So, here’s the part of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade that
I find really difficult to stomach —
Actually, I can’t say that.
Here’s one of the many parts of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade that I find
really difficult to stomach: the reactions of some members of Congress, who have said how
surprised they were, how betrayed they felt, when conservative justices voted to strike down
Roe after saying at their confirmation hearings that they wouldn’t do that.
Here’s what Senator Joe Manchin said in a statement:
“I am deeply disappointed that the Supreme Court has voted to overturn Roe v. Wade. It
has been the law of the land for nearly 50 years and was understood to be settled precedent. I
trusted Justice Gorsuch and Justice Kavanaugh when they testified under oath that they also believed
Roe v. Wade was settled legal precedent and I am alarmed they chose to reject the stability
the ruling has provided for two generations of Americans.”
He’s deeply disappointed! “They voted to overturn Roe,
but they said they wouldn’t! They said they wouldn’t!”
You’re alarmed, Joe? You’re deeply disappointed? You’re a goddamn United States Senator! If
you’re that deeply disappointed, call for their impeachment! You said it yourself in your own
statement — they testified under oath that they believed Roe was settled precedent, and then they
voted to overturn it the first chance they got. Seems like they committed perjury during their
confirmation hearings, Joe! Sounds to me like they lied to Congress — wouldn’t you say? Joe?
I don’t mean to only pick on Joe here — although he is just the worst — this applies to every
Democrat in both houses of Congress. You all heard these justices testify under oath during
their confirmations that they considered Roe to be settled precedent, and you all read
the decision they released last week where they overturned Roe without blinking an eye.
They lied to you, under oath. You have the power to impeach them for doing that. So do it.
Or, more realistically, try to do it. Because of course there’s no chance any
impeachment procedure will actually lead to justices being removed from the bench — the
Senate has to vote to convict by a two-thirds majority, and the Democrats currently only
have a one-vote majority thanks to the Vice President. But that’s not really the point —
the point is for the Democrats to put up a fight, and more importantly, seeing as
midterm elections are rapidly approaching, to let the people see them putting up a fight.
I’ve said this before, I’ll say it again: I’m a Democrat. I’m a registered Democrat,
I vote for Democrats, I use whatever platform I have to urge my fellow Americans to vote for
Democrats. But one of the most frustrating things about the Democratic Party is how bad it is
at shit that really isn’t that difficult. I know there are aspects of electoral politics
and governance that are way above my pay grade. I accept that it can be incredibly difficult,
even under far less dire circumstances than the ones we’re stuck with at present,
to craft legislation that anywhere from several dozen to a few hundred
of your fellow legislators will support in order for it to pass. It’s not an easy job.
But when the opposition party is controlled by people who just tried to overturn a legitimate
presidential election, and struck down the constitutional right to an abortion, and also just
knocked a great big hole in the wall of separation between church and state, and also struck down a
sensible gun control law — because the second amendment is sacrosanct but the establishment
clause is just a polite suggestion, apparently — and when that same opposition party has also gone
full mask-off anti-science, anti-environment, anti-worker, pro-authoritarianism,
pro-white supremacy, doubled-down on the persecution of trans people, and immigrants,
and numerous other minority groups, doubled-down on voter suppression efforts — and I could go on,
but I think you get the point — when that is your opposition party, getting people to vote for your
side shouldn’t be as hard as the Democratic Party’s establishment is making it out to be.
I heard on the news last week how Democratic SuperPACs are spending
millions of dollars to boost far-right candidates in Republican primaries in states like Colorado
and Illinois, because they think if the extremists get the nominations, they’ll be easier to beat in
the general election. And I’m not saying that’s a bad strategy in and of itself — it’s certainly
not a new one — but it’s also not gonna be enough to get the job done in November.
Democrats still need to give people a reason to vote for them other than “Look how nuts those
Republicans are.” Because here’s the thing: most Republicans will vote for their party’s nominee,
even if that person is a fucking nut, but a lot of Democrats, and people who might
otherwise vote for Democratic candidates, won’t vote for them if they think it won’t matter.
It will matter — it does make a difference. For as timid and ethically compromised as
much of my party is, the truth is, if the three most recent Supreme Court justices
had been nominated by Hillary Clinton instead of Donald Trump, we would not be facing a situation
where half the country either just lost or is about to lose the right to have an abortion.
It would be nice if things like the looming threat of losing civil rights were enough to
motivate voters to elect massive Democratic majorities at the state and federal levels
from now until whenever the next planet-killing meteor strikes, but that’s not the way it works.
The Democrats need to give people positive reasons to vote for them, and for me one of the best
things they can do, must do, but aren’t doing, is to show people that Democrats will fight for them.
Yes, their ability to respond effectively in the short-term to the overturning of Roe
is limited given how slim their majority is in the Senate, and how many state legislatures are
solidly in Republican control. Yes, it is unreasonable for some people — however
justifiable their anger may be — to make demands that amount to asking congressional Democrats
or President Biden to just magically fix everything. But there are still some things
that the Democrats can do that they haven’t done and, at the moment, don’t seem likely to do.
Starting impeachment proceedings against Supreme Court justices who told Congress,
under oath, that they considered Roe to be settled precedent is one of those things. Will it result
in the removal of those justices? No. At least, not yet it won’t. But that’s not the reason you
do it now. The reason you do it now is to send the message: we’re not fucking around,
this is serious, there is something we can do about it, and we’re going to do it. We
don’t have the numbers to succeed yet, but we’re going to show you that we’re serious about it, so
if you vote us a larger majority, next time we can succeed. And, even if we don’t succeed in
removing these Supreme Court justices, now that we have a larger majority there are other things we
can do to support abortion rights and to help out on dozens of other issues of pressing importance.
By the way, I know I’m focusing on the Supreme Court and overturning Roe here,
but they should also move to expel members of Congress who supported,
aided and abetted, and sought pardons for their actions related to the January 6th
insurrection — as Representative Ocasio-Cortez has said, doing that is nothing more than the
bare minimum, and if the Democrats in Congress don’t do that, or at least
try to do that, what was the point of holding these January 6 hearings in the first place?!
Look, politically, I’m pretty far to the left. But, I don’t believe the only way
to solve the problems we face as a society is through revolution,
whatever the fuck that means. I believe in representative democracy. I believe in government.
I believe it makes a difference who controls that government.
I firmly believe that the Democrats getting to call the shots is a better state of affairs than
the Republicans getting to call the shots. Would I like it better if among those Democrats there
were more Cori Bushes and Elizabeth Warrens and Ed Markeys, and fewer Joe Manchins,
Kyrsten Sinemas and Henry Cuellars? Hell yes I would. But even with an aggravatingly high
percentage of centrists in the mix slowing down progress, it’s still better to have the
Democrats in charge than the Republicans. If I didn’t believe that, I wouldn’t be a Democrat.
However, in order to realize that state of affairs, the Democrats
need to convince people that if they gain that power, they will use it. And then,
if they do gain that power, they have to actually use it — use it to pursue
a progressive agenda with the same dogged determination with which the Republicans
have pursued their agenda of ignorance and fear and brutalization for the last fifty years.
Democratic politicians are really good at displaying righteous indignation,
but not so great at the followthrough. The last several years — through the numerous,
cascading atrocities of the Trump administration, the dragging of the Supreme Court and the rest
of the federal judiciary to the right, and now the loss of guaranteed abortion rights
thanks to the ruling of that court — we’ve seen our Democratic elected leaders and representatives
assure us time and time again, “We’re not going to stand for this!”
And then they sit down.
And they wonder why they struggle to win elections against a party of unapologetic bigots and
fascists. Like I said, it would be nice if “vote for us, we’re not trying to turn the country into
a white nationalist dictatorship” was all you had to say, but it’s not. But, that doesn’t mean
there’s some narrow needle that needs to be threaded here, either. Just give people
something to believe in, something to hope for — people who are already on your side, not fucking
Republicans you’re vainly trying to turn, stop wasting time with that shit for Christ’s sake.
Tell people you’re the ones who will raise the minimum wage, and strengthen unions,
and build more affordable housing, and make healthcare more affordable and accessible,
and dismantle Republican voter suppression, and reform the criminal justice system, and invest in
clean energy, and protect the rights of racial and ethnic minorities, women, trans people and
the rest of the LGBTQ community, immigrants, people with disabilities, and anyone else
who is marginalized. Tell people those things over and over and over again, without shame
or apology. Don’t run from fights on those issues — start fights on those issues.
Use whatever power you have to do whatever you can — to hell with what the Republicans say about it,
they’re just gonna call you socialists no matter what you do anyway — and if and when you
get the power to do more, do more. Show people — especially disillusioned leftists and progressives
who don’t think their votes can make a difference — that it does matter who wins elections.
Most importantly: start right now.
We’ve seen what happens when our side loses. The fall of Roe is only the beginning. If we keep
losing, there’s no telling how much worse things can get. And time is running out.