With the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court, for the first time in American history, stripped away a Constitutional right that has been in existence for 50 years. Throughout the history of this country, the Supreme Court has handed down opinions and the Congress and states have enacted legislation and added amendments to the Constitution that, in general, have expanded rights of American citizens. The exception was the 18th Amendment which introduced prohibition and that turned out to be such a disaster it was repealed via the 21st Amendment a few years later. This is a dangerous path that we just embarked down.
If anyone believes that this is a standalone ruling that will only affect abortions, they are sadly mistaken, in spite of Justice Alito trying to calm the waters by stating in his majority opinion that this ruling was only about abortion. In a parallel opinion by Justice Thomas, he stated that he believes the court should revisit those cases that resulted in the legalization of same-sex marriage and the use of contraceptives. As people may recall, Justice Kavanaugh stated at his confirmation hearing that he believed Roe v. Wade was settled case law and, yet, he just voted to overturn it.
This abortion ruling is just the tip of the iceberg. Some Republicans are already stating that if they win control of the House and Senate in November, they are thinking of enacting a ban on abortions after 15 weeks ACROSS the nation. So much for ‘states rights’. We are well along following the path of Viktor Orban of Hungary in his push to institute an ‘illiberal democracy’ in that country based primarily upon ‘Christian values.’ People keep saying that it can’t happen here and it is already happening here. I don’t know what it is going to take to wake people up.
Long before the events of January 6th, I predicted in these blogs that Donald Trump would never leave office peacefully. That turned out to be true. I predicted when Justice Cavanaugh and Justice Barrett were confirmed to the Supreme Court that Roe v. Wade would be overturned. That turned out to be true. I and many others predicted that because of the propagation of the ‘Big Lie’, the enactment of multiple voter restriction laws in Republican states and the election of Trump acolytes to positions overseeing state and local elections, the activities by Trump to overturn the 2020 election were just a dress rehearsal for 2024. That also turned out to be true. In New Mexico, the ‘Trumpians’ elected to oversee the recent election there, refused to certify the ballots because of some bogus charges of fraud. This is just the beginning.
This is the scenario I see playing out going forward. Given the current inflation pressures upon all Americans, I am pretty confident that the Republicans will retake control of both the House and the Senate in November. The incumbent party usually does poorly in the midterms and when you add the inflation on top of that, it is a virtual certainty that the Republicans will regain control of Congress. One would hope that this Roe v. Wade decision and the Jan. 6th hearings which are clearly demonstrating the criminal acts of Trump and his co-conspirators to institute a coup in this country would be enough to galvanize the electorate to vote most incumbent Republicans out of office. Unfortunately, I believe most Americans will be willing to ignore the existential threat to our democracy in exchange for ‘hoped for’ lower gas prices based upon empty promises from Republicans.
When the Republicans retake control of Congress, and emboldened by this latest Supreme Court ruling, they will stop any and all parts of Biden’s legislative agenda, they will disband the Jan. 6th committee if it is still in existence, they will block any nominees to any Federal court across the country who do not adhere to their ‘originalism’ doctrine which just resulted in the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and they will begin a campaign to strip away even more rights that have been granted to American citizens over the last few decades. We will no longer be a country of possibilities and a beacon of democracy for the rest of the world, we will instead become a relic of the past as the rest of the industrialized world moves forward.
I believe that if the Republicans regain control of Congress in 2022, it is virtually a 100 percent probability that whichever right-wing Republican runs in 2024 will win the election, not necessarily because of popular policies or winning the popular vote, but by the mere fact that they will by then control the election ‘machine’. I would like to believe I’m wrong, but you can see it coming from a mile away. We have met the enemy and he is us.
For me, the prediction is that by the time the 2024 elections roll around, I will be living somewhere else. I have already set the wheels in motion. There are many places where human rights are more important than guns! I intend to take up residence in one of those places.
Sadly – the world and we now still – meaning our country – mostly vote as a population with our wallet. So, you are likely correct on the mid terms. If the hearings don’t wrap up by swearing in, or whenever the panel has to give it up because they are distracted by their campaigns for re-election – if the DOJ does not have enough afterwards to move forward with charges – he’ll have another get out of jail / prison free card – and our country is in for hell.
The 2nd week of Nov will be the tell. If all goes (R) and I pray not, then govt stalls out, and we a short time to get out of dodge.
Note:
First come – first serve before too many do the same and our welcomes wear out to the best places to flee – if quotas get put in place ? Or, heaven forbid – another COVID variant comes about and another round of lockdowns ? Not sure if waiting around to see what happens would be wise….
Cheers in the mean time !