Supreme Court Puts Its Thumb on the Scale for Donald Trump

You should be angry—very angry.

Have you voted yet? Early returns in California show only 8% of voters have returned their ballots. 

Care to hazard any guesses about what historically low turnout means? Bad people capable of selling cruel and stupid ideas will be more likely to win, simply because they’ve made the most noise.

Is voter apathy a precursor to doom for democracy? Consider what’s going on in Washington and make your decision. The last vestige of a deliberative legislative body (the US Senate) has surrendered to the extremists who will take over in 2025.

The Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether a US citizen is above the law. They supposedly take time to consider the merits of a case that the US Court of Appeals wrapped up with a tidy little bow affirming what common sense dictates.

The brief unsigned order issued on Wednesday said the justices were not “expressing a view on the merits” of the case and would consider only the question of “whether and if so to what extent does a former president enjoy presidential immunity from criminal prosecution for conduct alleged to involve official acts during his tenure in office.”

Riiight…

The highest court in the land has effectively deprived voters of seeing Donald J Trump tried before the 2024 election for his flagrant disregard of the law in three areas. 

• Paying off Stormy Daniels for having sex with Trump was just one of many instances where the public was kept from knowing the truth about the candidate. 

• Lying about classified documents offers up a provable instance where the former president put his personal interests before national security.

• Conspiring to subvert undermine the 2020 election has been well-documented and has effectively served to justify extra-legal actions by government officials.

Should the former president prevail in November, his newly empowered rule of one means the findings of juries will be erased.

Let’s face the facts, Donald Trump’s motivations for running for President include avoiding accountability for crimes he committed. If elected, his first act will be to pardon himself because he believes that rich and powerful people don’t have to play by the same rules as the rest of us.

Then he’ll get around to ordering mass roundups, hollowing out the government, and the rest of the garbage on the MAGA agenda.

You should be angry—very angry. It does not matter how the Supreme Court rules. Only the criminal case in Georgia poses any threat to a candidate who is promising autocracy and is dependent on religious extremists for political support.

It’s time to re-invigorate all the processes where the citizenry can make its wishes known. Voting can be an act of resistance. So can getting out of bed and paying attention. But working within the electoral system can not be the end-all.

In the coming months taking to the streets often is going to be necessary. Last night I watched an episode of the Netflix food documentary “High on the Hog” about the early civil rights movement in Atlanta. 

The point made was that victories came because of the totality of resistance and support in the Black community. Every small business, faith group, and household in that community helped in the best way they could. Barber shops sold baked goods for home cooks raising money to support protesters. Dining rooms in restaurants served as meeting halls.

Now the rules of the game when it comes to public expression of political views have changed. The totality of society’s institutions can be used to undermine protests, whether by cooptation, suppression, or force. Opportunists try to impose a litany of causes and dare to judge people who won’t agree. Accelerationists try to lead people into actions inspired by childish fantasies.  

Standing strong against those challenges will become essential to success in November and beyond. What signs say or what events are protested are not as important as Just. Showing. Up. Early and often. Saying We the People is what matters.

We must channel our anger into defeating Trump and what he stands for in every way possible.

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Thursday’s Noteworthy News Links

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Republican Senators block IVF protections via Popular Information

• Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) introduced legislation establishing "a statutory right for an individual to access, without prohibition or unreasonable limitation or interference, assisted reproductive technology services, such as IVF" and "an individual’s statutory right regarding the use or disposition of their reproductive genetic materials." This legislation would supersede any state law. Since so many Republicans claim to support IVF access, Duckworth attempted to pass the bill on Wednesday by unanimous consent. 

• But this did not happen. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) objected to Duckworth's bill and blocked its passage. Hyde-Smith claimed that the bill to protect IVF would somehow "subject religious and pro-life organizations to crippling lawsuits."

• Other Republican Senators expressed opposition to Duckworth's bill prior to today's actions. "I don’t see any need to regulate it at the federal level," Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS) said. "I think the Dobbs decision puts this issue back at the state level." Marshall said concerned voters should "encourage your state legislations to protect in-vitro fertilization." Duckworth said she would continue to push for a full roll call vote on the legislation. 

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Starbucks Stops Opposing Its Baristas’ Union via American Prospect

•  In a joint announcement released by both Starbucks and Workers United, the baristas’ union that is part of SEIU, the company agreed “to begin discussions on a foundational framework designed to achieve … collective bargaining agreements for represented stores and partners.”

• The somewhat operatic language (“discussions on a foundational framework”) raised some questions about whether this was just more delay to a first contract. But the Prospect has learned that Starbucks has affirmatively agreed to bargaining with workers and their representatives to craft a master contract that applies to all unionized outlets, to be augmented, if necessary, by add-on contracts dealing with issues specific to particular outlets.

• To demonstrate its good faith to understandably skeptical workers, the company also agreed to let them receive credit card tipping and also receive the back pay from the raises and benefits the company had given to all its employees, except those in outlets that had voted to go union.

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Majority of workers at Mercedes plant in Alabama sign UAW authorization cards via the Detroit News

• The milestone comes less than seven weeks since the Detroit-based union hit the 30% milestone at the plant in Vance, Alabama, outside Tuscaloosa. Securing a majority of the autoworkers' backing means the union will hold a rally to drum up further support. Once 70% of workers at a plant sign authorization cards, the UAW would demand the company recognize its representation, or else pursue a National Labor Relations Board election.

• Securing representation is critical to the UAW's leverage and ambitions to secure gains such as the return of pensions from the Detroit Three automakers, UAW President Shawn Fain has said. The union hasn't hit the 70% mark at any transplant location since launching its campaign to organize foreign-owned and EV startup plants after securing record national contracts last year with the Detroit Three. The Mercedes plant is the second to hit the 50% threshold after workers at Volkswagen AG's plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, did so earlier this month.

• The Mercedes-Benz plant employs approximately 6,300 workers, according to the automaker's website. It produces SUVs: the GLE, GLE coupé and GLS model series, including the Mercedes-Maybach GLS. It also assembles the all-electric EQS SUV and EQE. A previous attempt to organize the plant fizzled in 2014 after the union spent years seeking to gain support.