Supreme Court, GOP are sliming our democracy
In two decisions — one throwing out New York’s gun laws and the other overturning Roe v. Wade — the Supreme Court and the Republican Party who put them there, have slimed the American public and in essence our democracy.
With the decision on Roe v. Wade, for the first time, the court has taken away a constitutional right. One recognized by previous courts and upheld for nearly fifty years. Justices Thomas and Alito finally had the votes, with Trump’s three stooges, to do what they have wanted to do for decades. We now understand how far this court is willing to go to take rights away from the American people, and we should all be afraid.
They proved they have the votes to attack women and we must believe the LGBTQ+ community could easily be their next target. They almost certainly are not finished with their attacks on women as they can come down on contraception and other pharmaceuticals. Then they can end affirmative action even though it was what got Thomas to where he is. Clearly, we should have listened to Anita Hill. Thomas’s written decision could even put into question the Loving decision, which allowed interracial marriage and made it legal for him to marry his wife. We must believe the court will look at all these issues.
There is a sickness in the land and we will either succumb to it, or fight it. My answer is we have to fight it with all we have. We must collectively stand up and say “no more!” Allowing Republicans to continue to take the nation in this direction is unacceptable. The only way we can do something about it and stand up for our democracy is by VOTING. Every poll shows Americans are against what the Supreme Court is doing. Yet we are stuck with a court, which as Nancy Pelosi says “gave a slap in the face to women.” Justices clearly care more for an unborn fetus than a living child. A living child who could be mowed down by the guns they are allowing on the streets.
As Democrats, and all decent people, mull over how to react, we must come together as never before. We can march until we are blue in the face but if we don’t vote, we lose. We need to elect Democrats to statehouses and state legislatures, and keep majorities in both Houses of the Congress. The House has already passed legislation curbing guns and codifying Roe v. Wade. We now need more senators to go along. It actually could take only two more who would agree to end the filibuster to move these issues forward.
I have written before to the LGBTQ+ community that parades and parties celebrating Pride are wonderful, but if every person who participates in them doesn’t vote, they mean very little because next year we will have lost some of our rights. We must not let ourselves and future generations down and be victimized by the likes of Thomas, Alito and the three disgusting Trump judges. We must vote against the Republican Party because the right wing now controls it.
Sen. Mitch McConnell has already said if Republicans take over Congress he will consider passing a law outlawing abortion nationally. We cannot allow that to happen. It is only Congress and state governments that can act to counter what the court with Republican support is doing. We must do more than show the nation with the January 6th hearings about Trump’s attempted coup. Even if through that we can put the likes of Ginny Thomas in jail for her role in it.
The results of the midterm elections will show the world where America stands. These elections will play out over a range of issues. We will see if people vote more based on inflation and the cost of gas, or vote for their right to privacy and freedom. Those of us who promote the right to privacy and democracy must stand together if we are to win. We cannot fight each other, creating internal battles, rather must fight the enemy, the Republican Party, as it is constituted today.
It won’t be easy but we can win this fight. We can keep the House of Representatives and win at least two additional Senate seats making it easier to move the Senate forward on a host of issues. When it comes to what the court has done to women, their decision on guns, and what Thomas is signaling they will do in the future, it really is clear we are facing life and death issues.
Peter Rosenstein is a longtime LGBTQ rights and Democratic Party activist. He writes regularly for the Blade.