In 1985, President Ronald Reagan’s team made a conscious effort to bring evangelicals and social conservatives into the voting base of the Republican Party. The Republicans’ tax cuts and deregulation had not created the prosperity party leaders had promised, and they were keenly aware that their policies might well not survive the upcoming 1986 midterm elections. To find new voters, they turned to religious groups that had previously shunned politics.
It seemed that Republicans were ready to take over at least the House or Senate or maybe both in the mid-terms to more fully shut down the Biden Administration’s attempts to govern and further rig the 2024 vote. But in the wake of the Putin wing’s resistance to defending the U.S. and the world against fascist atrocities, this stacked SCOTUS over-reach may snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Many columnists are recognizing the horror of overturning Roe and its wider implications. If the Republican Party has its way, we will no longer be “one nation.” Each state will make its own laws in a party line that will make us a confederacy of Red versus Blue. People will flee their states for states supporting their political orientation and will only be able to hope that the other party doesn’t prevail after they have relocated, because there will be few federal norms that bind us under the rule of law. We can hope that the dog HAS caught the car and will suffer the consequences. Let’s do better than hope and get out the vote of the majority of us!
“We cannot allow our decisions to be affected by any extraneous influences such as concern about the public’s reaction to our work,” he wrote. Excuse Me?
I vow never to vote for anyone who puts an R by their name ever again. It is time to smother the Republican Party out of existence. .No one is going to take away my rights.
A bit of good news this morning, and hopefully a bellwether for the midterms: Michigan’s 74th district held an election yesterday to fill a state house seat vacated by Mark Huizenga who was elected to the state Senate in Nov 2021. A Democrat WON the house seat yesterday with 52% of the vote. The first time a Democrat has held this seat in 30 years!!! CHEERS!!!!!!
I fear that one of the most critical positions out of this is NOT being discussed- its not how long Roe has been law/ precedent- what scares me is the assertion right out of the Federal Society is that the STATES should decide what is provided, intended, allowed rather than the Federal Constitution- are we really going to let states decide womens' rights? civil rights? voting acts? Treaty Rights under Article II? educational standards? Democracy is a FEDERAL aspiration- Its not that they care that much about women its that a majority of the GQP justices believe in states rights- and we've already fought one ciivl war on that issue and won. . . let's act like it!
The masks are off. The extremist justices are now revealed as not serious jurists but political provocateurs. They’ve delivered in spades to the dark forces that put them on the court for life. Let’s hope they’ve unleashed an angry opposition that can somehow stop this now-clear agenda to make America not the land of the free.
Robert Reich asked a question this morning in his substack letter. Should the Supreme Court be expanded? Here is my comment/response:
"Yes, but expanding the court now is not apt to be a successful project considering the current makeup of the Senate. But, sure add it to the list. Along with term limits. Asking a person to serve until death or resignation is nuts. It makes them regal. SCOTUS should serve no longer than 8 or 10 years. And their terms should rotate in a manner that every president gets to nominate justices instead of the country being on an endless death watch. And those nominations MUST be considered by the Senate or POTUS could simply appoint them after a reasonable waiting period.
And add to this package of SCOTUS reforms the requirement that these justices live under the same ethical standards as all other federal judges. "Self supervison" is ridiculous and again elevates them to regal status. They are people. People do bad things. Let's start with Thomas and his wife. Then we could move to the lies to Congress told by Barrett, Kavanaugh and Gorsuch. Watch their testimonies and then read their decisions and consider impeachment hearings.
And then there is the lazy shadow docket stuff. No testimonies, no presentation of legal theory - no consideration of evidence. Just back room blow offs of key issues.
So yeah, let's do something. A lot. Because what we have now are six judges that are characters out of The Handmaids Tale. They represent radical fringe religious nutcase thinking. They are not judges anymore. They are hit men for the Federalist Society and the Oligarchs who buy them."
What is this nonsense about the 14th amendment covering only those rights “deeply rooted in this Nation’s history and tradition”? I find this an intellectual stretch of infinite proportion to be made by an originalist, especially since is nothing in the text of the amendment limiting its own scope. Have justices forgotten that the 9th amendment explicitly states “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people”? Perhaps they think the 9th amendment gives members of the Supreme Court the right to pick and choose which rights they will respect and which they will disparage, depending on their individual political and religious beliefs.
I don’t know about any of you but today I was seething. Susan Let-Me-Dangle-the-Carrot Collins has always been a plant by the Repubs. She manages to be so “concerned” about issues or candidates. She is responsible for giving the green light to the latest extremist justices, especially the excessive beer drinker, Kavanaugh. Like Warren angrily voiced today, this party of liars and thieves (my words) has been planning this takeover of the Supreme Court for many years. Alioto’s draft incensed me terribly when he mentioned that Roe v. Wade should have never become law in the first place. How damning is that for a justice who sits on the highest court of the land, question the validity of women’s rights to make her own choices?? I despise them all and believe me, no tears will be shed when they croak. I pray I will be around to see that happen.
It is rich that McConnell is "shocked, shocked" over the fact of the leak while proud of denying Obama a court nomination and then whisking in a Trump's nomination of Barrett while voting had commenced. Is it possible to identify a more two-timing, craven, amoral politician that McConnell?
" Alito declared that what Americans want doesn’t matter: “We cannot allow our decisions to be affected by any extraneous influences such as concern about the public’s reaction to our work,”
We are the ubermensch - you vill do vat we say.
Surely there is a mechanism for ejecting judges that lied under oath (but there's ... oh- "that's what I thought at the time, I have a different opinion now".)
The nerve of that Hypocrite so called “Justice” John Roberts to say "To the extent this betrayal of the confidences of the Court was intended to undermine the integrity of our operations, it will not succeed."
UNDERMINE THE INTEGRITY?
Just as the previous president undermined the integrity of his office and put three of these lying, perjured hypocrites on that court, (Gorsuch, Kavanaugh & Barrett) it no longer has any integrity and is now seen as another tool of the fascist Repugnant Party movement in the United States.
Add to that Clarence Thomas, whose wife was active in the insurrection attempt of Jan. 6, 2021, John Roberts apparently has no idea of what is a "singular and egregious breach" of trust.
The only thing that pissed me off more than listening to that sanctimonious motherfcking scumbag Ted Cruz go on about how Democrats have "politicized the court" was the memory of the fucking morons like Susan Sarandon saying in 2016 that a Trump victory would "speed the revolution" and when I mentioned to some of the Berner morons I knew that the next president would likely nominate two supreme court justices, having them respond that "the court doesn't matter."
The morons who claim they're on our side are the ones I'd really like to paste in the kisser. The other side, it's expected.
The current "Supreme" Court is down there with all the hack "judges" that a judge I used to know called "Politicians' ball-shiners" (and he wasn't talking about baseballs).
Call the current SCOTUS majority "conservative" or "right-wing" if you like, but they are truly Regressive. If Roe (1973) and Casey (1992) are not settled law, certainly Obergefell (2015) is not settled law. If Roe and Casey are not settled law, why not throw out Loving (1967)? Why stop there; why not throw out Brown (1954)? Maybe SCOTUS Regressives think we should return to Plessy (1896) and reinstitute "Separate but Equal". What is settled law if Roe is not?
They are clearly in bed with mostly white extremists and attacking the civil rights of ALL women! All three of the Trump appointed justices lied under oath when they said that Roe vs. Wade was settled law and they would not be challenging its legitimacy. They should be held accountable for those lies. No one should be above the law and lying under other is against the law! They clearly do not believe in or support the 14th Amendment. They are political operatives and nothing more. What will be the next civil right they will attack?
I don't think any of us here in the room were surprised by yesterday's Supreme Court news. I do think we were dismayed, pissed off and disgusted by how we were lied to by the Supreme Court Justices. Now it's out in the open. This exposes more than the Justices.
This exposure has brought out in the daylight that the Supreme Court is nothing more than another bought and paid for branch of the Government.
What I feel is really frying Justice Robert's ass, is that we found out what they had done in February in private and now they can't level us with this just prior to the midterms.
No one on this planet can convince me that this was not a well timed diversion to hit pre-midterms and we found out early.
It seemed that Republicans were ready to take over at least the House or Senate or maybe both in the mid-terms to more fully shut down the Biden Administration’s attempts to govern and further rig the 2024 vote. But in the wake of the Putin wing’s resistance to defending the U.S. and the world against fascist atrocities, this stacked SCOTUS over-reach may snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Many columnists are recognizing the horror of overturning Roe and its wider implications. If the Republican Party has its way, we will no longer be “one nation.” Each state will make its own laws in a party line that will make us a confederacy of Red versus Blue. People will flee their states for states supporting their political orientation and will only be able to hope that the other party doesn’t prevail after they have relocated, because there will be few federal norms that bind us under the rule of law. We can hope that the dog HAS caught the car and will suffer the consequences. Let’s do better than hope and get out the vote of the majority of us!
“We cannot allow our decisions to be affected by any extraneous influences such as concern about the public’s reaction to our work,” he wrote. Excuse Me?
I vow never to vote for anyone who puts an R by their name ever again. It is time to smother the Republican Party out of existence. .No one is going to take away my rights.
A bit of good news this morning, and hopefully a bellwether for the midterms: Michigan’s 74th district held an election yesterday to fill a state house seat vacated by Mark Huizenga who was elected to the state Senate in Nov 2021. A Democrat WON the house seat yesterday with 52% of the vote. The first time a Democrat has held this seat in 30 years!!! CHEERS!!!!!!
I fear that one of the most critical positions out of this is NOT being discussed- its not how long Roe has been law/ precedent- what scares me is the assertion right out of the Federal Society is that the STATES should decide what is provided, intended, allowed rather than the Federal Constitution- are we really going to let states decide womens' rights? civil rights? voting acts? Treaty Rights under Article II? educational standards? Democracy is a FEDERAL aspiration- Its not that they care that much about women its that a majority of the GQP justices believe in states rights- and we've already fought one ciivl war on that issue and won. . . let's act like it!
The masks are off. The extremist justices are now revealed as not serious jurists but political provocateurs. They’ve delivered in spades to the dark forces that put them on the court for life. Let’s hope they’ve unleashed an angry opposition that can somehow stop this now-clear agenda to make America not the land of the free.
Robert Reich asked a question this morning in his substack letter. Should the Supreme Court be expanded? Here is my comment/response:
"Yes, but expanding the court now is not apt to be a successful project considering the current makeup of the Senate. But, sure add it to the list. Along with term limits. Asking a person to serve until death or resignation is nuts. It makes them regal. SCOTUS should serve no longer than 8 or 10 years. And their terms should rotate in a manner that every president gets to nominate justices instead of the country being on an endless death watch. And those nominations MUST be considered by the Senate or POTUS could simply appoint them after a reasonable waiting period.
And add to this package of SCOTUS reforms the requirement that these justices live under the same ethical standards as all other federal judges. "Self supervison" is ridiculous and again elevates them to regal status. They are people. People do bad things. Let's start with Thomas and his wife. Then we could move to the lies to Congress told by Barrett, Kavanaugh and Gorsuch. Watch their testimonies and then read their decisions and consider impeachment hearings.
And then there is the lazy shadow docket stuff. No testimonies, no presentation of legal theory - no consideration of evidence. Just back room blow offs of key issues.
So yeah, let's do something. A lot. Because what we have now are six judges that are characters out of The Handmaids Tale. They represent radical fringe religious nutcase thinking. They are not judges anymore. They are hit men for the Federalist Society and the Oligarchs who buy them."
https://robertreich.substack.com/p/office-hours-what-to-do-about-the?s=r
What is this nonsense about the 14th amendment covering only those rights “deeply rooted in this Nation’s history and tradition”? I find this an intellectual stretch of infinite proportion to be made by an originalist, especially since is nothing in the text of the amendment limiting its own scope. Have justices forgotten that the 9th amendment explicitly states “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people”? Perhaps they think the 9th amendment gives members of the Supreme Court the right to pick and choose which rights they will respect and which they will disparage, depending on their individual political and religious beliefs.
I don’t know about any of you but today I was seething. Susan Let-Me-Dangle-the-Carrot Collins has always been a plant by the Repubs. She manages to be so “concerned” about issues or candidates. She is responsible for giving the green light to the latest extremist justices, especially the excessive beer drinker, Kavanaugh. Like Warren angrily voiced today, this party of liars and thieves (my words) has been planning this takeover of the Supreme Court for many years. Alioto’s draft incensed me terribly when he mentioned that Roe v. Wade should have never become law in the first place. How damning is that for a justice who sits on the highest court of the land, question the validity of women’s rights to make her own choices?? I despise them all and believe me, no tears will be shed when they croak. I pray I will be around to see that happen.
It is rich that McConnell is "shocked, shocked" over the fact of the leak while proud of denying Obama a court nomination and then whisking in a Trump's nomination of Barrett while voting had commenced. Is it possible to identify a more two-timing, craven, amoral politician that McConnell?
" Alito declared that what Americans want doesn’t matter: “We cannot allow our decisions to be affected by any extraneous influences such as concern about the public’s reaction to our work,”
We are the ubermensch - you vill do vat we say.
Surely there is a mechanism for ejecting judges that lied under oath (but there's ... oh- "that's what I thought at the time, I have a different opinion now".)
THE DAY AFTER A CORRUPT SCOTUS
ENDED ABORTION RIGHTS
The nerve of that Hypocrite so called “Justice” John Roberts to say "To the extent this betrayal of the confidences of the Court was intended to undermine the integrity of our operations, it will not succeed."
UNDERMINE THE INTEGRITY?
Just as the previous president undermined the integrity of his office and put three of these lying, perjured hypocrites on that court, (Gorsuch, Kavanaugh & Barrett) it no longer has any integrity and is now seen as another tool of the fascist Repugnant Party movement in the United States.
Add to that Clarence Thomas, whose wife was active in the insurrection attempt of Jan. 6, 2021, John Roberts apparently has no idea of what is a "singular and egregious breach" of trust.
The only thing that pissed me off more than listening to that sanctimonious motherfcking scumbag Ted Cruz go on about how Democrats have "politicized the court" was the memory of the fucking morons like Susan Sarandon saying in 2016 that a Trump victory would "speed the revolution" and when I mentioned to some of the Berner morons I knew that the next president would likely nominate two supreme court justices, having them respond that "the court doesn't matter."
The morons who claim they're on our side are the ones I'd really like to paste in the kisser. The other side, it's expected.
The current "Supreme" Court is down there with all the hack "judges" that a judge I used to know called "Politicians' ball-shiners" (and he wasn't talking about baseballs).
Call the current SCOTUS majority "conservative" or "right-wing" if you like, but they are truly Regressive. If Roe (1973) and Casey (1992) are not settled law, certainly Obergefell (2015) is not settled law. If Roe and Casey are not settled law, why not throw out Loving (1967)? Why stop there; why not throw out Brown (1954)? Maybe SCOTUS Regressives think we should return to Plessy (1896) and reinstitute "Separate but Equal". What is settled law if Roe is not?
They are clearly in bed with mostly white extremists and attacking the civil rights of ALL women! All three of the Trump appointed justices lied under oath when they said that Roe vs. Wade was settled law and they would not be challenging its legitimacy. They should be held accountable for those lies. No one should be above the law and lying under other is against the law! They clearly do not believe in or support the 14th Amendment. They are political operatives and nothing more. What will be the next civil right they will attack?
Thank you Heather.
I don't think any of us here in the room were surprised by yesterday's Supreme Court news. I do think we were dismayed, pissed off and disgusted by how we were lied to by the Supreme Court Justices. Now it's out in the open. This exposes more than the Justices.
This exposure has brought out in the daylight that the Supreme Court is nothing more than another bought and paid for branch of the Government.
What I feel is really frying Justice Robert's ass, is that we found out what they had done in February in private and now they can't level us with this just prior to the midterms.
No one on this planet can convince me that this was not a well timed diversion to hit pre-midterms and we found out early.
Be safe. Be well.