President Biden: The Dobbs decision ‘must not be the final word. This is not over.’

During the Trump administration, America was an international laughingstock. It feels like many younger Americans – Generation Obama – genuinely thought that when Joe Biden became president, perhaps things would “go back to normal.” And in truth, the past year and a half has been significantly less stomach-churning, and we no longer have to deal with the daily catastrophe and trauma. But Trump planted bombs throughout the republic, set to detonate long after he was politically neutered. That’s where we are now: lucky to have Democratic leaders like Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, but still dealing with the Christofascist terrorism planted during the Trump years. Even the World Health Organization is appalled by the state of America. A few hours after the Dobbs decision was released on Friday, President Biden stepped out for a speech.

The general gist is that Biden and the Democratic leadership want the Dobbs ruling to propel voters during the mid-terms. And that’s absolutely important – it’s far too late to “steer” ourselves out of the deadly car crash that is the Dobbs ruling, but we can control some of the aftermath, the recovery, the rehabilitation. That means political activism, registering every new voter possible, getting out the vote and only voting for pro-choice candidates whose first priority is codifying abortion rights into law. To all the people whining about voting… shut the f–k up, the grown-ups are talking.

President Biden was one of the longest-serving members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He understands – more than perhaps any other living public servant – how the courts work and what can be done and what can’t be done. Biden’s contempt for this fascist, misogynistic Court was palpable throughout his speech. Curiously, he didn’t mention some of the proposed “remedies,” like expanding SCOTUS (adding new justices), introducing age limits or various other proposals. I don’t think it slipped his mind. I would imagine he’s speaking often to Democratic leadership and weighing his options. Something I’ve been thinking about a lot since the Dobbs ruling is… recess appointments and the Court. I wonder if President Biden is thinking the same thing, perhaps as a fail-safe option. I always believed that President Obama should have filled Antonin Scalia’s seat via recess appointment (given McConnell’s refusal to give Merrick Garland a hearing), but Obama was too much of a constitutional lawyer to pull that particular trigger.

Photos courtesy of Instar.

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89 Responses to “President Biden: The Dobbs decision ‘must not be the final word. This is not over.’”

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  1. Lynne says:

    People have to get out and vote including the local elections which are the stepping stones to state and federal offices. Period.

    • Jan90067 says:

      YES!!! And may I add to this: PAY ATTENTION TO THE JUDGES ON THE BALLOTS!! While most do not list party affiliation, google the judge, go to their websites, You can not only find the ABA rating (you’d be SHOCKED at how many are rated “NOT QUALIFIED”!!), but also check WHO is ENDORSING this judge. THAT is a *REAL CLUE* as to their affiliation and how they leaning politically.

    • Elizabeth says:

      Getting out the vote is key! We did it in 2020 and we can do it again. Since we clearly have to. I need our Democratic leaders to start proposing some solutions — I am following AOC on instagram and there are some intriguing ideas — but the big thing is to prevent them from retaking Congress in the fall so they can’t pass a law banning abortion at the federal level.

      Other than getting out the vote for Nov. 8, we also can focus on mutual aid through local organizations, who have been doing this work and who are mostly Black- or Brown-led.

      I’m so scared. And absolutely disgusted that even a minority of my fellow Americans believe this medieval BS.

    • salmonpuff says:

      Yes. We are here because republicans vote. They vote in every election. They vote in lockstep for their candidate, no matter what. They vote vote vote. And if we want to have a hope of turning things around, we’re going to have to do the same.

    • loras says:

      Do you think they will make this federal if the Repubs take back the House, Senate and the Presidency in 2024?

      • HeatherC says:

        They will absolutely try.

      • Elizabeth Phillips says:

        I think they’ll try.

      • Mrs.Krabapple says:

        Absolutely. They will outlaw abortion on the federal level to override any laws in blue states. They will also go after medical Marijuana, gun control, same-sex marriage, birth control, affirmative action, health care, Title IX, the right to unionize, and any other laws they don’t like. Now that the Supreme Court has shown that it is willing to make up decisions in order to advance republican politics, anything goes.

    • Emily says:

      Yes to this and all the follow-on comments. We MUST vote blue in the midterms.

  2. EllenOlenska says:

    Expanding the court is a pipe dream for Democrats. If the Republicans wanted to pull it off they would.We would still be debating minutiae while losing our majority.

    Consumer Reports, that bastion of info for old fogies like me, is giving out good information on deleting all period and fertility apps as well as just what is and isn’t private with HIPPA and Mental health apps.

    Reminder, at the time Roe was made law, most women could not get credit cards in their own name.

    • Christine says:

      The Democrats don’t have the majority. We have two ineffective red state senators who are holding us hostage from passing legislation. We need a much bigger majority. Souring on voting Democrats in will only prolong and worsen this situation. A Republican House and Senate in 2022 will be the final nail in our coffin.

      • EllenOlenska says:

        I’m not soured at all on voting Democrat but I do need the fringe focused bunch to grow the heck up and realize you have to win on the big stuff to have a prayer to get the small stuff even heard.

      • Christine says:

        What you said, EllenOlenska. Please don’t give me endless lectures and debates about things that affect one out of every 1,000,000 people.

        We are now at a moment in history where the majority of the population in this country is fundamentally not in control of their own bodies. Do not give me another fucking lecture on your pet project.

      • Tanguerita says:

        I had a literal fit yesterday, reading through the tweets written by “progressive” assholes of the likes of Nina Turner, who has the audacity to preach down from her high horse. They are just as guilty of what’s happening at the moment as the most cynical Republicans that are out there.

    • Wiglet Watcher says:

      I’m of a grim opinion the government as a whole is useless. We had the chance to codify and it was lost because of bickering.
      Now corporations are doing the most to ensure abortions are under paid leave for employees.

      I’m a person that can’t carry to term. And to try is hell on earth. I’m also married and we both do not want kids. But the republicans are creating a world where I would have to carry to term and surely risk my life. How does that make sense? I can’t even be an incubator. No one would survive.

      • Relly says:

        I’m so sorry, @WW. My mom had massive complications giving birth to me and almost hemorrhaged to death — the doctors told her point blank she couldn’t survive carrying another child. My dad got a vasectomy, but those can sometimes fail — and if it _had_ failed, I’m grateful she had the kind of safe, legal medical options that assholes are now trying to deny to you.

        This is also why I get so angry at those “smile, your mother chose life!!” bumper stickers. My mom had horrible experiences with both of her wanted pregnancies and is vocally pro-choice — don’t you dare speak for her!!!

      • NCWoman says:

        The chance to codify Roe v. Wade wasn’t lost due to bickering. It was lost because men, not even Democratic men, chose not to prioritize it. We need to do two things at once: Vote Democratic up and down the ticket this November, and start preparing to launch a record number of pro-women’s rights women candidates up and down the ballot in 2024. We need more progressive women in politics, or we’re always going to be fighting tooth and nail to be equal citizens in this country.

      • Twee says:

        Voting for establishment politicians makes you complicit with these horrific decisions. Get off Your high horses…. establishment democrats are as useless, greedy and deplorable as Trump’s sycophants. Stop with the bandaids.

  3. Wiglet Watcher says:

    I am so terrified In My state of Maine that our governor will go from D- Mills to R- Lepage. He was an openly corrupt and deeply hated governor that is running for his 2nd term because he was nearly ousted on his first and knew he wouldn’t win a 2nd at that time. People forgot how bad he was and this state feels like it’s swinging right.

    My husband and I have offered help to those in need, but if my state starts restricting this life saving medical procedure I’m lost on how to help people with such a time sensitive problem.

    • EllenOlenska says:

      But Susan Collins will have Maine covered with “ thoughts and prayers” Hang in there Wiglet Watcher. Good to have people who care up there.

      • Wiglet Watcher says:

        Collins hides in her house or uses her DC office now. She is never in her Maine office and it has constant armed guards. She’s such a failure.

    • jas says:

      Another Mainer here. The idea of LePage returning terrifies me. He has never lost an election here. He is running for his 3rd term.

    • Hellohello says:

      Fellow Mainer here—thank goodness we have rank choice voting. I am very hopeful that will keep Lepage at bay, but who knows. I’ll plan to volunteer for Mills and local dem candidates in the fall.

      That’s the part of the SCOTUS ruling that feels so insane, is that we will all be on edge constantly about the state party in power. It’s truly horrifying and we have Susan Collins to thank for this. I want to go throw up in her flower beds. May she never know another moment’s peace in our state.

      • Wiglet Watcher says:

        She already is on edge. She spends less and less time here. She no longer speaks to constituents that are not donating. And to think she was once lauded as one of the 14 bipartisan senators when we had Olympia snow. But Susan is a follower. With Snow gone she’s latched onto The Rs and now whatever Mitch says.

    • LydiaCO says:

      I am in Maine as well. Planning to work my butt off for Janet Mills to prevent LePage from taking over. He is a trump wannabe, a fascist and it would be devastating for our state to have him in power again. Collins? She betrayed women and her name puts me in a rage.

      • Wiglet Watcher says:

        Yay!
        A vote for lepage is a vote against human rights. And if you’ve met him he’s just an awful person.

  4. Wilma says:

    It must be really frustrating to be president and have a democratic majority and yet not be able to do a thing because of two senators not wanting to end the filibuster.

    • Wilma says:

      Never mind, just read that his press secretary said Biden is not seeking to end the filibuster himself 🤬

      • Christine says:

        There is no point in him seeking it right now. He doesn’t have the votes in the Senate and making it a thing will
        only fail. If we had a 54 majority it would be a non issue.

      • A says:

        I think a lot of people expected Joe Biden to be more…daring? I guess is the word than he is. There is a reason he was on all those committees forever, and a reason he got along so well with everybody and a reason he was picked as Obama’s VP. And it’s because he’s a pretty cautious, incrementalist dude. I think the times in which we find ourselves are not the kind of atmosphere Biden feels most comfortable or finds easiest to navigate.

      • AnneL says:

        He can’t. It won’t work because of the two Traitor Dems in the Senate, and he knows that. There’s no point in seeking a political fight you know you’ll lose.

      • ChillinginDC says:

        The Press Secretary never said that and the CNN reporter had to pull that quote back.

  5. A says:

    Lots of things could have been done, might have been done, could still maybe be done by all the very nice, well-intentioned, and long-serving public servants we’ve got. And they haven’t been done, were never going to be done, will not be done. So, I guess I will just vote harder and knock on more doors than last time for the people who swear that they’re on my side and gosh, wouldn’t they just love to do something about it.

  6. Hellohello says:

    I suppose I’m feeling a bit more cynical than Kaiser, but when I started getting fundraiser texts from Pelosi and other democratic congressional leaders immediately (and I mean immediately) after the ruling was announced, I have to think that they were not shocked by the timing of the announcement and were more than prepared to try and make money off this national catastrophe. And that in some ways, fundraising off the abortion issue is a feature for the dems. It’s a way for them to get out the vote, and it’s an issue that they don’t really care enough about to have done anything legislatively in 40+ years because that would have always brought out GOP voters in the following election cycle.

    Where has the absolute outrage been from the democratic leadership since the decision was leaked in May? Biden gave a mild statement at that point and little else. The messaging has been extremely mild. In ‘07 Obama promised to push for abortion access legislation while campaigning and then back-burnered it once in office. Pelosi just recently endorsed anti choice candidate Henry Cuellar. None of these decisions are an accident, it’s the carrot-and-stick strategy that serves to get voters to the polls.

    • Happy_Fat_Mama says:

      Hellohello

      You make some interesting points. In Canada, abortion is not illegal, but not a right that is codefied in law. Still, most Canadians support abortion as health care. I’ve heard political analysts on the CBC comment that the liberal party will not codify abortion rights, because they know that every time the issue comes up they can look good by opposing the conservative party, who opposes abortion rights.

      I am sorry that Americans are going through this.

      • Lucy says:

        Yeeeeeep. And 92/338 MPs are publicly anti-choice…5 of whom are Liberals. Abortion is legal here, but woefully inaccessible. Get on your MP and MPP/MLA with a quickness and let them know where you stand.

      • Nic919 says:

        Access is the issue in canada which means the provinces control that. Daigle confirms that a fetus has no legal rights. Morgentaler confirms that abortion rights relate to section 7 of the charter and security of the person. Codifying it doesn’t change anything at the federal level. It’s a red herring to focus on the federal liberals about this.

        So every conservative provincial premier is where the focus needs to be, including Ontario. Ford won’t be open about it, but check out what his dumbass adult daughter says on the issue, just like her anti vax shit made him passive on vaccines. He is also pals with a lot of religious assholes, including McVeity. And everyone who didn’t vote in June or voted conservative can fuck off letting him have a huge majority and do tons of damage. He’s going to privatize more health care and that’s going to include access to reproductive health care.

        New Brunswick is being sued because of lack of access. The prairies have sketchy access outside of urban areas as well.

        The issues are different in Canada. It’s the provinces and people need to wake the hell up about what’s going on because this decision just motivated the christofascists to do more on the north side of the border.

      • sunny says:

        Yes @Lucy, and @Nic919. Access is the big challenge in Canada. In the cities we are generally doing alright(though access to later stage abortions is terrible across Canada) but huge portions of our country are rural and those areas have woeful access. It also becomes a greater consideration when we think of the lack of support systems and services for intimate partner violence in rural Canada.

        I feel so much empathy for our American neighbours. Like many Canadians, I have a lot of family south of the border and I worry about my cousin’s rights. I also really worry about maternal mortality rates(I am a Black woman). A cousin of mine almost died in Florida giving birth 3 years ago when her doctor didn’t take her pain seriously/symptoms seriously. In a country with a woeful maternal mortality rate, forced births for people with uteri is even more dangerous.

    • Elizabeth says:

      We all knew this was coming since May, and either Friday or next week based on the Court’s schedule, so absolutely no one should have been shocked by the “timing of the announcement,” let alone politicians who follow government closely as their job.

      I’m not here for the disingenuous and selective purity attacks on Democrats. You KNOW the Republicans are far worse. We don’t have a perfect world. But. Holding on to the House right now is our last stopgap against a national law banning abortion for which the Republicans are absolutely slavering at the mouth and which Pelosi would never allow. So please don’t do what we did in 2016 and launch a civil war among Democrats because right now we need unity.

    • salmonpuff says:

      I agree that the establishment democrats are CRAP at messaging. As a comms professional, I’m appalled at how ridiculously weak their messaging has been. But I do have to defend the poor fundraisers — that’s their job to take every issue and fundraise off it. It’s wouldn’t be so noticeable though, if the comms people were doing their job better.

      • Hellohello says:

        Exactly — I’m also in marketing/communications and notice again and again how pitiful and uninspired the messaging is. Their fundraisers are caught between a rock and a hard place.

        And to be clear for posters up-thread: I’m not here to eat our own and will be out drumming up support w/ the rest of you. Of course the GOP is god-awful. But it’s not wrong to critique the Dem party messaging (or lack thereof) and their milquetoast actions. Our country keeps ratcheting to the right and the Dems need to do better. They play like it’s still 1996.

      • Duo says:

        I somewhat agree with this assessment, though I have seen plenty of singular candidates and politicians have great messaging. I actually don’t think Republicans are necessarily good at messaging themselves. Being diplomatic in my assessment, but I find their messaging erratic and even incoherent at times. And quite frankly, many in their base don’t have basic understanding of what the heart of these issues actually are (CRT, for instance). But, they are good at coordination, dissemination, and constant repetition of their message, as well as using words or delivery of speech that evoke fear — propaganda essentially. While I don’t condone the Democrats becoming propagandists, they need not just better messaging, but better coordination as well.

    • Luna17 says:

      Agree with this! Maybe I’m becoming a cynical millennial but it feels like the dems are using this as a money grab just like the republicans. We keep being told to vote yet we do vote every fing election and here we are…. So as a democrat im supposed to keep throwing money at these same politicians who have been in power for decades, many longer than I’ve been alive and vote for them yet these are the results and they just shrug and say give us more money and votes?! This system is a scram and obviously there is no democracy if six unelected a holes can take away rights from over half the country! We need to save ourselves since the politicians can’t do it and won’t do it. I’d rather donate to community action funds and people on the ground than the same watered down dems that have been in power yet can’t do shit except keep their well paid, cushy jobs while we the people suffer and lose rights . I’ll still vote blue but I think the dems will get their asses handed to them in midterms. They need to stop brining a knife to the gun fight.

    • Bisynaptic says:

      Agreed. So much of this is political/electoral theater, with the public as both spectator and football. The Democratic leadership is not on fire, as it should be, to preserve the basic bodily rights of more than half the population; it’s focused on the next fundraising opportunity.
      Still, the only road between us and representative government, in the near term, lies through the Democratic party. Blame the Founding Fathers and our current electoral system.

    • NCWoman says:

      That’s a very glib interpretation of political realities. Yes, they had the fundraising requests prepared because someone leaked the draft decision and they knew it wouldn’t change, so they were ready to go. But the truth is that abortion rights have brought R’s to the polls for the last 40 years, but D’s have NOT shown up on this issue. Obama and Pelosi expended all of their political capital pushing through ACA and lost their majorities because we didn’t come out and support them for it despite the fact that it helped millions of people. We’ve made very little effort to support D’s on any human rights issues, especially women candidates who would help center the issue of women’s rights. The R base has made the effort on this. The D base hasn’t.

    • Twee says:

      Yes. Yes. Yes!!! They are complicit.

  7. Mrs. Smith says:

    I read yesterday that Biden does not want to expand the court. But I believe McConnell and his ilk will definitely do that the second they get the chance. Much like Obama’s reluctance to make recess appointments, Biden doesn’t want to expand because (I believe) it’s taking things a step too far. Taking things to the extreme is conservative politics 101. They will stop at nothing to progress their agenda. Biden needs to take immediate action where possible, including setting things into motion, such as impeachment proceedings for the SCOTUS justices who lied under oath about Roe, even if these tactics fail.

    Not to add more to the president’s plate, but I hope the administration can find a way, even temporarily, to lower gas prices and get a grip on impending inflation—and promote the hell out of it. Trumpet that success. My fear is that many Rep. will be swayed by these other problems that impact them perhaps more directly (looking at the old, straight, white dudes here) than the emergency of Roe.

    • FHMom says:

      I agree with you. We need to turn their playbook on them. We need term limits on those assholes and we need them now. Barret and Kavanagh are young. The damage they do will never end. We need to expand the Court. There is too much power in the hands of too few. Justices were never supposed to be politically motivated, but here we are. We also need some adult to step up and call for impeachment for lying under oath. It’s time for the dems to get extreme. It’s past time to act

      • Kendra says:

        He doesn’t have the votes from the senate to do any of this.

      • Mrs. Smith says:

        I fully understand that Biden doesn’t have the votes to succeed here. My point is to do something—anything—that demonstrates the outrage. This action is something the Dems can talk about in interviews and speeches—blanket that message with relentless press coverage. Part of the frustration here is the lack of action. Taking any action, even if it’s a stunt or a non-starter, means there is at least something to talk about. It’s a way to get the Dems out front and center. Book that Chuck Todd segment! Do an interview for a front-page story. Do it all. Never miss an opportunity. Taking the passive approach does nothing to inspire confidence.

    • AnneL says:

      Like Kendra said, Biden doesn’t have the votes in the Senate to impeach the lying SCOTUS judges, or to end the filibuster, or to pass federal abortion rights legislation. He just doesn’t.

      As for the fund-raising, yes, my phone has been blowing up with those entreaties too. But that’s what the Repubs did for decades…..fund-raised and campaigned on abortion. And it worked. So if it works for us, I’ll take it. It’s not enough, but it’s one important tool.

      I’ll never be a single-issue voter BUT abortion is a MUST for me. I could love everything else about a candidate and their views, but if they’re anti-choice, forget it.

      • Relly says:

        @Annel I agree — I can’t vote for someone anti choice. I had an argument with a friend once who insisted we had to find compromises where we could in politics and not purity test ourselves to death on the left — okay, fine, but I draw the line at “considers me to have bodily autonomy.” If a candidate thinks I’m a second class citizen, they aren’t really the lesser of two evils.

    • Nic919 says:

      Until democrats have a super majority in the House and Senate, there is zero point discussing stacking the court. It can’t happen. Blaming Biden does nothing here. It’s a waste of time to discuss something he can’t do.

      And people need to get their asses out and vote in large numbers to give the Dems more power. They don’t have it. Midterms matter because they are going to spend two years impeaching Biden if the gop get control again.

  8. Mrs. Smith says:

    I forgot to mention the importance of local elections in my previous post. Back in 1999, I worked at a place where the local politicians would speak on camera about their platforms. One candidate there that day, who currently represents my state in the US House of Representatives (!), was so stunningly and singularly stupid, that I asked coworkers if they were sure this was the right? THIS guy is running for office? He could barely form sentences (on or off camera). But he was very conservative and would always vote according to what his donors wanted. He has since refused to debate opponents or even run campaign ads (I am totally serious). His name just appears on the ballot, the local Rs vote for him like crazy, and he gets reflected again and again. So please vote in your local elections. It’s critical.

  9. Mrs. Smith says:

    *he gets re-elected

  10. smegmoria says:

    I live a an area that is so red, Democrat candidates don’t exist. Most local races only have one Republican running in each race. Usually the Democrats that do run try to out conservative the Republicans. So, I don’t know.

  11. Veronica S. says:

    My feeling is what’s done is done. Frankly, I’ve been expecting it since 2016, and most everybody should have known it was coming when RGB died. Elections have consequences. Democrats are either going to wake up and start voting the way they should have from the start, or they’re going to accept fascism as the alternative. You either fight for your democracy or you don’t. Simple as that.

    In the meanwhile, people need to stop pretending you can win this war without some measure of tactical brutality. Get out of the red states that are anti-choice. Stop supporting them with your tax dollars. Stop buying from, vacationing, or visiting them. Stop sending your kids to their colleges. Stop setting up your businesses in them. Pressure your state reps to enshrine rights and refuse to cooperate with those who want to punish women crossing state lines. Help families who don’t have the money to escape where possible.

    You cannot win this Cold War without the wealthier blue states beginning to flex their power. We need to start treating the idea of haven states seriously because things are very well going to get worse.

    • Jess says:

      Agreed, Veronica S. Blue states need to flex their power and yea, I won’t be sending my kids to school in red states. And yes we need to vote, but I’m really disgusted that the Dems only response each time things get worse is – vote. Or to sing God Bless America. Wtf? I’ve been voting and donating to Dems for 30 years and things keep getting worse because the Dems are afraid to be ruthless like the GOP (and the media applies a double standard too). We needed big action over the past two years but Biden and Garland are such institutionalists they squandered our opportunity. Unless the vote is huge this fall, we may never get another chance to stop this nation from becoming all out fascist, but that doesn’t mean the current Dems can just read poems, ask for money, and ask for our vote. AOC had a great twitter thread on what the Dems need to be doing now. Ugh, I’m really disgusted by how the Dems handled the nightmare we all knew was coming on last Friday.

      • Veronica S. says:

        IMO, a lot of it is a case of older voters in the party not really understanding what we were coming up against. The younger Gen Xers and younger have a better concept Younger people have always been the cornerstone of change in any system; it’s hard to want to rock the boat when you’ve been embedded in a system so long and feel it generally works.

        I will say I think this is a big wake up call for a lot of moderates. I know my mother admitted to me on the phone today that somebody like Bernie would likely be taking a more pronounced and dramatic stand than Biden, simply because he’s clinging to the idea that the system can still be saved as is. I was like yes…this is what I have been saying to you for years lol. Young people have a vested interest in dramatic change because it’s our future we’re seeing whittled away to nothing. You need an FDR, not a Carter right now, somebody willing to be forceful to create change.

        Part of the problem that I think nobody wants to say out loud is that…we see democracy doesn’t really work? Not the way it’s set up in this country. Our system favors the minority because of the geographical logistics. I believe in using the system we have to fix it because revolutions are neither clean nor predicative of *good* change, but I’m not sure if people have it in them to do the work for it.

      • Duo says:

        Younger people have a right to be terrified and demand change for a better system, but not sure how you are coming to the conclusion that older voters from the party don’t know what we are up against. Many of them warned for years what was coming, especially as Millennials (I am one) sat out so many election cycles besides 2008. I am not going to pretend that the Democratic Party could have done more to attract younger voters, but so many Millennials and Gen Z are expressing anger that they came it to vote 2020 and are not getting what they want. I will give Gen Z a bigger pass since many of them were just eligible in 2020, but still, younger voters need to own some of their apathy here. Further, the more progressive youth-oriented movements often go the route of in-fighting and cannibalizing the movement (Occupy Wall Street right a bell?). I think there are ample opportunity for younger people to mobilize for change, but to the points I agree with, they need to have it in them.

      • Veronica S. says:

        I think a lot of older voters understood the danger substantially better than younger voters, who are absolutely responsible for their failure to show up, but what I’m referring to specifically is the generational divide in the party support. Older voters tend to be more moderate, push for more moderate candidates, when a lot of the younger voters, especially young Latino (which is a huge, varied voting bloc that somehow Democrats aren’t aggressively courting??), have a very different vision of where the party needs to go. That disconnect between Gen X/Boomer Democrats and Millennials/Gen Z is the issue, IMO.

        This being said, a lot of young people have been fed on a steady diet of simplistic media narratives and social media where they’ve become just as narrow and unrealistic about the complexity of the world around them as the conservatives they accuse of being the problem. I have a lot of worries about Gen Z showing up in the next few elections, but my feeling is it’s their game to lose. They’re going to be around a lot longer dealing with the fallout of socioeconomic and environmental collapse than the older generation will.

    • Twee says:

      YES!!!

  12. AnneL says:

    Responding to what Wiglet Watcher said about corporations stepping in to protect their employees’ reproductive rights, that is happening in Texas already. The national head of my husband’s firm (a woman), sent out an e-mail Friday assuring that the firm would work with their insurance provider to cover all services (out-of-state services if necessary). Insurance companies have been sending out those signals as well.

    One of his clients, a huge company with Texas-based operations, asked him to research the issue of how they can keep their employees in Texas and other Forced Birth states protected. It’s not his area of expertise so he is referring it to someone else in the firm, but it’s good to know they’re on it. It’s something, anyway.

    We are in Houston.

    I remain just numb and furious.

    • Tourmaline says:

      But ultimately this is just corporate window dressing (not specifically the firm you mention, but this approach in general).

      For now yes it is better than nothing. But if companies doing this were seriously principled on this, they would move operations out of these states and offer financial support for their employees to relocate. Having to need one’s employer to be involved in your reproductive health care to avoid forced birth or to reduce the risk of dying for being denied ectopic or miscarriage medical treatment is not sustainable or right. Many companies will say they have these policies and then stay in forced birth states for the “taxes” and continue to donate to forced birth politicians.

  13. Rapunzel says:

    USo I think trying for federal law codifying rights and enshrining rights into state constitutions is good. But I think ultimately SCOTUS would scuttle any federal law. They have federal bans ready to pass, and that’s their goal, so I think state level protection could be useless too.

    There needs to be statehood for DC and PR to give the Dems real majority.

    There needs to be immediate impeachment of every motherf–ker who lied that Roe was settled law, and their decision should be voided and new Justices picked.

    None of this will happen though. And it’s only going to get worse before it gets better.

    • Duo says:

      I read somewhere that a checks and balances on the SC is that Congress has the authority, via legislation, to decide what types of cases the court can and cannot decide. For instance, they can pass a law that says the SC can no longer review cases involving reproductive rights. Of course, that requires a substantial Democratic majority in Congress and I know there is frustration around whether they have the will to do it, even if they pull off victory in November. But I think there is perception that the SC has the final say in legislation decisions, when there are ways to limit their power.

      • Veronica S. says:

        They can also choose to ignore the courts, which is ultimately what I think very large states like California are going to have to do if the SCOTUS starts going after states rights. The SCOTUS ultimately has very little to no enforcement power. The whole system depends on everybody agreeing to abide by its decisions, which means defanging them is a matter of telling them to knock off.

        Congress may then act to enforce, but that puts it them in a very interesting bind as to how. Military deployment? States have their own reserves for a reason, and not everyone in the military is going to want to march on their own citizens. Freeze federal funding? Sure…if you’re going after states that are heavily dependent on federal subsidies, which most of the big blues like California definitely are not. Difficult times ahead, no matter how you slice it.

  14. Rapunzel says:

    Oh and call me crazy, but I think if Christianity wants to dictate what medical procedures women in the US can undergo, then maybe Christian churches should…. IDK, start paying taxes to pay for the babies they’re “saving”? Sounds pro-life to me.

    The more I think about it, the more I think this needs to be done immediately. Fix the tax laws so that as long as abortion is banned, Churches are taxable organizations because they are no longer religious entities, but government entities making laws, since churches are claiminh this legal decisionas their victory. Tax the fuck out of them. 75% tax. Teach them to keep the Bible where it belongs, in church, not my Healthcare.

    If they did this, the amount of churches that would suddenly change stances would be astounding because I guarantee organizations like the catholic church don’t want taxes. They’d all put money before their morals and expose their own hypocrisy.

    • Tourmaline says:

      Who fixes tax laws? Congress. The same entity that basically can’t get it together to get a majority needed to pass anything.

  15. Jess says:

    I will admit I’ve never been a fan of Biden as president. I didn’t want him as my candidate but I still campaigned for him and voted for him. And I would again if he was the one chosen to run against the GOP candidate in 2024. But not only do I think he doesn’t understand politics today, I also can’t forgive his role in humiliating Anita Hill in service of seating the most radical member of the Supreme Court, someone who is actively working to strip our rights away right now. That still angers me every day.

    • OG Bella says:

      I remember the Anita Hill testimony so vividly and I get so angry all over again

    • Elizabeth says:

      He did seek to humiliate Anita Hill and that was beyond disgusting. That entire episode of white men sneering at her, denying her witnesses, and being bros across the aisle was a repugnant era in our country. *He* should feel humiliated by that. Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaufh should not be on the bench unless they are cleared in a court of law on the charges of crimes — violent crimes — against women. It is unbelievable how our country dismisses women.

      In addition, Biden supported the Hyde amendment until June 2019, when it became clear he couldn’t be the Democratic front runner with that view. That’s only about three years ago that he was still claiming we shouldn’t federally fund abortions! He is a Catholic and personally against abortion as he’s said himself. But in our party he is FORCED to be different these days. He would never be president in our party if he weren’t pro-choice.

      So right now he’s an absolutely crucial ally in protecting reproductive rights including abortion. He has the best chance of keeping the White House in 2024 and we cannot let DeSantis take it, who would be infinitely worse.

    • Nic919 says:

      Relitigating what Biden did in 1991 is such a waste of time. Biden didn’t write the decision to overturn Roe. Thomas and Alito did . Anita Hill was brave and told her story to the world, but that Senate was basically all men, especially on the GOP side and they never were going to turf Thomas for doing stuff many of them did themselves. Biden actually voted against the nomination but there are 11 Democratic men who thought sexual harassment was no big deal. Prior to Anita Hill, most of the things she publicly disclosed were happening to women all the time and it was viewed as ok. Expecting Biden to somehow change the sexist view of men in 1991 is like expecting people in the segregated south in the 1950s to be less racist. Nothing he did during the committee could have changed this. Had he not let Anita Hill speak then perhaps there was an argument, but she did speak and for many men that wasn’t enough when it should have been.

      After all did the same shit happen with Kavanaugh? It didn’t matter there either.

  16. Lizzie Bathory says:

    SCOTUS has not, for most of US history, been a progressive institution. I’m pretty sure Alito & Thomas in particular, but possibly other conservative justices, don’t believe in the 14th amendment at all. They’ll rule against any rights based on equal protection grounds. And that’s depressing, but progress in the US has never been linear, nor has it been easy to achieve. We fought a whole war over it, once.

    It’s always been the case that we build & repair democracy when others seek to destroy or dismantle it. The destroyers are a loud minority that feeds on despair, hopelessness & exhaustion. I’m going to eat some yummy things, increase my donation to my local abortion fund & maybe nap later. Be gentle with yourselves, Celebitchies.

  17. L4Frimaire says:

    I think lower courts and municipalities and clinics should just ignore this ruling and this law. Someone made a good point the Lincoln basically ignored what he considered a delegitimate Supreme Court, ignored their backwards rulings on slavery and citizenship and issued Emancipation Proclamation, regardless of what southern laws stated. Biden should basically say this decision will not and should not be enforced and he will protect those clinics that defy state laws and continue to provide abortions, including blanket pardons.

    • Tourmaline says:

      Biden isn’t a dictator that can say state laws outlawing abortion cannot be enforced. He doesn’t even have the power to pardon state crimes. So no this isn’t it.

  18. Claire says:

    It’s official, a corpse has more bodily autonomy than a woman now.

  19. K says:

    Anyone else find it ironic that the same states that have trigger laws refuse to have any laws about…triggers on an AR15….horrible thought but I fear an eventual civil war. If you put us back to 1860, it’s quite easy to see what states would be on which side. I thought my heart was broken but it’s pounding in fear. I live in PA, but if Mastriano gets in…well I just don’t want to imagine what he would do. He proclaimed in a very lofty way “I don’t make exceptions ” in cases of rape or incest. Please vote on everything from city council on up.

  20. Gubbinal says:

    The politicians are mostly in it for the money. I am far-left but realistic about compromise and incrementalism. But SCOTUS has decided that Corporations are people, but women are incubators. As long as money is in politics, income inequality will become more shocking.
    Harry Truman said that any president who left the White House a penny richer than when he was elected, is a crook. I voted for Hillary, of course, but I was not thrilled with her $250,000 chats with Wall Street.

    I think that most politicians would rather side with the right and give lip-service to the left, while they are busy fund-raising. We want them to work for us, not to embiggen their personal finances.

  21. Julia K says:

    What does he mean ” it’s not over ” . How do you overturn the Supreme Court?

    • Lizzie Bathory says:

      You don’t. But they did not make abortion illegal; they ruled that the right to choose is no longer a right guaranteed under the US Constitution. It’s not over because:

      1. States can still protect abortion access via statute & by enshrining the right to abortion in state constitutions.
      2. Federal agencies can use their powers (see Merrick Garland’s statement about DOJ’s priorities & that states can’t preempt the FDA by banning abortion medication).
      3. Prosecutors can decline to bring cases in jurisdictions that try to penalize people who facilitate abortions.
      4. People can donate to abortion funds & support the ongoing work of reproductive justice networks.

      Etc, etc. SCOTUS has struck down *one* avenue for protecting the right to abortion. We pivot to others.

  22. WithLove says:

    Why didn’t they codify roe vs wade when they had the chance? Dangling the carrot every election time to gain votes by threatening with this very thing is why.

  23. Lisa says:

    This is government forced pregnancy, and the impacts will be as awful as that sounds. All of the rhetoric on the right is based in religious extremism.

    92% of abortions happen in the first 13 weeks and 60% are to people who already have at least one child. Women are not getting abortions on a whim during the final month of pregnancy, despite the image that the right portrays.

    Reproductive freedom is healthcare. It’s religious freedom. And it’s the compassionate choice for a civilized society.

    Kids who were raped by an abuser will be forced to give birth. Since rape is nearly impossible to prove, they will be forced to go through the trauma of adoption or to co-parent with abusers, while the state will protect the abusers’ parental rights.

    Women in their late 40s nearing menopause will be forced to give birth at great risk to their physical health. They are more likely to give birth to babies with severe disabilities or deformities. They are also 30% more likely to miscarry.

    Women who are miscarrying often need to use abortion drugs to avoid going into sepsis. Now they will be treated as suspects, even felons (if they don’t bleed to death first).

    There are countless examples of circumstances where abortion provides a compassionate choice.

  24. Relly says:

    I promise I’m not kvetching and whining here: I plan to vote, I plan to fund raise, I will be contacting organizations and finding out how I can help in some of my free time.

    And also, I wanted to scream on Friday with all the Democrats saying “okay, guys, this is why we need you to vote.” I did vote. I have been voting. Is there a plan here? Are you guys going to actually try to stop this nightmare or just use it to send out fundraising emails?

    I’m going to vote, but holy shit, I didn’t vote for you so that you could all sit around and go “see, this is terrible. You should vote for us so that _______” and then not even fill in the blank.

    Tell me there’s something in the works, tell me there’s a plan, help me believe that I shouldn’t give up and crawl under the bed and never come out again???

  25. Case says:

    I vote, I phone bank, I donate, I’ve been politically involved since I was a teenager. But boy am I sick of nothing being done to ensure certain rights are protected — abortion rights, gay marriage, etc. — so that politicians can keep the same damn talking points forever and ever and dangle the carrot for every new election.

    It’s why issues like gun control are never put to rest when pretty much every other country has figured out reasonable solutions. We’re not the only country with radical right-wing crazies, but we’re the only country that lets them stomp all over reason and logic while we give in to their demands. We just regurgitate the same problems over and over for every election, and never move forward. I understand progress is incremental, but come on already. I will continue to fight as I always have, but I’m exhausted that our Democrat public servants continue to act helpless when there is SO MUCH they can do. I feel like the left, with its current leadership in place, has little fight left in them. It’s why they gave up and gave in to crazy anti-mask/anti-vax people and left children and the immune compromised to fend for themselves. I’m not whining, I’m just angry and tired of the same old issues and our leadership acting like there’s nothing to be done — except hey, can you spare $20?