Come for the politics, stay for the snark.
Vanita Gupta on Supreme Court overturning Roe V. Wade: “The decision is absolutely devastating…We are going to look at every available tool using all of the tools that we have…But the reality is…our tools are not the same as Congress’s and Congress’s ability to pass the law.” pic.twitter.com/xvmV83lHbD
— Washington Post Live (@PostLive) June 28, 2022
Open Thread: Our War Against the War on WomenPost + Comments (99)
Seriously: they’re professional, globe-trotting CHUZ LYFE! grifters. They could certainly afford to adopt a baby, individually or as a couple — and they could probably find a suitable infant in their home countries, if they really cared — but they’re standing outside the Supreme Court, taunting American women whose personal autonomy has just been stolen, because it’s good for their brand.
I haven’t checked for a ‘Christian’ GoFundMe clone page, because ugh. But the real dollar value for these two is showing this photo, and its million social-media repeats, to deep-pocket donors looking for professional representation in the anti-autonomy sphere.
(that was a rhetorical question – the couple outside the supreme court with the “we will adopt your baby” sign is sebastian schuff and neydy casillas. they cannot actually adopt your baby because neither of them are US citizens) pic.twitter.com/NUC7yvH1M8
— molly conger (@socialistdogmom) June 27, 2022
(Mr. Schuff’s LinkedIn bio.)
Creepy Grifters Open Thread: WE WILL ADOPT YOUR BABYPost + Comments (69)
(Can’t figure out how to embed it, but here’s a clip from the interview)
Vice President Harris has become a leading abortion rights voice for the Biden administration. The nation's first female vice president has spent weeks warning a Supreme Court decision undermining Roe v. Wade could threaten voting and gay marriage rights. https://t.co/UC2V8AVRja
— The Associated Press (@AP) June 27, 2022
… Taking to the issue with a passion linked both to her personal and professional background, Harris has spent recent weeks sounding the alarm that upending Roe could create precedent for new restrictions on everything from contraception and in vitro fertilization to gay marriage — and that states restricting such things are also leading the way in new limits on the right to vote.
Justice Clarence Thomas seemed to validate such concerns, writing in a concurring opinion to the larger ruling on Roe that the high court “should reconsider” past decisions on access to contraception and same-sex marriage.
Harris has been a leading Biden administration voice on abortion rights since early May, when a leaked draft opinion previewed Roe v. Wade’s nullification. She was flying to Illinois for a maternal health event when the final decision was announced last week, and read it while still in the air — quickly shifting the focus of her planned remarks to the ruling…
Getting straight to the politics of the matter after the ruling was announced, Harris said, “You have the power to elect leaders who will defend and protect your rights. With your vote, you can act. And you have the final word.”
After a Texas law effectively banned abortion in the state in the fall, Harris met providers and patients, which her office believes is the first time abortion providers have visited the White House. She stressed then that gender discrimination persists, saying that “women’s full participation in our nation” was still only a goal, not a reality.
After the draft Supreme Court opinion leaked, the vice president convened a virtual discussion with doctors and nurses providing abortion care in states with strict restrictions and met with Democratic attorneys general from states supportive of reproductive rights…
As a senator, Harris introduced legislation to improve maternal health. During a 2019 Democratic presidential primary debate, then-candidate Harris said it was “outrageous” that abortion had been overshadowed by other issues, despite a woman’s right to the procedure being “under full-on attack” even then.
The vice president most forcefully signaled the outspoken role when she declared a day after the draft opinion leaked in May: “Those Republican leaders who are trying to weaponize the use of the law against women, well, we say, how dare they?”…
We can but hope — while working all possible immediate real-world responses:
Tuesday Morning Open Thread: Good for VP HarrisPost + Comments (184)
It's about marriage. It's about sex. It's about what we read. It's about how we communicate with each other. It's about the limits to search and seizure. It's about medical records and genetic information. It's about libraries and the internet. /2
— Charles P. Pierce (@CharlesPPierce) June 26, 2022
Various coalitions of repro orgs have been meeting regularly for a long time, including religious coalitions, of which I have been a part.
Please look to these people for best practices and decisions, and follow the leadership that is happening. What is happening in these spaces is a result of deliberate choices.
For example: Before Roe, there was an organization called Clergy Consultation Service, made of rabbis and ministers, that helped people access abortion care. No, we are not starting up CCS in the same way now.
In large part because BIPOC communities–those most impacted–are organizing and leading in abortion justice spaces now in a way that they were not before Roe. The work now is different. The world is different.
We are not here to try to do some white savior stuff. We are here as part of a larger movement for liberation and we are here to be *useful*.
What people seeking abortion care want now is not to stay in your guest rooms.
They need money. What is needed now from anyone who can offer it most immediately, to have the most impact on those who are most harmed is MONEY.
‘Don’t Mourn, Organize’ Open Thread: Wise WordsPost + Comments (69)
CBS News Poll: 57% of Americans believe that the Supreme Court will now go after same sex marriage while 55% believe they will limit access to birth control.
Hard to argue with them given that Thomas called for it, but not as clear that a case could get 5 votes. We'll find out. pic.twitter.com/4FhO0G04O7
— The Wokest Numbersmuncher (@NumbersMuncher) June 26, 2022
Monday Morning Open Thread: It’s Becoming A TrendPost + Comments (205)
Operatives whose side has lost the popular vote in 7 of the last 8 POTUS elections have opinions about how dumb Democrats are https://t.co/uDfC7uf7i1
— Dana Houle (@DanaHoule) June 26, 2022
A male journalist talks to other men:
… In conversations with over a half-dozen Republican insiders, who were granted anonymity to discuss the political ramifications frankly, there was a lingering sense of skepticism that abortion would still be a major issue in November and a belief that, even if it is, it might actually redound to the benefit of the GOP.
This wasn’t to say abortion wouldn’t matter in the midterms, but that the issue wouldn’t make a decisive difference at a time when voters have other problems on their minds. “Democrats are going to run on this but they are only going to run on this because they have no other choices this cycle,” one national Republican operative said. “It’s all they have at the end of the day when inflation is high and the economy is sagging.”
A D.C.-based operative noted that “in the immediate few weeks, there will be a lot of outrage as the dust settles, but this is a state-by-state, district-by-district issue.” The operative added that while the Dobbs decision might cause Democratic voters to turn out more heavily in deep-blue areas, there is doubt within GOP circles that this will cause a surge in Democratic voters in Texas or Florida. “People don’t notice abortion on a daily basis,” the operative argued. “They notice how much bacon costs for their kids and how much gas costs to fill up their car.”
There was some sense that the Court’s ruling was “a double-edged sword,” as one social conservative activist acknowledged. “It could help Democrats by reinvigorating them and pumping them up to get angry and turn out in the midterms, that could happen.” But there was also the belief that there are only limited gains to be had in the midterms. As the national operative explained it, “the problem that Democrats have here is that people who really care about abortion and are single-issue pro-choice voters are already all voting Democratic. If you dive into the polling, they are already squeezing every bit of juice out of young college-educated women, who are the group of people most motivated by this.”
And some of the Republicans thought it could actually be a net plus for the GOP in the fall. This was not because of the impact of the issue per se, but a sense that Democrats would turn it into a self-inflicted wound. “Democrats are going to overplay their hand,” one well-connected Republican predicted. “They overplay every hand they get.” The insider thought, for instance, that “there’s going to be violence and [Democrats are] not going to denounce the violence.” Another red-state operative put it more bluntly: The sight of “a bunch of pink-haired women lighting fires in the streets” was not going to motivate moderate pro-choice women to vote for Democrats…
That doesn’t necessarily mean the midterms will be disconnected from the court’s decision, or fail to have an impact on the debate over abortion. “The first elections after Roe are going to determine a lot moving forward,” the social conservative activist suggested, and that might not be a good thing for the Democratic Party. “If the GOP wins huge majorities after the Democrats have made abortion the centerpiece of the midterms, Democrats will have lost so much political influence on this issue.”
Ergo, it’s our job to ensure that the Democrats win huge majorities, thereby highlighting how out-of-touch the Republican party really is…
GOP Death Cult Open Thread: We Need to Make Sure It Does Not Go Well for ThemPost + Comments (217)
Maxine Waters and Al Green among members of Congress who've shown up outside the Supreme Court to denounce the end of Roe. "Women are going to control their bodies, no matter how they try and stop us," Waters says. "The hell with the Supreme Court, we will defy them." pic.twitter.com/SCkicoQj68
— Alejandro Alvarez (@aletweetsnews) June 24, 2022
The Friday Stealth Dump didn’t work:
Credit where due:
Saturday Morning Open Thread: The Only Way Forward Is ThroughPost + Comments (168)
