@lovendures It is very upsetting. I'd resolved not to listen to the oral arguments but I couldn't help myself. The right wing justices' arguments were craven and just plain nonsense. What chilled me even more was listening to Kavanaugh describe the constitution as being neutral on the issue of abortion. Well. it's not neutral because the 1973 Supreme Court decided that the right does exist, not explicitly, but impliedly. So, Kavanaugh is saying that unless explicitly stated in the constitution a right doesn't exist. So no right to same-sex marriage, no right to birth control, on and on.
It's the thought of seeing the 20th century reversed by these low-quality hacks that is so frightening.
I guess let's hope it plays out another way.
The only upside was listening to Breyer, Sotomayor and Kagan, and the solicitor general, who was amazing. I feel like however the case is decided Breyer will announce his retirement early next year. I don't think he's going to want to contribute to a possible 7-2 court.
Stacy Abrams has announced she is running for Governor of Georgia: https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2021/12/01/politics/stacey-abrams-georgia-governor-race/index.html please consider donating to her campaign and keep her surrounded with Light ... we need her in office here in Georgia!
Time to get your Stacy Abrams socks out of your drawer...
@lynnventura, I have little to offer you at this moment, except I wish you were here so I could give you a big hug. Truth be told, I could use a hug myself. I am upset and deeply saddened by what I am witnessing. As a woman of senior status, I naively believed all of this was settled and I could breathe easier.
Silly me.
@lovendures We know she really won last time... praying THIS time...she wins by such a wide margin it can not be disputed.
I see Stacy winning this time.
No one deserves the governorship as much as that woman. I hope she cleans house on 2022.
Yes, on Stacy---go girl!
As for SCOTUS, I tuned in briefly to a radio program while driving, in which a Yale law prof explained that Amy Conan Barrett's pattern thus far is to use the shadow docket to gradually shift the court to the right in an off-the-radar mode. This strategy lessens scrutiny and reduces the likelihood of future court challenges. If that pattern prevails, they will not overturn Roe v Wade, instead, they will leave it in place in a weaker form. We will soon see.
https://dworkenlaw.com/what-is-the-shadow-docket-and-why-is-it-important/
If I told this story here before, I will repeat it because of the terrible implication. I audited a law class a few years ago shortly after K had been confirmed. Chatting before class, the older law prof said that K sat next to him at a luncheon prior to his confirmation hearings. He said that K drilled him about the Anita Hill hearings and wanted extraordinary details about it including things I won't mention hear. As he related this story, the law prof had an unfathomable look on his face as if he were looking into a great abyss.
One inferred that K could have had something to worry about. Now he wields unconscionable power...
To all of those who see the Supreme Court strike down Roe v. Wade or weakening it severely, I have one thing to say.
I hope they do.
No, I am not a right-wing nut. I believe that every situation is different, and I will certainly not tell a young teenage girl who was raped by her father that she must carry the child (believe it or not, that situation has actually occurred in my hometown. We are still awaiting the fallout.)
But if the Supreme Court revokes Roe v. Wade, it might be the very thing to energize Democratic voters (and especially white, female, middle-class, suburban women who made a huge difference in 2020) into action. With all the noise that Republicans have made about gun rights and the right to refuse vaccines and masks over the years, how can they tell these same voters that the same deference doesn't apply to them simply because they were born without a male appendage?
Most people don't like abortion but do recognize that it may be necessary. But Republicans, in their constant efforts to appeal to their base, have passed draconian laws that prohibit abortion, even in instances that most people believe it is justified, such as severe risk of harm to the mother/child, rape, incest, etc. My home state of Tennessee has passed such a law.
These laws were meant to pacify the right. For Republicans to say "we are doing our best. We are committed to ending abortion, etc."
But if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, those laws go into effect. And then the media will start showing stories of young preteen girls who are raped and yet are unable to get an abortion, which puts their lives at risk. More and more people will share their stories, and the demonizing of abortions (which the right has engaged in for decades) will be weakened.
In an age where Republicans are doing everything they can to halt progress and stop the country from being successful so they can benefit on public anger to steal seats, the reaction to the overturning of Roe v. Wade may be the one thing that will drive enough Democrats and Independents to the polls to stop them.
Don't get me wrong. I don't want women and children to suffer. But if the Supreme Court comes out with its decision in the summer of 2022 (as it is likely they will do, based on the average time it takes to reach a decision), then that will hopefully galvanize voters to turn away from Republicans and send a clear message to them that we are tired of them invading our rights as people. If Democrats do remain in power (and maybe pick up a few extra seats in the process), then we may have enough power to take the power from the states and the courts forever.
So, if Roe v. Wade falls, it may mean that we replace it with something stronger. But it is up to all of us to decide. So here is hoping that Republicans continue to act stupid and pull defeat out of the jaws of victory.
Roe is gone. What I fear more is what's coming up next and what claims the most regressive states are teeing up for litigation/legislation from the bench. I fear a personhood law that reaches the sup court and invalidates more liberal abortion laws in blue states. Other stuff too. All the talk about states' rights yesterday really freaked me out.
I hope you're right @allyn, and I hope this is another part of the great turning. I'm not feeling optimistic though, but I'll happily eat crow.
@allyn I agree. For some reason I'm not all that concerned about the ruling that's coming and I think it's because of what you've outlined. This won't play well in the long game.
Justice Sotomayor's statements yesterday had depth and complexity. Am not seeing those qualities in the new justices. Do you think they can overcome the "stench" that Sotomator referenced?
Did Neil Gorsuch speak? Sometimes he's a vote surprise.