are the laboratories of democracy. My friends, I hate to break it to you: I believe the conservative commitment to federalism may not be as sincere as you hoped.
I wonder if Mitch and the other “institutionalists” (ha ha) in the Senate GOP will preserve the filibuster in light of this looming possibility—the chance to own the baby killers once and for all. There will be pressure, have no doubt, to nuke this time-honored tradition. And in that case, the only barrier between the US and the Republic of Gilead will be the shaky veto pen of Sleepy Scranton Joe himself.
I refer you back to our discussion last September on the political ramifications of killing Roe.
Our consensus was that Democrats will NOT be energized enough by the Court’s decision to counteract the looming red electoral tidal wave in November. Geoff, you need to get this m*therf*cker out of the archives, lest our predictions be proven wrong (which in this case, I would love to see).
Dave, nice summary of the Tucker article. I had read the text but hadn’t gotten into the graphics and video. I will be doing that. I’m with you in terms of the inability to sit through an entire Fox News show. I have tried Laura Ingraham, but her constant sneering putdowns of the libs just grate on me. My brother refers to her as one of the “Cruel Catholics”—mean-spirited pundits of the Catholic persuasion who just grind their conservatism & moral integrity into your face. Newt Gingrich is another. Throw away the zip ties, Dave. You won’t be improved by an hour of these jokers.
Tucker’s emphasis on US and THEM is striking. Really, it’s white panic. One of my recurring themes is that racism is the pillar underlying Trumpism and the current conservative backlash. Tucker gets THIS close to out-and-out admitting it.
Our current situation of siloed partisan news outlets actually has been more commonplace in American history, compared to the sober & nonpartisan journalism that was more common in our boyhood and young adulthood. At least that’s what I read in history books. I think that a “return” to “actual debate” is not in the cards. Social science has shown that virtually nobody is persuaded by debate, anyway. It tends to harden positions.
–Mark M.
Briefly on Roe v Wade.
My wife—much smarter then me–came home saying exactly the same thing as MM’s fine culminating paragraph below. Hopefully the pubs find themselves in a be careful what you wish for moment….and Ohio votes this week, right?
However…in balance I must report something I recently read…and this is pretty loose, but not so loose I’m afraid to type it. Goes like this:
Roe v Wade was a long time ago now in terms of culture and abortion technology. Can’t remember the details but one author stated this (overturn) was inevitable…that it’s not the issue it used to be…(something about early terminations are still legal and there are other avenues…so that gave me hope that things for woman—especially the poor, uninformed women might still have options. I’ve read some other things—a segment on Fresh Air not long ago (weeks not months) about a brigade—they are midwives…have vans….hat know what they are doing and are a huge safety net.
And yet, just as I’m resigned to the overturn, my mind jumps to fellow Kenoshan—Jacob Blake—took (7) shots in the back and lived as you hopefully recall…has (6) kids, with (3) different mums and the likelihood of those (6) procreating 16 more, sans being role models for any them…is high and thus a very good reason for planned parenting…and yes…the A word—and Roe v. Wade withstanding this SCOTUS siege.
-Dave.
There’s been a request that I convert some of my Punditspeak into actual English. So here goes.
Once the Supreme Court dumps Roe v Wade, it will effectively return the issue of abortion to each of the 50 states. That’s where it stood in 1972, when the Roe decision came down and nullified most of the existing state laws that banned or limited abortion. (Between about 1968 and 1972, the state of New York had loosened abortion restrictions. Thus, if a woman had the money and time, she could travel to NY and get the abortion done. Some women also traveled outside the US for the same reason. Lacking money, you were stuck with either having the baby or going to a back-alley abortionist.)
Overturning Roe has of course been the Holy Grail of the antichoice movement these 50 years. Under the umbrella of our federalist government, issues not regulated by the Federal government are the purview of the states. Conservatives have been yammering for “state’s rights” for decades! That’s why the most prominent judicial/legal organization of conservatives is known as the “Federalist Society”. But now that the issue’s been returned to the states, I don’t think that the anti-abortion true believers will be satisfied with having abortion banned in only Republican-controlled states. As long as wild women are sexing it up and having abortions in NY, California, and Illinois, the anti-choicers are going to want to (a) stop that; and (b) stop Texas and Alabama women from traveling out of state for an abortion. There’s going to be a huge Republican clamor for federal antiabortion law. Which is why I say that, hmm, I don’t think Republicans are truly sincere in their federalist beliefs.
Any federal antiabortion statute would have to pass the House and the Senate. In the House, only a simple majority is needed. But in the Senate, it requires a supermajority of 60 to bring a bill to a vote. The Senate is currently 50-50, and even if the Dems have a bad November, the Republicans will not hold 60 seats. So, the Dems would have the ability to filibuster any federal abortion ban. That is, UNLESS the Republicans use the nuclear option and eliminate the filibuster (which is not a law– it is simply a Senate rule and can be abolished with a simple majority).
Even if all of the above were to come to pass, it would still bump up against the veto pen of Sleepy Scranton Joe. So, I don’t see Mitch McConnell blowing up the filibuster in order to pass an abortion ban that would be DOA as soon as it passes Congress.
This brings up the other big political implication of the SCOTUS decision. For 50 years, Republicans have been able to pose for holy pictures with the antichoice movement. They have been able to make big promises, because they knew that the Roe decision prevented any of them from coming to fruition. Now, they will have to put up or shut up. And we’ve seen them “putting up” at the state level in a big way. By the time the dust settles, half of state legislatures will have essentially banned abortion. But this is an issue that doesn’t poll well for Republicans. Legal abortion is supported by north of 50-60% of Americans. So Democrats should be able to campaign on choice as an issue to rile up their base, and suburban women. Keep a Democrat in the Oval Office, and he or she will stop the Republicans from outlawing an abortion for your teenage daughter.
–Mark M.
Please add this attached text to the SCOTUS discussion. It came from a Facebook posting of a past co-worker of a relative (you know how it goes). I found it to be a refreshing outlook on the abortion activist mindset.
–Mark O.
The unborn” are a convenient group of people to advocate for. They never make demands of you; they are morally uncomplicated, unlike the incarcerated, addicted, or the chronically poor; they don’t resent your condescension or complain that you are not politically correct; unlike widows, they don’t ask you to question patriarchy; unlike orphans, they don’t need money, education, or childcare; unlike aliens, they don’t bring all that racial, cultural, and religious baggage that you dislike; they allow you to feel good about yourself without any work at creating or maintaining relationships; and when they are born, you can forget about them, because they cease to be unborn. You can love the unborn and advocate for them without substantially challenging your own wealth, power, or privilege, without re-imagining social structures, apologizing, or making reparations to anyone. They are, in short, the perfect people to love if you want to claim you love Jesus, but actually dislike people who breathe. Prisoners? Immigrants? The sick? The poor? Widows? Orphans? All the groups that are specifically mentioned in the Bible? They all get thrown under the bus for the unborn.”
― Methodist Pastor David Barnharthttps://www.goodreads.com/quotes/10357009-the-unborn-are-a-convenient-group-of-people-to-advocate
Hey Bots,
Depressing times. I still remember sitting in Rick’s Havana Club on Blair St. in November 1980, watching the returns of the presidential election, which Reagan won in a landslide. While that seemed to be bad news, I don’t think any of us had an inkling of what was coming. Voter suppression, criminalized abortions, and wholesale rape of the planet, not to mention our government going on the auction block. Granted, that election was 42 years ago, but I think that was the first step down the slippery slope.
While we might reassure ourselves that abortion will still be legal in some states (barring a Republican majority writing its prohibition into national law), for some, traveling hundreds of miles for a medical procedure is a near-impossibility. It’s too expensive. The same is true for some citizens—usually citizens of color—who now have to travel greater distances and jump through numerous hoops in order to vote.
The quote by David Barnhart that Mark cited above about the convenience of fighting for the unborn is kind of a metaphor for the Republican Party’s dehumanization of everyone who’s not white, male, rich, or morally superior, which is easy to do when you refuse to assume responsibility for anything but yourself. Republicans have dehumanized immigrants, African Americans, LGBTQ citizens, and women. This moral superiority of the pro-lifers is simply another strategy to suppress citizens.
I don’t want to sound like a conspiracy theorist (what did Hilary say—the vast right-wing conspiracy?) but most Republican policy seems to be aimed toward grabbing and consolidation control over the population.
They’ve limited:
- Voting rights
- Reproductive rights.
- Affordable education.
- Affordable healthcare.
- Fair and equal media coverage.
- Affordable childcare.
- Fair access for all Supreme Court nominees—which got us here in the first place.
- Equitable congressional legislation.
They’ve supported:
- Government insurrection.
- Union busting.
- Ignoring climate change.
- QAnon (implicitly if not explicitly)
- ALEC (the corporate organization that writes and rubber-stamps national legislation: see more on ALEC here: https://www.alecexposed.org/wiki/ALEC_Exposed)
There’s more. I’m not sure if the red tsunami that began in November 1980 can be stopped. Call me paranoid or conspiratorial or nuts, but I think we’re in for a bumpy ride.
–Geoff