In the United States, abortion will be on the ballot this year. Jennifer Rubin argues that the Supreme Court should also be on the ballot:
This year, abortion remains a powerful issue for Democrats. And the focus on abortion might also make the Supreme Court itself a top issue for Democrats in a presidential campaign for the first time in a generation. The radical Supreme Court that reversed Roe v. Wade is increasingly unpopular and scandal-ridden.
The importance of abortion — and, in turn, the Supreme Court responsible for overturning Roe in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization — marks a dramatic shift in the political landscape. In election after election going back to the early 1980s, Republicans used the Supreme Court to gin up their voters on a variety of issues, but especially on abortion. Democrats never really expected abortion access to disappear, so their presidential nominees did not rely as much on the Supreme Court to turn out their base. Now the tables are turned, at the very time the court has made a spectacle of itself.
Angst over the Supreme Court’s serial ethical blunders remind Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents that the problem is not just abortion but the court itself. Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. — who authored Dobbs and also committed arguably the worst ethical lapse on the court in memory — helps connect the dots for voters.
The court is clearly out of step with American voters:
This month, NPR reported on a Public Religion Research Institute poll showing that abortion rights remain extremely popular in the United States. “Nationwide, 64% percent of voters said abortion should be always or mostly legal; 35% said it should be always or mostly illegal. In most states — including states with Republican-controlled state governments — a majority of voters support legal abortion, and very few favor total bans.” Pro-choice advocates have won every abortion referendum since Dobbs, even in red states such as Ohio and Kansas.
Like the court, the Republicans are clearly out of step with American voters. Understanding their problem, the Republicans have populated the majority of the court with their sympathizers. Like the upside-down flag that flew above Alito's house in January of 2021, it's clear there is a large number of Americans who believe that democracy is a quaint -- and useless -- idea.
Image: Democracy Now
8 comments:
If the fate of the USA is in the hands of those for or against abortion or gender identity issues then they and the rest of us have to give our heads a shake!
Sadly it is .
All this whilst the world burns with little to no effort to combat it.
Our priorities are wildly out of sync with the realities of life.
As the USA's neighbour we have to ask about our future.
Monkey see , monkey do?
TB
If we look south for our inspiration, TB, we're doomed.
Appointing judges (Supreme or otherwise) in the US of A is a screwball process which I hope Canada never tries to emulate.
Trailblazer said..., "Our priorities are wildly out of sync with the realities of life."
You got that right. Trade deals directly interfere with attempts to combat climate change.
"Specifically, the new NAFTA empowers energy companies to legally challenge environmental protections, creates new venues for governments to weaken or block environmental regulations, and facilitates a North American system of energy, fuel and agriculture that are major sources of GHG emissions." https://www.iatp.org/documents/new-nafta-continues-damaging-climate-legacy
I find myself quoting George Carlin a lot these days, Toby: "Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large numbers." The question is: How stupid are we?
" The question is: How stupid are we?
Immeasurable!
Unfortunately, zoombats, that's exactly the case.
Though Paul Simon meant something else, it seems to fit the diversion twixt legal and moral actions south of the border:
"You can legalize your lows"
That's precisely what they're doing, PoV.
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