This week, our authors look at the stark new realities of post-Roe America and what comes next. I’d encourage you to read all of their thoughtful responses.
Legal scholar Farrah Hassen reviews the Supreme Court’s Dobbs ruling and finds it constitutionally lacking — which isn’t surprising, she says, because it’s pure ideology. She argues that Congress should use its own constitutional powers to reform the Supreme Court.
Martha Burk sums up the rage many veteran women’s activists are feeling. “There ain’t no bright side,” she writes. “But that doesn’t mean the strong majority of Americans who support abortion rights are helpless.” She points toward the midterm elections as an obvious near-term channel for action.
People’s Action director Sulma Arias takes a longer view: This ruling is part of a bigger rollback of democracy now underway across the country, she warns. The key now, she explains, isn’t to just respond to one emergency at a time, but — like the late Rep. John Lewis — to organize long-term to expand and protect our democracy itself. Sulma’s organization has been doing fascinating work on this for decades, so I’d urge you to take a look!
Also this week, Mitchell Zimmerman covers the latest bombshell revelations from the January 6 hearings. It’s really time to indict Trump now, the veteran attorney argues. And I’ve updated my op-ed on the new era of “states’ rights,” where extreme, unaccountable, and unrepresentative statehouses are given control over people’s most fundamental rights.
New This Week….
To Defend Our Rights, Defend Our Democracy | Sulma Arias
The attack on abortion rights is part of a bigger campaign against democracy. The late John Lewis offers a model to overcome it.
Most Americans Support Abortion Rights. Do Your Leaders? | Martha Burk
Now’s a good time to search out their position. If they oppose your fundamental rights, then it’s your right to send them packing.
Reform the Supreme Court | Farrah Hassen
Unelected judges shouldn’t have the power to take away rights most Americans support.
We Have a Smoking Gun — Now Indict Trump | Mitchell Zimmerman
If Trump gets a “get out of jail free” card after trying to join armed rioters at the Capitol, the dangers are incalculable.
An Ugly New Era of “States’ Rights” (Updated) | Peter Certo
Giving extreme new powers to autocratic, gerrymandered, and unaccountable state governments is not democracy.
Do Fear the Reaper | Khalil Bendib
He’ll come for every right, eventually.
In Case You Missed It…
To Prevent Formula Shortages, Break Up Monopolies | Sonali Kolhatkar
Food experts have warned for years that monopolies make our food supply vulnerable. Now babies are paying the price.
Keeping Workers Poor Is Bad for Business | Sam Pizzigati
At America’s biggest low-wage employers, chief executives now pocket 670 times more than their workers.
Only in Top Gun Can the Military Solve All Our Problems | Lindsay Koshgarian
In real life, plowing money into shiny fighter jets while Americans struggle and the climate burns makes us less safe.
How Long Will We Sacrifice Our Kids to the Gun Lobby’s Paranoia? | Sonali Kolhatkar
A well-heeled lobby, a paranoid minority, and the GOP have made it all but impossible to regulate the leading cause of death for American kids.
