The Widdershins

Hillary Clinton to CBS: "This opinion is dark. It is incredibly dangerous. And it is not just about a woman's right to choose, it is about much more than that. And I hope people now are fully aware of what we're up against, because the only answer is at the ballot box."

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) May 6, 2022

Hello Widdershins, and happy Mother’s Day! I hope you have some time to relax and enjoy.

This was the wildest week in a long series of wild weeks. For several months, the Supreme Court has been reviewing a Mississippi law that bans abortion after 15 weeks. This law, along with dozens of others that exist in red states, is clearly in violation of the precedent established by Roe v. Wade. The draft opinion siding with Mississippi (and even more alarmingly, setting the stage for ignoring any rights not specifically enumerated in the Constitution) was leaked this week in an unprecedented break from traditional SCOTUS secrecy. Written by Justice Alito with contributions by the Lead Handmaid, it contained terrifying phrases such as “domestic supply of infants.“

Are we still calling it Mother's Day or is it now just Domestic Infant Supplier Day?

— Keri Blakinger (@keribla) May 8, 2022

The fallout has been instantaneous, but at first, the media (mostly white and male, as we know) didn’t know where to look. They focused on the leak itself. As per usual, they were taking their cues from Republicans in Congress, who are demanding that Merrick Garland and the DOJ investigate the leak -despite the fact that it is not a crime.

Soon enough, opinions began to emerge about why the leak happened. And believe it or not, I saw this one over and over again on social media: Someone on the right leaked it to take the sting out of the actual ruling in June. Once the ruling happens, people will forget about it and still vote Republican in the fall.

Along with many others, I increasingly think that if this was a strategic leak – aimed at affecting the outcome of the case – it's almost certainly from a supporter of Alito's opinion. There's just no logic to it otherwise. Of course, not all leaks are strategic.

— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) May 4, 2022

Some pundit is desperately trying to convince me that by November, voters won’t care that Roe v. Wade has been overturned, and they’ll just vote based on their credit card bills being too high. Pundits actually say things this laugh out loud idiotic and make a living from it.

— Palmer Report (@PalmerReport) May 7, 2022

There are so many things about this draft opinion – and the emboldening effect it’s having on the Christofascists in this country to push more and more extreme laws criminalizing abortions, miscarriages, birth control and IVF- that fill me with white hot rage. But for some reason, this reaction – that the leaked draft will somehow be “good for Republicans” – is especially insulting to me.

I’m insulted because of that smug privilege it takes to write something like that. The lack of any understanding of what will happen to women in red states as soon as that opinion takes hold; the incredible amount of oppression that women will face immediately due to laws that are ready to take effect as soon as Roe & Casey are overturned. Will women and girls “forget” being imprisoned, along with their wives, sisters, daughters and mothers? Will they shrug and say “Oh well, I’m still voting Republican” when they’re told they can’t leave the state without a negative pregnancy test? What about the men these persecuted women leave behind? Will they “forget?”

The decision has yet to be made – but its impact on the midterms is starting to break through the wider narrative that Democrats are fated to lose the House and Senate. Republicans are doubling down on anti-choice positions, whereas Democrats have fundraised tens of millions this week by promising to protect women’s rights. And as we know, Democrats represent the views of the majority of this country, whereas Republicans are trying to impose a dystopia that only a religiously insane minority wants. I don’t think this cycle of voting is going to go well for a Party that is telegraphing a national abortion ban if they re-take Congress.

I know a lot of people are going to complain about the Democrats not doing anything to stop this. I see a lot of this opinion too. Here are my thoughts on this: First, the votes are not there in the Senate to pass the House bill that codifies a woman’s right to choose into law, although Schumer will bring it to a vote this coming week. That vote will, of course, get every QOP on the record on this issue. Second, I don’t know what Biden will come up with yet. There may be an avenue we don’t know anything about. Or, perhaps there’s something the DOJ can do about prosecuting the three conservative justices (Gorsuch, Barrett and Kavanaugh) for lying to Congress.

But I’ll tell you the reality of the situation, no matter how frustrated we are: here in California, I feel safe and protected from this insanity (at least for now), because we have elected enough Democrats to prevent this sh*t from being brought up and passed in the state legislature. Electing more Democrats will, in fact, allow this law protecting choice to get codified into law in January – all we need is to get two more in the Senate and the filibuster will be gone, no longer held hostage by Manchinema. This will also open the door for other marginalized groups to be protected by law from the Supreme Court’s radical right-wing agenda.

As for what we can do until then, there are quite a few statewide elections and primaries that are happening now, before November. We need to vote blue in every one, and do whatever we can to support GOTV efforts in our neighborhoods and states. We can march. We can donate to Planned Parenthood and other like-minded organizations.

We will survive this. Because 166 million women will not be put in cages and forced to become baby factories for Christofascist lunatics.

We will not go back.