The Supreme Heist

• OPINION from KURT STAUDTER –

Last week was shocking, but not totally unexpected. It’s not like the extremists on the right have spend the last half-century trying to undermine Roe v. Wade in secret – They’ve openly opposed the ruling and have been fighting abortion on a state-by-state basis ever since. Today in this country there’s a hodgepodge of laws making it increasing harder for women to access the pregnancy ending procedure. Yet with the leaked ruling there are many states poised to enact a total ban on abortions with the elimination of Roe. Make no mistake, this will return us to the dark days of botched back room abortions conducted by quacks that will kill our daughters.

Before we go any further, any long time readers of my commentary may have noticed that the subject of reproductive rights hasn’t been one of the topics I’ve felt compelled to write about. I was old enough to remember the fight for abortion rights and the Equal Rights Amendment, and I honestly thought that the subject was settled. The only person that has the right to determine whether to carry a baby full-term is the mother to be. Period!

To be clear, my wife and I would never consider an abortion even when we were having trouble making ends meet. We just bucked up and got another job. The joy from our children long ago outweighed extra work we needed to do, and now the grandchildren. I often joke that if I’d known how much fun being a grandparent was I would’ve skipped the first part. That being said, I will continue to support a woman’s right to make that choice.

As a longtime political observer, it was impossible not to notice the storm clouds on the horizon, and like I’ve already said, the out-of-touch puritan branch of the Republican Party has determined that their narrow minded minority point of view has to be imposed on all of the women in this country. Quietly, Senator Mitch McConnell has been obstructing Democrats from picking judges, and when they had the opportunity, they’ve stacked the courts with radical extremist judges.

Now we have a Supreme Court that has been handpicked to overturn Roe, while at the same time a majority of Americans still maintain a woman’s right to choose. In the most recent poll two-thirds of Americans support continuing access to abortion. It would seem that the Republicans have won this round, but at what cost?

I watched intently while The Donald got judges handpicked by the shadowy ultra conservative Federalist Society. I don’t begrudge the Rs from picking the most conservative judges they can, although the Dems have been somewhat timid at appointing liberal judges, the most recent pick is very impressive. We need more judges like her.

When the Trump judges were grilled by senators all of them lied – This is one hell of a way to start your career on the high bench. All of them when asked about Roe v. Wade said that it was precedent and would let it stand. Every one of them lied. Also, depending on how you look at it, at least one and possibly two of the picks should have been made by Obama or Biden. The picks were stolen when the treasonous McConnell refused to live up to his constitutional oath. His job was to “advise and consent” and not to obstruct the constitutional process.

Considering the illegitimate make up of the Supreme Court, and the blatant stacking of conservative judges on the lower courts, should the American people trust the judiciary? At this point I believe that the Republicans have destroyed the integrity of the judicial branch of government, and any semblance of balance or impartiality, which is the bedrock of our legal system, is now gone. The courts are once again poised to rule in support of corporate American. And what about Justice Clarence Thomas’s wife Ginny – Is she another un-indicted insurrectionist?

It’s kind of ironic that in January it was the legislative branch of government that was under attack and up went large black fences, and now the Supreme Court has the fence. One was because of the fear of rightwing activists, and now they fear leftwing activists. Perhaps it’s a sign that our government has become dysfunctional when two branches have to fence themselves off from different segments of the people (The executive branch has had a fence for decades.) We know there are deep divides in this country, but when our most cherished institutions are called into question we are clearly headed in the wrong direction. I never thought I’d see the day.

The biggest question now is can our government survive the growing mistrust of everybody? The slow march to the right for the courts didn’t happen overnight, and we’ll not restore balance anytime soon. Meanwhile if the biased judges on the high bench aren’t going to consider precedent, I know the left is worried about rulings like marriage equality, but maybe they’ll throw out Citizens United, and Hobby Lobby. Flawed decisions giving corporations the freedoms of free speech and religion were just insane to begin with. But don’t count on it.

We’ll find out in November just how outraged people have become. This might be a game ender for the Rs.