The Leak Is not the Scandal. It’s What Was Revealed
People in San Diego and cities nationwide protested on Tuesday to make their voices heard in opposition to the intention of the Supreme Court to reverse Roe v Wade, making the right to abortion a matter for states to decide.
This decision has been a long time coming, and it was all but guaranteed when Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election. In anticipation of this decision, 26 states are likely or almost certain to ban abortion.
Here’s snip from Union-Tribune coverage:
Several hundred people gathered in the early evening for an abortion rights rally outside the downtown San Diego federal courthouse, where they listened to speakers from Planned Parenthood and the ACLU, as well as members of Congress and the San Diego County Board of Supervisors.
Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-San Diego, called it “a gut punch” to see the court’s decision in writing, saying it was personal to her as she is “one of the very few women of reproductive age in Congress.”
“Reproductive health care is my health care,” Jacobs said, adding that it was insulting that “five radical judges think they know more about my body than I do.”
The right is seeking to make the leak of a draft document the scandal the central issue, seeking to blame liberals. And there is also speculation about the draft being circulated by right wingers as a means to ensure that any justices who have second thoughts about supporting the decision toe the line.
There is no evidence pointing to any individual or individuals being responsible for its release.
To be honest, I don’t care about the internal workings of the Supreme Court leading up to a draft decision being leaked. And neither should you.
The Supreme Court is upset that someone didn't respect their right to privacy while destroying women’s right to privacy? Or that the integrity of the institution was disrespected after the Majority Leader of the Senate refused to have hearings on a nominee? (Guess what? Mitch McConnell says he’ll do it again, given the opportunity.)
And isn’t degrading public respect for the institutions of democracy part of the game plan of those who would lead the country into being an autocracy?
The only way this ends is for the 100 million or so voters —who can’t be bothered— to go vote. Heck, even 10 million would tip the scales.
Bret Stevens, the New York Times conservative contrarian, somehow thinks this decision is a bad idea for his side. I guess he didn’t get the memo::
Americans are almost evenly divided on their personal views of abortion, according to years of Gallup polling, but only 19 percent think abortion should be illegal under all circumstances.
It shouldn’t be hard to imagine how Americans will react to the court conspicuously providing aid and comfort to the 19 percent.
Yet the decision will also discredit the court as a steward of whatever is left of American steadiness and sanity, and as a bulwark against our fast-depleting respect for institutions and tradition. The fact that the draft of Justice Alito’s decision was leaked — which Chief Justice Roberts rightly described as an “egregious breach” of trust — is a foretaste of the kind of guerrilla warfare the court should expect going forward. And not just on abortion: A court that betrays the trust of Americans on an issue that affects so many, so personally, will lose their trust on every other issue as well.
Republicans participating in the electoral system are being told to try and flip citizen anger back toward the Democrats.
A 3-page memo, drafted by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, urges candidates to stay on message and focus on the SCOTUS leak itself, and accuse Democrats of using access to abortion to avoid talking about their failures.
"Expose the Democrats for the extreme views they hold," the document says, arguing, "Joe Biden and the Democrats have extreme and radical views on abortion that are outside of the mainstream of most Americans."
In order for a scheme like this to work, Republicans are going to need some help. And it’s already on the way…
Yes, folks, it’s time to play ‘distract the masses’ again.
Will MSNBC have a 38 year old anti-abortion ‘youth leader’ on so she can say 80% of young people are opposed to abortion?
Will former Trump economic advisor Larry Kudlow (who was never right about much of anything) appear on Fox News to say the decision is no big deal?
Will Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell blame the mob rule of the left for the leak and call on the Justice Department to take action (on what nobody thinks is a crime)?
Will Chuck Todd have guests representing all three of these viewpoints on Meet the Press?
Make it a solid yes to all those questions and more.
Is much of our news media so desirous of getting “both sides” that they miss the story? You betcha!
Don’t Be a Sucker!
Expect to be told that this decision overturning Roe v Wade comes from relatively recent efforts to overturn the ruling.
In fact, it’s the result of a decades-long strategy stretching back to the racists upset over Brown v Board of Education, although the Supreme Court's decision in Green v. Connally aimed at church run-segregation academies was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
Make no mistake about it; the message being sent from the Supreme Court’s draft will be the same whether or not a few commas are erased and a few t’s crossed. It is a broadside against every significant social justice gain in the last century.
It’s deliberately cruel, drawing upon centuries of virulent misogyny and violence against women.
Justice Alito drew on 17th century writings of Sir Matthew Hale, whose claim to fame as a jurist included having two women executed for “witchcraft.” Hale’s Pleas of the Crown! defended and laid the foundation for the marital rape exemption across the world.
Alito:
“Two treatises by Sir Matthew Hale, described abortion of a quick child who died in the womb as a ‘great crime’ and a ‘great misprision.’
(h/t Jezebel)
Finally, there’s the bs claim that overturning Roe v Wade is the end of this crusade.
As I said yesterday, all it takes is one cracker lawyer getting lucky with the choice of judges, and any of the things the theocrats / dominionists object to will be challenged.
From Right Wing Watch (No, I’m not related to this woman):
Janet Porter, a longtime right-wing conspiracy theorist and religious-right activist, appeared on fellow radical right-wing activist Dave Daubenmire’s “Pass The Salt” program last month. Porter told Daubenmire that she hopes to take a lesson from the law passed in Texas that allows anyone to sue a clinic, doctor, or any person who facilitates an abortion for up to $10,000 and apply the same strategy to LGBTQ issues in public schools. The Texas law has had a chilling effect on reproductive centers in the state, and many have stopped providing abortions all together.
“Here’s what we learned in the state of Texas,” Porter said. “The motivation of abortion is money, and if we can take away that motivation; in other words, give citizens the right to sue any abortionist, anybody who aids or abets in the abortion—that’s the clinic escort, it’s the receptionist, it’s the insurance company—any citizen can sue for a violation of the Texas heartbeat law, and they’ll get $10,000 if they win their suit.”
“If we take the money away, the indoctrination stops,” Porter continued. “I’m on the board of the National Association of Christian Lawmakers, and I’ve drafted a bill—we’re going to present this in June to the legislators in all the 50 states—and the bill says we’re going to remove the protections. Right now, teachers, librarians, school board members; they’re all exempt from violating the state obscenity laws. Guess what? We’re gonna remove that exemption, and we’re gonna say parents have the right to sue when Johnny comes home with something that violates the state obscenity law. That’s grooming, and we’re going to sue. And guess what? We’re going to sue the teachers; we’re going to sue the school board members. And you want to know what? I think they’re going to think twice about pushing this garbage on our children.”
***
Lead image via Kathy Archibald twitter.
Email me at: WritetoDougPorter@Gmail.com