Sunday, December 26, 2021

VOTING RIGHTS, THE JANUARY 6, INVESTIGATION, REVEREND WARNOCK, BIDEN, JIM CLYBURN AND OF COURSE SENATOR MANCHIN





These last few weeks the political landscape was rocked by a number of events including the unexpected suspension of negotiations on Biden’s Build Back Better legislation by the mercurial conservative Democratic Senator from West Virginia, Joe Manchin. He then inexplicably indicated he would still be involved in discussions. He is the crucial fiftieth vote on anything Democratic. The Democrats pivoted from Build Back Better to voting rights as the number one priority as the number of voter restrictions and repressive legislation measures proposed by “Republican” State Legislatures increased to two hundred and sixty - two. 


A simple illustrative example of the expansiveness of the draconian measures is illustrated by what has transpired in Lincolnshire, a small County in the State of Georgia. All electoral officials will be replaced by “Republican” nominees and polling booths have been reduced from seven to one making it extremely difficult for minorities to vote, some living twenty - three miles away. There is also a Georgian State Law that voters standing in lines could not receive liquids or food. There is little doubt that voting rights face their biggest threat since Jim Crow. 


Joe Biden presumably responding to the dramatic and underreported intervention from Raphael Warnock, the first Black Senator ever elected from the American South, confirmed in a Commencement address, honoring Jim Clyburn that the most important issue facing the country were the two Bills to avoid voter suppression that were languishing in the Senate. Not surprisingly Joe Manchin is crucial to their enactment as well as his vote is needed to overcome the arcane filibuster. Manchin has authored one of the two Democratic pieces of voter legislation. However he appears to rate “bipartisan co operation” more than democracy itself and is loth to axe the filibuster rule that requires sixty votes instead of fifty to pass voting legislation. This in the face of the filibuster suspension

the week before to allow for the raising of America’s debt ceiling. Senator Warnock’s appeal for the advancement of the franchise bills was met with high praise by all including Joe Manchin who stated it was “moving” But whether that means Manchin will deliver his vote only the divine know. 


All this to the backdrop of another explosive Covid variant wave and the earth shattering reports from the January 6 House Investigating Committee. The latter whose aim was to prevent another assault on democracy would only be relevant if a democracy existed to be saved.  


THE JANUARY 6 INVESTIGATION AND DEMOCRACY.


As the unbelievable, yet believable, revelations from the January 6 Investigating House Committee are released, reinforcing what so many hypothesized, that January 6 was just the giant symbol of a vast conspiracy to overthrow democracy in the USA. The abomination, like Watergate is pointing to the deep involvement of the Presidency and those surrounding him. That is where the comparison ends. While both scandals involved the democratic process and accountability, January 6gate represents the survival of democracy itself and the very essence of what America purports to stand for. In addition the unraveling of Watergate was for the large part bipartisan while January 6gate has very limited participation by the self same Republican Party. 


Part and parcel of subverting the result of the 2020 Presidential election the revolutionaries want to enshrine into State law provisions that will both facilitate future “Republican” victory and in the event that this is not achieved, mechanisms whereby the result can be reversed. That is the text, the sub text is race and a continuation of America’s historical suppression of the voting rights of those of color.


The House Committee investigating January 6 may well be able to uncover criminal activity and refer the conspirators, financiers and organizers for criminal prosecution. They should be able to frame legislation for example that confirms the outcome of elections as well as protocols that ensure that the citadel of American Democracy is never so exposed to an insurrection again. However it is the States that set the rules for their elections and their ratification and unless there is a Federal Law that ensures that the franchise is available to all and that they can be fair and free, Congress’s power will be meaningless. All they would be able to do would be to formally ratify the slate of the electors presented to them by the States who would have conducted a elections according to their own discriminatory legislation. 


The two Democratic Bills address the problems of the States’ efforts to suppress the voting rights of minorities and giving politicians the right to declare an election invalid. The inaction on this crucial issue brought forth a speech by the Reverend Raphael Warnock that was in the genre of Martin Luther King. He laid bare the hypocrisy of his colleagues on both sides of the Senate.


THE REVEREND RAPHAEL WARNOCK INHERITOR OF THE KING MANTLE


Placing the King mantle on Senator Warnock is intentional hyperbole. But for King, Warnock not to mention Obama and Harris would never have been.  Reverend Warnock serves in the very same church in Atlanta Georgia, the Ebenezer Baptist Church, that King preached. He hasn’t the license that was afforded to King who as an activist could tell it as it was. Warnock is a politician who is involved in the arena of compromise and persuasion. However all the civil right change that King managed to give birth to is on a line as the autocratic Trump movement has moved to keep this country white. Warnock has the gravitas, the turn of phrase, the eloquence, the humility and the sense of history that so characterized Martin Luther King in his all too short life. In a brief intervention he exposed the hypocrisy of his colleagues who abandoned the sixty vote filibuster threshold to pass an economic bill but are refusing to do so for voting rights.


So began Warnock: “I come to the floor today after a long week of wrestling with my conscience. Before we left Washington last week, we in this chamber made a change in the Senate rules in order to push forward something which to all of us is important. We set the stage to raise the nation’s debt ceiling, and yet as we cast that vote to begin addressing the debt ceiling, this same chamber was allowing the ceiling of our democracy to crash in around us”.


Then he continued: “So.. I will be honest, this has been a difficult week for me as I’ve pondered how I am going to vote on this debt ceiling… I feel like I’m being asked to take a road that is a point of moral dissonance for me, I believe that both our democracy and our economy are important. I believe that it is misplaced to change the Senate rules only for the benefit of the economy when the warning lights on our democracy are flashing at the same time. I happen to believe that our democracy is at least as important as the economy…..Well the people of Georgia and across the country are saying voting rights are important enough. And so we cannot delay. We must continue to urge the party of Lincoln not to give in to the very forces of voter suppression that Dr. King described in that 1957 speech while standing in the shadow of Lincoln. 


The Pastor of King’s Ebenezer Baptist Church ended his short admonition: “…..we cannot wait. With uncanny and eerie relevance, Dr. King’s words summoned us to this very moment. He said the hour is late. The clock of destiny is ticking out and we must act now before it is too late.” 


Whether this moved Manchin and any Republicans enough to support the dropping of the filibuster remains to be seen. Manchin hasn’t axed this proposal yet and added that the Senator, “…did a very good job making his case”. Certainly following Warnock’s speech Biden publicly repeated his assertion that voting rights were the domestic priority 


BIDEN, CLYBURN AND WARNOCK


President Biden makes very few Graduation Commencement speeches but his choice of the South Carolina State College was not surprising as he too attended a Community College. The occasion was the physical handing over a Graduation degree earned sixty - one years ago by his life long friend Jim Clyburn, who currently is the Chief Democratic Whip in the House of Representatives. Clyburn is also the doyen of South Carolina politics and the de facto leader of the African American political arm certainly in the Southern States. It is widely acknowledged, including by Joe Biden, that it was Clyburn’s ringing endorsement of Biden’s rock bottom primary campaign that was the turning point to Biden becoming President. There is a synchronicity in their approach to politics and to life. Both have deep seated convictions but have the political savvy to be just ahead of the curve and understand the practicality of politics. They don’t bear grudges and rarely if ever get personal. 


However there is little doubt that Clyburn privately reinforced Biden’s decision to throw his full weight behind the Voting Bills.. Clyburn is acknowledged as the force that persuaded the forty - sixth President to announce on the campaign trail that the first Supreme Court Judge he would nominate would be a qualified woman of color. It came as no surprise to Jay H. Ell that Biden, a creature of the Senate who had been as opposed to breaking the filibuster as Manchin, had announced a few days earlier that the State attacks on voting rights made it essential if the Republicans wouldn’t support democracy that the Democrats should go ahead with breaking the filibuster rule..


Nor was it not surprising that Biden devoted a chunk of his Commencement address with a passionate plea to pass the Voting Rights legislation. He reminded the assembly that his motivation for entering politics was the Civil Rights movement before launching into a tirade at the current “Republican” Party’s onslaught on democracy, “I have never seen such an unrelenting assault on the right to vote. Never….. as John Lewis said, ‘Without the right to vote there is no democracy’…..it is not only about who gets to vote or making it easier…. It is about who gets to count the vote….this new sinister combination or voter suppression and election subversion is unAmerican, undemocratic and sadly not unprecedented… I directed every Federal Agency to promote voting… and the Justice Department has doubled voting rights enforcement…We’re going to keep up the fight till we get it done…..”


The media ignored the speech much as they had paid scant attention to Warnock’s oratory. There has been a lack of the sense of urgency on this crucial issue all round. However the leader of the Senate didn’t ignore the signal from the Commander in Chief. Chuck Schumer announced that he would bring the issue to the floor and if the Republicans filibustered he would move that it, like financial matters and Judicial appointments, would not be subject to a sixty vote threshold. If this does indeed happen front and center in this fight would be Reverend Raphael Warnock who with his understated charisma will dominate the debate. But that scenario begs the question of where Manchin, Senator Krystyn Sinema as well as the Senate Republicans like Collins, Murkowsi and Romney stand. If the latter fail on this central tenet Trump’s takeover will be complete. 


AT THE END OF THE DAY.


Trump is dreaming of a White Xmas and in sync with his total lack of sensitivity is holding a Press Conference at Mar- O- Lago on January 6.


On January 17 2022, Martin Luther King Day, marches have been organized across America.


Eight hundred religious leaders of all faiths have written an open letter supporting voters’ rights.


For as long as the media are fixated on Trump and not recognizing the competence of Biden and his agenda, even downplaying him, they are not helping to save the democracy they operate in. 


Monday, December 13, 2021

THE MYTH OF TRUMP’S OMNIPOTENCE






In spite of the fact that the House Committee investigating the January 6 insurrection produced what appears to be incontrovertible evidence of a conspiracy to conduct a coup by Trump, his Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, Republican legislators, and members of his administration there is a belief that nothing will come of it all.There is an air of despondency and hopelessness hanging over the protagonists of democracy in the country. The euphoria that accompanied the victory of Biden has been eclipsed by the belief that Trump is omnipotent. The teflon “genius” who for seventy years has played the system has fooled his party, including the legislative branch of it, that insurrection and sedition is no big deal. All this sends shudders down freedom lovers who believe that the Democrats are powerless amidst this onslaught. They are expecting the inevitable as the omnipotent Trump vulgarly rides roughshod over every value this country purports to stand for. 


The Trump opponents are punch drunk and sickened by his daily assaults on decency and his sullying of his office. To put his infamy in some perspective Boris Johnson’s premiership is in jeopardy because he allowed a Xmas Party in his office during Covid restrictions.


There is also blind indifference to the fact that the Republican Party is in a shambles. The latter can only be made worse by the fact that Trump, who has commandeered the GOP turning into the TOP, has not as his number one policy, abortion, guns or even “To Build That Wall” but loyalty to himself and as gospel that he won the 2020 election. With the same approach he managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory with regard to the Senate. He is so paranoid that he told his soul mate Bibi Netanyahu to f…k off because the Israeli former Premier

 acknowledged that Biden was President. 


Trump’s pathology is not a winning formula. He needs to knock it off but he won’t because it is all about him. If he accepts that Biden is President then he has to accept that he is a “loser” and that is out of the question. His approval ratings are as low as they ever were and Biden who has seen the worst has a higher rating even now. The belief is that Trump will dodge the repercussions of the coup and run again and be President. It is just not going to happen. 


THE TRUMP OLD PARTY, (TOP), “TENT” - THERE IS NO ROOM FOR THE FORMER GOP AT THE MAD HATTER’S TEA PARTY.


By necessity the two political parties in America have to be coalitions of interest groups. Unlike Germany or Israel, when the coalition takes place after the election, in America the differing groups join into one tent or the other before hand. The former Republican Party was a conglomeration of true fiscal and small government conservatives, the rural population, big business, non college degree citizens and right wing groups. Now there is only one criterion for acceptance in the TOP and that is acceptance that the election was stolen form Trump. Even more sinister is the corollary that this involves, in the future, the manipulation of elections, voter suppression and gerrymandering of voter districts thereby ensuring that G-d’s chosen one is crowned. 


To ensure his hold over the TOP Trump has made it quite clear that every position in every State that matters will have his candidate in the “Republican” Primaries. Georgia is ground zero where he has candidates challenging the "Republican" Governor and Secretary of State. The political web site “Five Thirty - Eight”, ran a piece where they argued that Trump’s endorsements in the forthcoming midterm elections were, “Earlier, Bolder and More Dangerous” than in 2019. For example, at this stage in 2019 he had endorsed ten candidates as opposed to the forty - six he has given his imprimatur. Of the latter at least double are non incumbents as compared to 2019 therefore increasing his risk of being a “loser”. His poster endorsements at the moment are David Perdue to challenge the incumbent Republican Governor of Georgia as well as Kelly Tsibaka in Alaska against Senator Lisa Murkowski. Considering that the latter has once won in as a write in candidate in the past, has the backing of Senate Minority Leader McConnell and has a large war chest, this decision is politically insane but nobody has claimed that Trump is sane. Trump has signaled primary opposition to anyone that has voted for his impeachment, not opposed Biden’s electoral victory, and or voted for any Biden legislation thereby giving Biden a “victory” which implicitly obviously is a loss to him. Soon we will be talking big numbers. 


Then there are those “Republicans” that pretend that the insurrection was not such a big “thing” and also accept that Biden is the President. Those include potential “GOP" presidential candidates Mike Pence and Chris Christie. The latter now states that Trump gave him Covid, another no no. They may want to remain in the tent but Trump will not let them. There are several others like Ron de Santis of Florida who have not officially announced that they will hold back if Trump runs….


In the legislature apart from a few diehards, the GOP Senate Caucus have no room at the TOP table either because they still back McConnell as their leader in spite of Trump’s maneuvering to get him axed. In the House things look a little better but Trump is not prepared to let sleeping dogs lie and has not forgiven House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy for his blistering attack on him following the January 6 insurrection. This allows loons like Majorie Taylor - Greene to state their unhappiness at McCarthy’s validity to become the next Speaker of the House. Trump further allows the absurdity of his former Chief of Staff’s repeated suggestion that Trump himself be appointed to the Speaker post prior to his 2024 election to a third term as President! This really is Trump siding with the Republican Freedom Caucus the successor to the appropriately entitled Tea Party Caucus. 


The Freedom Caucus of the House Republican Party which is the group that is de facto Trump’s army in the House have as their most vocal representatives Majorie Taylor Greene, Jim Jordan, Matt Gaetz, Mo Brooks, Louie Gohmert, Devon Nunes and Lauren Boebert. Every one of these are ripe for Democratic Party adverts because they are so way off the charts that the fact that Trump regards them as his loyal foot soldiers is enough to send the independents in the other direction. In total The Freedom Caucus have forty - six of the two hundred and twelve Republican members of the House. Presumably all the others support McCarthy otherwise how would be leader at the moment? So Trump is even playing games with the House Republicans by not being behind their elected leader.. No room in the tent for all of them. That means Trump is at war with the leadership of the Republicans in both Houses as well as the majority of the legislators.


Trump is playing high stakes poker with a very poor hand. He still has the support of the majority of the base. But that wasn’t even enough to stop the loss of two crucial Senate seats to the Democrats in 2020. He is not much interested in policy. it is all about him and should he lose out on some of the key fights in 2022 his candidature for 2024 would be in jeopardy. However as Jay H Ell has blogged Trump will have been indicted by then.


TRUMP’S LEGAL WOES. 


There is anger amongst the Democratic base that Biden’s Justice Department isn’t doing anything to put the seditionist Trump behind bars. While no one really knows what Attorney General Garland is doing there is enough going on in New York and Georgia to believe that an indictment is in the works, In New York the President and his Organization are facing criminal and civil charges. The Trump Organization and Chief Financial Officer have already been criminally charged for fraud. The New York Attorney General has subpoenaed Trump for a January 7 2022 deposition in the Civil case. In  Civil litigation you cannot plead the Fifth Amendment you have to answer questions. However the answers can be used in criminal proceedings! Michael Cohen, Trump’s personal lawyer, who was jailed for doing Trump’s bidding, has stated that the documents that he has handed over to the New York prosecutors alone are enough to indict Trump and his children. In Georgia grand juries have been installed to decide whether Trump should be charged for attempting to interfere with that electoral result. 


What Trump should be most worried about is the House of Representative’s enquiry into January 6. While the proceedings have been largely in camera enough has been leaked to point to a vast conspiracy to overthrow the duly elected President. There have been three hundred witnesses including fairly high level officials who had to know as much as the key people that are now resisting. Steve Bannon has been charged with criminal contempt. Mark Meadows has now decided not to cooperate having provided six thousand pages of documents to the committee. These include a power point print out of alternatives to change the result of the election, e mails to him and Congress members and the invoking of the National Guard to protect Trump supporters thereby implying that there was going  to be violence. Meadows has argued that Trump’s claim for Executive Privilege has not been finally adjudicated on and he is waiting on that before agreeing to sit for a deposition. The committee is unmoved and in a live devastating meeting Meadows was referred for criminal prosecution. 


Trump should take note that those being subpoenaed now are his inner circle. Three are going to plead the Fifth Amendment against self incrimination - Roger Stone, Alex Jones, and John Eastman. In so doing they are accepting that they are in criminal legal jeopardy for their actions. Bannon, who has already been criminally charged for ignoring the January 6 House Committee’s subpoena, wants to turn his trial into a circus and is not on the same page as Trump at the moment. These subpoenas mean that the committee is nearing the end of its investigative phase. Liz Cheney, the Republican Vice Chairman has stated that there are going to be weeks of publicly televised hearings. 


The committee is waiting for the cherry on the top, Trump’s archival records of the period involved. Needless to say he has used his usual tactic of court challenges to prevent their emergence. However the courts have dealt with it at break neck speed and at latest the Supreme Court will get it in another two weeks. Commentators from all sides of the political spectrum are forecasting that either the Supreme Court won’t even hear the challenge or on the basis of the Nixon precedents Trump will lose and his records will be released..


If the outcome of the Committee’s findings are as expected criminal indictments will follow as sure as night follows day.


WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON


Trump’s militant supporters in the Charlottesville riots are all facing bankruptcy following civil litigation. One by one the insurrectionists who carried Trump’s water to the Capitol on January 6 are being charged and sentenced in the courts. Trump has abandoned them like he abandons anyone who can no longer be of any use to him. The more serious charges are still to follow. Judges have been scathing in their rulings of the genesis of this treason, many blaming Trump by name. The upshot is that Trump’s stormtroopers have been eviscerated, demoralized, bankrupted and jailed. 


Then the two key Trump issues anti abortion and pro guns have been realized. Both are unpopular so they can only bring out his base which is not enough. All in all a sober assessment reveals that is not to rosy for The Donald.


BUT………


The fact that democracy came so close to being unravelled still lingers on the minds of many. The actions of "Republican" State legislators to suppress voting and even reverse results send shudders done the spine of Democrats. But what mostly terrifies them is the belief that Trump is some Houdini that can escape the forces that are closing in on him. The body politic have seen time after time behavior that would have ruined any Presidency go by without recriminations. Barr nullified the Mueller investigation into Trump's collusion with Russia and his obstruction of justice. He escaped two impeachments where his actions were egregious. 


He has been involved in over four thousand litigations of one sort or another and there he is alive and kicking still collecting billions on phony schemes. He has tried them all - Universities, Foundations and even the Presidency and has survived. So those that think single handedly he can change American Democracy have much to base their fear on. Jay H Ell believes not but his calculations could also be clouded by wishful thinking!


AT THE END OF THE DAY


Charging political opponents with crimes is commonly associated with banana republics. However, Israel, France, South Africa and Italy have not hesitated in the recent past. In the American situation at this time the responsibility on the shoulders of attorney generals is humungous in a country that is so divided. There is only one outcome that is definitely worse for American democracy than prosecuting Trump and that is not prosecuting him. 



Monday, December 6, 2021

ABORTION, THE FEDERALIST SOCIETY AND THE FINAL POLITICIZATION OF THE SUPREME COURT

 




 Abortion is front and center in the news today as a result of the decades old pressure by a significant number of the Evangelical base of the Trump Old Party, (TOP), formerly the GOP.  The obsession about banning abortion totally, with no exceptions for rape or incest, is one of the few articulated policies of TOP, (the other being guns). Trump, who was aided and abetted by Senator McConnell’s cynical hypocritical manipulation of judicial selection, has ensured the eventual demise of Roe v Wade with three Supreme Court judicial picks who Trump promised would do just that. 


Roe v, Wade and its subsequent key affirmation Casey has protected the women’s right to choose for the past fifty years. That law is being challenged by the Mississippi State Legislature and the case is to be decided by the Supreme Court of the US. A Supreme Court which has six of the nine members of the Federalist Society - a highly conservative body which has dedicated itself to educate the legal community to its value system.The Supreme Court of late has been accused of being politicized resulting in its approval rating dropping to record lows. The current debate over a women’s right to choose will increase the perception of it being partisan.


Nobody “likes” abortion - least of all those who have to make the decision as to whether they should terminate a pregnancy or not, regardless of the circumstances of the conception.  Discussion around the topic is not commonplace and ignorance willful. Few are aware, for example, that the preferred method of abortion up to ten weeks is via medications. Ironically, or not so ironically, it is men, usually white men, who decide on the legality of the issue. Women, studies have shown, if they cannot have a legal abortion, will often resort to a dangerous illegal alternative.


THE  FEDERALIST SOCIETY, ABORTION, ROE v WADE AND THE SUPREME COURT


The Federalist Society, which was founded in 1982 by the conservative  students of the prestigious Law Schools of Yale, Harvard and Chicago Universities to challenge liberal values that were being manifested in the interpretation of the of 1789 American Constitution. One of the central themes behind the formation of the Society was the fact that throughout history Republican appointed judges had often provided the swing votes to support “liberal” values. The Republican appointed Judges such as Stephens, O’Conner and even Kennedy were periodically persuaded that the Constitution had to be interpreted in relation to the times that prevailed.


The objectives of the new society were to check Federal Power and Ito interpret the Constitution according to its original 1789, as amended in 1792, meaning. Ironically also one of its aims was the protection of “individual liberty”. The Federalist Society has reached the height of its influence with the current Supreme Court where the six Conservative Judges on the bench have had affiliation with the organization. The Society is heavily funded with “dark money” as well as from the usual “suspects” including the Scaifs and the Kochs. In several exposes Leonard Leo of the Federalist Society has been named as the co coordinator and fund raiser of the project to elect Federalist members to the Supreme Court.


The fifty year struggle against the “individual liberty” of a women’s right to choose  has finally reached its pinnacle with a sympathetic Supreme Court about to sanction State control of a women’s body. The debate is ostensibly about lessening the gestational period in which an abortion can be enacted. But to illustrate the objective of the “Republican” protagonists they have already put into place a law in Texas which effectively ends all legal abortions. The latter by means of a draconian law that empowers vigilantes to enforce it. (The Supreme Court have not put an injunction on that Texas Act till such time as they can consider it). There are also almost two dozen restrictive laws lying dormant in States controlled by the “Republicans” ready to put in effect should Roe be overturned. 


On its face the law the Supreme Court has heard argument on merely impacts the period up to which a women could obtain a legal abortion however there  was little doubt that this is the thin edge of the wedge. Only Chief Justice Roberts is pretending that it isn’t what it is. The State of Mississippi openly declared the motivation for this legislation in its lengthy brief to the court, was calling for the overturn of Roe v Wade.  Mississippi legislators made it clear that with the current make up of the Supreme Court, including three new Federalists, this was the time for negating Roe v Wade,           


The Roe v Wade Supreme Court decision had ensured the right of women free choice as to whether they could terminate their pregnancies was decided in 1973. Following that decision the backstreet abortion rate dropped dramatically and by 1974 the number had decreased from one hundred and thirty thousand to seventeen thousand. The law gained precedent after precedent notably in the 1992 landmark case - Planned Parenthood v Casey.


The  US Supreme Court is an unelected body whose members are appointed for life. In their naïveté the Founders gave them the divine right to be the final arbiter of the American Constitution and in fact everything else. The Founders wanted to get rid of a single monarch but some how inexplicably allowed the institution of unfettered power to what is now a cabal of nine, some of whom behave as if they were indeed appointed by G-D, not by a messy unholy political process. In fairness to Trump the “Republican” Party, in the knowledge that any Judge certified by the Federalist Society was guaranteed to axe Roe, has via, George Herbert Bush, (Justice Thomas), George W. Bush, (Justices Alito and Roberts) and lastly Donald Trump, (Justices, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Barrett), have ensured the desired outcome.. 


Jay H. Ell realizes that there are those with strong religious views on the subject. These citizens have a right to have their views respected. However as Judge Sotomayor pointed out this total anti abortion crusade, which has no provision for women who are raped and where incest is the cause, is religiously inspired.  (The American Constitution expressly separates Church and State). Different religions have sharply divergent views on the dividing line as when the fetus is “viable” and when the soul enters the body. Also the argument of the sanctity of life that some protagonists of complete denial of abortions rings somewhat hollow as those self same people are supporters of the death penalty. The bulk of the movement is also against any form of contraception. Several of the protagonists have denied that Covid or HIV, both that have claimed eight hundred thousand lives, are “a thing”. 


The crisp point is whether in a secular society any religious view can trump the rights of individuals who in fact collectively make up the majority. 


So onto the nub of oral arguments that were heard in the Supreme Court in the denouement of the battle on abortion. 


THE ORAL ARGUMENT IN THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI’S ABORTION LAW, (DOBBS V JACKSON WOMEN’S HEALTH ORGANIZATION).


There was the text and subtext to the oral arguments on the Mississippi Law which had as its stated intent to overturn Roe v Wade. However on its face it merely moved the limit from twenty - two weeks to fifteen weeks as to how long women were entitled to control their bodies. The rationale for the initial limitation in Roe and Casey was that the fetus was considered to be viable at twenty - two to twenty - four weeks. There was no rationale for the arbitrary date selected by the “Republican” legislature other than as this move, on its face, did not appear draconian it would make it easier to get everyone on board.


Any rational observer listening to the oral arguments would have to agree that there could not be a more unqualified body of unsympathetic ignoramuses deciding this deeply personal, ethical, practical and medical question. The fact that the Supreme Court took this matter up in what was considered “decided’ law was in of itself a confirmation of the Mississippi legislators’ assessment that the Judges of the Supreme Court had changed. Nothing else in medicine, science, ethics or religion had emerged other than the Constitutional arbiters of what is right or wrong - “The Deciders” as George W. Bush might have put it, would be inclined to agree. Society itself was probably at the zenith of acceptance of the status quo - ninety - one percent of women believed that this decision was best made between patient and doctor. They in effect were arguing in favor of “privacy” which incidentally was one of the bases of the initial ruling on Roe and its subsequent reiterations.


Justice Sonia Sotomayor who with endless interventions laid bare the patently political challenge to women’s rights summed up the death knell of Supreme Court as an independent institution as follows: Will this institution survive the stench that this creates in the public perception that the Constitution and its reading are just political acts”. Her rationale was echoed by Justice Breyer who maintained that “… to re examine a watershed decision would subvert the Courts legitimacy….” While Justice Kagan enjoined, “…. Fifty years of law under the bridge…..”. Kagan implied that the same arguments could have been made fifty years ago.


So much for the prophets now for for the Federalist Society. 


The key historical protagonist of the argument against abortion rights, the most senior justice on the court, Justice Thomas, maintained that nowhere in the Constitution was there a right to abortion. An argument which is ridiculous as there is nothing in the constitution about sexual harassment, rape, AK 47’s, driving under the influence of liquor and on and on. Justice Kavanaugh, the darling of the Federalist Society, listed a whole lot of precedents that were established law that were overturned. What he failed to reveal was that each and everyone increased the liberty of individuals while the Mississippi Law was retrogressive as to a women’s rights. Justice Alito questioned whether a decision, “….. must be overruled because it was egregiously wrong at the moment it was decided…”.  The learned Judge did not put forward any meaningful arguments as to what was wrong then. Justice Gorsuch left no doubt as to where he stood on the matter.


Judge Amy Barrett shocked the most neutral of observers when in her intervention she showed no understanding or empathy of a woman, a few of whom may have been raped or have been the victim of incest. She seemingly ignored the physical and emotional impact of the nine month period of bearing an unwanted pregnancy and its aftermath, “…..Insofar as ….the focus..in which forced parenting forced motherhood would hinder access to the workplace and equal opportunities,,,, Why don’t the safe haven laws take care of that problem…”. The safe haven laws allow you to dump a delivered child at a hospital without any legal problems!.


It was left to Chief Justice Roberts to salvage what could be left the Court’s moral authority. Regardless of the fact that the Mississippi plaintiffs wanted an overturn he would proceed incrementally and see this as a reduction to the right of abortion up to fifteen weeks. The Chief Justice omitted to address the fact that there was no exception for rape and incest. It remains to be seen whether he can convince another of his Federalist colleagues to join him as he is no longer the “swing” vote on this court. 


It is interesting to note that three members of the Conservative group have taken exception to the smear that they are “political hacks”, a term used by Amy Barrett. The height of hypocrisy emanated from Justice Thomas who assured an audience that his decisions were based on the law. Chief Justice Roberts informed Trump that there was no such concept as Bush, Obama or Trump judges! In the light of of these assertions it would be useful to learn what each and everyone of these objectors to Roe said about the subjects at their confirmation.


OPINIONS ON ABORTION RIGHTS AT THE CONFIRMATION HEARINGS OF THE FEDERALIST JUDGES AND THE POLITICAL CONSEQUENCES


Paul Waldman of the Washington Post wrote that all six of the Federalist Judges, in their confirmation hearings with regard to abortion rights were not vague, evasive or deceptive they outright lied….”They lied. They lied to the Congress and to the country, claiming they had no opinions at all about abortion, or that their beliefs were simply irrelevant to how they would rule. They would be wise and pure, unsullied by crass policy preferences, offering impeccably objective readings of the Constitution, It. Was. A. Lie. We went through the same routine in the confirmation readings of every one of the those justices. When Democrats tried to get them to state plainly their views on Roe v Wade they took two approaches. Some tried to convince everyone that they would leave it untouched. Others, those already on record proclaiming opposition to abortion rights, suggested they had undergone an intellectual factory reset enabling them to reassess the question anew with an. unspoiled mind, one concerned only with the law”


One fact is for sure that the “impartial” arbiters of the Constitution are going to have their interviews played and replayed on television and the internet. Justice Sotomayor hit the nail on the head when she remarked on the “political stench” the projected ruling would evoke. It might well have repercussions at the ballot box because this is what Trump promised. McConnell the “Republican” Senate leader who stole two Judicial nominees from the Democrats has stated that his party has no policy going into the midterms other than to expose the disaster that is Biden. Like it or. not banning abortion was number one on the list that they have all run on the past. (Be careful of what you wish for). The other major plank is gun rights where they are about to witness another major embarrassment. The Supreme Court are going to rule on the New York State’s ban on concealed carry of guns. In the light of the Michigan School Shooting, the fiftieth this year, their projected liberal interpretation of the Second Amendment will justifiably evoke disgust.


ROBERT”S SALVATION OF THE SUPREME COURT AS AN INSTITUTION IS A NON STARTER


Chief Justice Roberts is very sensitive about the legacy of his court so his interim compromise of not overturning Roe and just changing the date by which abortions may be performed won’t fly as it has no legal, medical or ethical basis and will be challenged again and again. Any rate his legacy is already in tatters as historians examine his swing vote in eighty decisions  - a few notably paving the way for voter suppression. Should the court not axe Roe he and the Republicans generally will be hammered by the base as confirmed by Senator Cruz and articulated by Laura Ingraham, a Fox News key opinion leader:

“If we have six Republican appointees on this court, after all the money that’s been raised, the Federalist Society, all those big fat - cat dinners - I’m sorry, I’m pissed about this - if this court with six justices cannot do the right thing here, then the Republicans should blow it up and pass some kind of law limiting the court’s authority”.  That just about sums up the whole big “stench”.


AT THE END OF THE DAY


If Roberts wants to redeem himself and begin to have some semblance of the legacy he so desires he should resign. He does after all maintain that he is no longer a member of the Federalist Society.