News Discussion on the recent overturning of Roe v. Wade and Dobbs decisions by the Supreme Court and beyond (marriage equality and contraception next?)

[Zellia]

Dems are absolute wetwipes. Americans need to organise - organise your labour, organise in your communities, and... yes, organise yourselves to defend against state violence in its many forms.

Solidarity with you all.

 

[JazzPotatoes]

Absolute shitshow.

The only thing that will force any sort of change now is collective action: American voters need to get out there and protest like you guys have never protested before. Marches, vigils, blockades of roads and infrastructure. It needs to be made clear to the Supreme Court that their actions are going to be met not only with resistance, but with civil disobedience.

 

[Rainbow]

1975 in iceland, woman protested by laying down all work, just doing nothing. I guess this would be one of the rare things that could show the patriarchy how weak they are in reality.

 

[Deleted member 341]

I hope people are loud and make it clear what they want. I am from austria so unfortunately I can't help and making my voice heard.
Its crazy that social progress is so fragile and a stark reminder that progress for equality, freedom, rights and general progression as a society is neither guaranteed nor ever uncotested.

The fight is still not over and it won't for some time. In europe the anti-lgbtqi+ movements are growing too and there are certain voices
that also try to reduce women rights. So er ware all in the same boat.

 

[merp]

Direct Action Gets the Goods: How You Can Join the Abortion Fight

We will not go back. CDSA's Socialist Feminist Working Group outlines its strategy and defends the necessity of mutual aid.

midwestsocialist.com

"We live in capitalism. Its power seems inescapable. So did the divine right of kings. Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings.” Ursula K. Le Guin

We Will Not Go Back​

Roe has fallen. Now is the time for unity, not enmity from our comrades. The energy we expend arguing amongst ourselves when the real enemy surrounds us exhausts and weakens us all. There are many ways to fight for reproductive justice. An article published recently classifying the work of the CDSA SocFem Working Group as neoliberal “solutions” is demeaning and uncomradely. It has no place in a big tent organization and only tarnishes our collective reputation.

Narrowing the scope of work only serves capital and makes no sense politically or practically. There is plenty of work to go around and solely focusing on electoral politics and labor organizing limits the material changes we can make today. Let’s be clear: abortion is under attack, and it is simply the first domino in a planned war on all bodily autonomy.

As we fight for reproductive rights, we are also witnessing a moral panic surrounding trans children and adults. This manufactured hysteria is resulting in discriminatory laws and restrictions to medical care that is dangerous, if not deadly. Attacks on bodily autonomy are historically the first step in establishing fascist regimes. Moral panic around LGBTQ identities and restrictions are inroads to mainstreaming hate. Stealing a person’s right to their own body is a clear path to robbing them of all other political rights; a pattern history has repeatedly demonstrated. ChristoFascists are openly courting liberals, and they are all banking on us not standing in solidarity with one another. Reproductive justice specifically demands the right to transition, and we stand for complete reproductive justice, not just the crumbs of abortion.

Voting and organizing our workplaces is the absolute least we can do. But there is so much more. We are — and have been — doing the work. When the SCOTUS decision leaked, we, along with our Defund CPD comrades, responded quickly because we have organized around Dobbs v Jackson since SCOTUS agreed to hear the case in May of 2021. What is breaking news to so many has been on our horizon for years, and in addition to doing all we can to protect abortion in a Post-Roe America, we are focused on the next steps, including creating a welcoming environment for those newly politicized by the Dobbs ruling. We encourage everyone seeking those next steps to organize with us. There is a place for everyone in the movement.

And yes, we work in coalition, including with comrades in nonprofits. We are proud of our partnerships, a method employed by SocFem comrades since at least 2018. We work in coalitions because this fight is bigger than us, and the way to build our movement is to work side-by-side with those who share the majority of our politics. People witnessing the front lines of the continued attack on our autonomy — including nonprofit workers — are as receptive to our politics as baristas and warehouse workers. Implicit attacks on mutual aid and abortion funds do not convince newly activated socialists to join us. At best, they remain neutral. At worst, they reject further discussion about how we end not only this oppression, but all oppression of the masses. Condescending language that belittles people’s hard work is never how we win.

The situation today is the result of many neoliberal failures. But it is also a resounding success for our enemies. The dismantling of abortion is due to the disciplined, violent actions of the fascist Right. To win, we must stand in solidarity with the oppressed everywhere. Dividing ourselves only aids our enemies.

What Can We, As Socialist, Do Right Now?​

PROVIDE DIRECT MATERIAL AID​

Fund abortions. Mutual aid is a deeply radical act of community care, and our annual Fundathon team this year raised over $32,000 for Chicago Abortion Fund (CAF). CAF was presented with the Lucy Parsons Award for Community Organizing at the Debs dinner, organized by CDSA, two weeks ago. You can sign up for their Rapid Response email list and also volunteer with them as demand is already at record levels even before Dobbs stripped abortion rights. Nationally, Fundathon raised over $2.6 million to provide direct health care, an initiative supported by SocFem since 2019 or longer. Fundathon is a cornerstone of our work and to disparage it is an unprincipled attack on the entire working group.

In addition to supporting CAF, we encourage comrades who are able to also support Midwest Access Coalition (MAC). With Roe fallen, Illinois will become a bigger healthcare destination as trigger laws will criminalize abortion in most of the Midwest. MAC has been providing material support to travelers seeking care in our state since 2014, and we encourage comrades interested in providing rides, accommodations, and other direct aid to partner with the local experts, MAC. They’re also linking volunteer-hopefuls to Operation Save Abortion, an all-day training hosted by Abortion Access Front which will guide registrants through different ways they can join the fight.

AGITATE INSTITUTIONAL POWER​

Join us in the streets today, June 25th, at noon in Federal Plaza, to let everyone know we will not go back! We will continue to have abortions regardless of “legality”! Chicago for Abortion Rights (CFAR), our strongest ally, has been working tirelessly for years to raise awareness about this moment and to get folks out in the streets! Many of us directly organize with CFAR, and we welcome everyone who wishes to join us. You can contact CFAR directly and be added to their mailing list.

Reject the court decision! Our comrades in Argentina, Ireland, and Mexico gained reproductive rights in the streets. People power in coalition with labor is the only way to secure our future and to suggest we believe otherwise is insulting. Our endorsed rallies have always highlighted union voices, and we encourage members to support strike actions and to support all union initiatives.

Keep your community safe. Safety in the streets is always a priority for our actions, and if you want to help keep us safe, consider joining the Red Rabbits. You can contact this radical abolitionist safety group here.

Challenge Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPCs). Use our toolkit to unmask religious zealots masquerading as health care. Fighting Crisis Pregnancy Centers: A Toolkit was developed last year as a way for comrades to do the work on their schedule, from wherever there is internet access. It is an accessible way to fight for reproductive justice if circumstances prevent you from joining us in the streets.

Engage in jail support. Criminalization is a key part of the attack on abortions. Abolition is the bedrock of socialist feminist theory, and none of us are free until we are all free. Jail support is another way to practice care for our community. You can donate funds or sign up to volunteer.

Expand your political education. Join us for our wrap up panel on July 17th at 4 pm. This panel, featuring co-author Erica Meiners and youth organizers from #NoCopAcademy and/or Cops Out CPS and Stop General Iron concludes our collaboration political education series with Defund CPD, Abolition. Feminism. Now. Participate in Defund CPD’s monthly study group to engage and ask questions around abolitionist topics.

BUILD A BETTER CDSA​

Coalition is critical to creating the world we envision, and a large organization means we must work to develop internal connections. We strive to work in coalition internally, in addition to our external coalition work. We currently work closest with Defund CPD, but have made overtures to several other CDSA groups, including both the Labor Branch and the Electoral Working Group. We welcome all to join us at our monthly working group meetings, held the second Monday of each month on Zoom. Our next meeting is July 11, and you can register here.

CDSA members organize for a broad range of other organizations, and we support building relationships wherever the work takes us. Workplaces, LGBTQ spaces, Independent Political Organizations (IPOs), religious organizations. Our organization should aim to be diverse, inclusive, and welcoming to anyone who shares our politics no matter where we find them. Many people doing the work in adjacent spaces — including workers at nonprofits — are socialists in waiting. Our job as socialists is to welcome new people as they realize that capitalism has failed.

PRACTICE HOPE​

The times are bleak, but we keep us safe, and our community will protect us. Abolition teaches us to imagine a better world. Dream big. Envision the world we want. The fight we are in is a marathon, not a sprint. Strive to practice care whenever the opportunity arises; every time we choose solidarity, we make a material difference. In the words of Mariame Kaba, “hope is a discipline.”

Abortion access is the bare minimum. Reproductive Justice is the goal. We stand proudly on the shoulders of those before us, and commit to crafting a better tomorrow.

We’ll leave you with a quote from Abolition. Feminism. Now. See you in the streets.

“As the state too quickly absorbs or coopts seemingly radical tools and languages, and sometimes entire organizations, in the service of legitimating state violence, abolition feminism centers a critical and generative flexibility and a culture of political education that is intimately tethered to on-the-ground social and political movements.”

Thought I'd quote the entire article. It's not that long.

Get organized, don't just vote.

 

[Ostia]

In addition, fuck each and every person celebrating today's news.

Also, fuck each and every person who refuses to vote because their guy didn't win the primaries.

 

[Marce-chan]

That's so fucked up. A retrocession of 50 years. As USA is the dreamland of every fascist government in the world, there's no wonder others will follow and keep banning human rights.

Abortion is illegal in Brazil, except in cases of rape, risk of life and anencephaly. But there are very few hospitals offering the procedure. Well, so happens that a 10 year old girl got pregnant after being raped, the hospital denied to make an abortion because she was past 22 weeks, then asked for a judge, and she not only denied the girl her right, but kept her locked under a shelter to stop her from getting an abortion. After massive outrage online, the girl got access to the procedure and is now safe. But the mental torture she had gone through... And the FUCKING PRESIDENT posted on social media that it was murder, posted baby pics and even got the chance to make a transphobic commentary. The previous minister of family, women and human rights - that, mind you, tried to convince a 10 year old girl to get a C-section instead of an abortion just less than two years ago - commemorated the Supreme Court overturning Roe V Wade and called it a "world tendency".

Fuck. That's disgusting.


I hope you all stay safe

 

[merp]

How many of you all are out in the streets?

I wasn't able to make it, but many of my friends went.

 

[Clix]

Vote vote vote. It’s a fucked up situation all around, but this is why voting locally matters. Voting locally is what keeps my state in the blue, and that is what everyone should focus on. The feds are going to say it’s up the states, fine. It happened. Vote locally.

 

[SpaceGodzilla]

 

[afternoon delight]

Reminded me unfortunately of a quote from Stanley Kubrick's Paths of Glory - "Gentlemen of the court, there are times when I'm ashamed to be a member of the human race and this is one such occasion."

It's been very clear for a very long time that America simply does not have what it takes to act like the adult in the room, and it will clearly end in flames, driven by greedy fucks whose deaths we'll celebrate but it will be too late.

Personally, I'm no longer coddling the religious people in my life- specifically christians. Too much complacency letting them now actively harm my life, shit's gone way too far now. Now it's an active threat against me and mine, that's a whole new reality for some of the people in my family.

 

[LittleSnake]

I'm from Australia, whilst it doesn't effect me directly, I am still angry, sad, and heartbroken for the women in America. Their rights are getting stripped away in front of our eyes and all people can say is "don't have sex" or "use protection". I have so much to say I don't even know where to begin.

 

[Deleted member 2349]

voting is below the bare minimum and calling for it in response to this while dems control all three houses of government and did nothing to codify roe into law for the last 50 years is crass, frankly. if you care and are able to, please connect with local pro-abortion orgs your area and organize. also donate to abortion funds

 

[Seik]

Support from Canada, what a horrible regression for the US to go through in 2022.

 

[Sailor Moon]

This news devastated me and everyone I know. Fuck this fucking country and fuck the rabid fundamentalists who cry persecution even though they’re gaining control of everything.

I’m frightened and depressed and pissed off.

 

[Fercho]

Are we allowed to acknowledge the reality that organized violence seems to be the only solution. It is what has decided the struggles for countless battles for basic human rights both in America and abroad. We can't just shackle ourselves to the impotence of simply voting and hoping the people we vote for do right by us despite all evidence to the contrary - They don't share our interests, don't value our humanity, have financial incentive to throw us under the bus, and they do not fear us or the consequences of supporting American fascism

And make no mistake, we are IN a fascist regime, not approaching it. fascism isn't coming, it's here and you cannot vote for it to go away

Well...yeah. But that reality should've been acknowledge decades waaaaay before today in the US case to be honest.

I remember the panic back in 2018 when Kavanaugh won the seat as suprime justice...this is why.

 

[Marizza Pia Spiritto]

I know we're blaming the dems, but this is a direct consequence of the 2016 elections -- not the 2020 elections. So yeah, the "vote vote vote" never ends.

 

[Anton Sugar]

Vote vote vote. It’s a fucked up situation all around, but this is why voting locally matters. Voting locally is what keeps my state in the blue, and that is what everyone should focus on. The feds are going to say it’s up the states, fine. It happened. Vote locally.

At least in my state (TX), Nancy Pelosi, Clyburn, and other Dem leaders just finished campaigning for Henry Cuellar, an anti-choice and pro-NRA democrat. He beat his progressive rival, Jessica Cisneros, by a few hundred votes.

So in this example, we have a race where voting feels like it matters (local elections) and it not mattering anyways because status quo Democrats just shat all over it.

I know we're blaming the dems, but this is a direct consequence of the 2016 elections -- not the 2020 elections. So yeah, the "vote vote vote" never ends.

2016 election results should be examined from the lens of Clinton running a shitty campaign, not listening to her organizers, and basically TRYING to make Trump her opponent because she was overconfident in facing him.

How the Hillary Clinton campaign deliberately "elevated" Donald Trump with its "pied piper" strategy

An email released by WikiLeaks shows how the Democratic Party purposefully "elevated" Trump to "leader of the pack"

www.salon.com

Voting is one way of expressing power, not the only way. If anyone comes away from this blackpilled, I can't really blame them. Find other ways to organize and build power.

The Supreme Court, meanwhile, it just an authoritarian institution that needs to be dismantled...someday.

The Supreme Court Is an Antidemocratic Monstrosity. We Should Break Its Power.

Instead of celebrating Stephen Breyer’s retirement, we should be weakening the Supreme Court’s power. Popular majorities should determine the course of our society — not nine unelected lawyers.

jacobin.com

Socialist leader Eugene V. Debs put it well in an iconic 1918 antiwar speech, where he savaged this unelected super-legislature:

Who appoints our federal judges? The people? In all the history of the country, the working class have never named a federal judge. There are 121 of these judges, and every solitary one holds his position, his tenure, through the influence and power of corporate capital. The corporations and trusts dictate their appointment. And when they go to the bench, they go, not to serve the people, but to serve the interests that place them and keep them where they are.
Why, the other day, by a vote of five to four — a kind of craps game — come seven, come ’leven — they declared the child labor law unconstitutional — a law secured after twenty years of education and agitation on the part of all kinds of people. And yet, by a majority of one, the Supreme Court, a body of corporation lawyers, with just one exception, wiped that law from the statute books, and this in our so-called democracy, so that we may continue to grind the flesh and blood and bones of puny little children into profits for the Junkers of Wall Street. And this in a country that boasts of fighting to make the world safe for democracy!

As if to illustrate Debs’s point, the Supreme Court unanimously upheld his conviction after the speech landed him in jail for sedition.

 

[ElisaurusWrecks]

Washington Gov. Inslee seeks abortion rights amendment to state constitution

“The right to this choice, this constitutional choice for the last five decades, should not depend on which party is in control of our state Legislature,” he said.

www.nbcnews.com

This is a pretty predictable move for Washington, but I'm very glad to hear we're also refusing to cooperate with ban states in any matters of investigation or enforcement. Fuck them.

 

[merp]

Washington Gov. Inslee seeks abortion rights amendment to state constitution

“The right to this choice, this constitutional choice for the last five decades, should not depend on which party is in control of our state Legislature,” he said.

www.nbcnews.com

This is a pretty predictable move for Washington, but I'm very glad to hear we're also refusing to cooperate with ban states in any matters of investigation or enforcement. Fuck them.

That's good, at the very least.

 

[Crusters]

I know we're blaming the dems, but this is a direct consequence of the 2016 elections -- not the 2020 elections. So yeah, the "vote vote vote" never ends.

I mean vote vote vote will always be base maintenance to mitigate the tide if fascism. Even if one don't think the Dems do jack shit.... Not doing jack shit is a huge improvement to republicans having full power.

Keep voting Dems so you can have them not do jack shit while one tries a bottom to top disruption of the party, as opposed to having to fight the stormtroopers while trying to organize the bottom to top disruption.

 

[Monster Mash]

The state's primary means of legitimizing itself is through violence. Violence abroad from the military, violence at home with cops. Democrats are largely in line with Republicans on flushing both with cash - Our military spending is higher than that of the next 10 highest countries combined. Our cops are more well-funded than the armies of every other country on the Earth except for China and the US itself. Cops are the agents of state violence, the fascist foot soldiers enforcing a rightwing order on the country.

So how can we expect Democrats to stave off fascism when they are empowering the police state, and have happily contributed to the authoritarian nightmare security state we find ourselves in?

 

[beaglor]

The state's primary means of legitimizing itself is through violence. Violence abroad from the military, violence at home with cops. Democrats are largely in line with Republicans on flushing both with cash - Our military spending is higher than that of the next 10 highest countries combined. Our cops are more well-funded than the armies of every other country on the Earth except for China and the US itself. Cops are the agents of state violence, the fascist foot soldiers enforcing a rightwing order on the country.

So how can we expect Democrats to stave off fascism when they are empowering the police state, and have happily contributed to the authoritarian nightmare security state we find ourselves in?

This is the thing that gets me. Doing evil shit is apparently just part of the job of being US president - gotta raise the absurd military budget, gotta make the cops into a military, gotta bomb a Yemeni wedding. You mean to tell me they can sign off on all that stuff no problems, but they can't put a horse's head in Joe Manchin's bed? It's a joke. Abortion is worth more to them as a hovering threat than it is when it's been codified into law. Now Roe v Wade being overturned is their best hope for a win going into the midterms. Deranged ouroboros government.

 

[SuperFakerBros]

So as long as I'm in this country, I'll vote and encourage my friends to vote. But, fuck, everything just feels so hopeless. These old fucks and rich bastards just wanna regress everything back for their money and fairy tales instead of letting everyone have basic shit to be healthy and happy. Honestly, I'm strongly considering immigrating elsewhere when and if I can. When rights start getting stripped away, they don't just stop. Violence is always the inevitable conclusion and it's always to those whom aren't in the in group and, as a non white non Christian non rich dude, I'm definitely NOT in the in group

 

[Dusa]

So as long as I'm in this country, I'll vote and encourage my friends to vote. But, fuck, everything just feels so hopeless. These old fucks and rich bastards just wanna regress everything back for their money and fairy tales instead of letting everyone have basic shit to be healthy and happy. Honestly, I'm strongly considering immigrating elsewhere when and if I can. When rights start getting stripped away, they don't just stop. Violence is always the inevitable conclusion and it's always to those whom aren't in the in group and, as a non white non Christian non rich dude, I'm definitely NOT in the in group

The reason it feels hopeless is because the lesser of two evils are still pretty evil, and love using civil rights to raise money for themselves. That's why they're so impotent.

 

[SuperFakerBros]

The reason it feels hopeless is because the lesser of two evils are still pretty evil, and love using civil rights to raise money for themselves. That's why they're so impotent.

You're not wrong but, with the way the voting system and government is set up, not much I can do except to continue voting for lesser of two levels and try to get involved in activism

 

[Mekanos]

This is the thing that gets me. Doing evil shit is apparently just part of the job of being US president - gotta raise the absurd military budget, gotta make the cops into a military, gotta bomb a Yemeni wedding. You mean to tell me they can sign off on all that stuff no problems, but they can't put a horse's head in Joe Manchin's bed? It's a joke. Abortion is worth more to them as a hovering threat than it is when it's been codified into law. Now Roe v Wade being overturned is their best hope for a win going into the midterms. Deranged ouroboros government.

You have Joe Biden saying "violence is never acceptable" while sending troops to Somalia. Why should I care about anything that old piece of shit says?

 

[Clix]

At least in my state (TX), Nancy Pelosi, Clyburn, and other Dem leaders just finished campaigning for Henry Cuellar, an anti-choice and pro-NRA democrat. He beat his progressive rival, Jessica Cisneros, by a few hundred votes.

So in this example, we have a race where voting feels like it matters (local elections) and it not mattering anyways because status quo Democrats just shat all over it.


2016 election results should be examined from the lens of Clinton running a shitty campaign, not listening to her organizers, and basically TRYING to make Trump her opponent because she was overconfident in facing him.

How the Hillary Clinton campaign deliberately "elevated" Donald Trump with its "pied piper" strategy

An email released by WikiLeaks shows how the Democratic Party purposefully "elevated" Trump to "leader of the pack"

www.salon.com

Voting is one way of expressing power, not the only way. If anyone comes away from this blackpilled, I can't really blame them. Find other ways to organize and build power.

The Supreme Court, meanwhile, it just an authoritarian institution that needs to be dismantled...someday.

The Supreme Court Is an Antidemocratic Monstrosity. We Should Break Its Power.

Instead of celebrating Stephen Breyer’s retirement, we should be weakening the Supreme Court’s power. Popular majorities should determine the course of our society — not nine unelected lawyers.

jacobin.com

Well, that is the Florida factor often. People often assume if we have Spanish or South or Central American of X ethnicity background, why would they be conservative. But the reality is, many people of said backgrounds are.

South America, at least, has a very interesting and fucked up history with politics, with some countries having a history of leaning hard authoritarian left or hard authoritarian right dictatorships. So from what I have experienced down there, is that often people who came from countries with far left leaning regimes, end up leaning center right or full right when they come to the U.S., and people who came from far right regimes, end up leaning center or left when they come to the U.S.

It is the unfortunate reality, and like Florida, Texas has a big conservative spanish american population.

 

[Monster Mash]

Well, that is the Florida factor often. People often assume if we have Spanish or South or Central American of X ethnicity background, why would they be conservative. But the reality is, many people of said backgrounds are.

South America, at least, has a very interesting and fucked up history with politics, with some countries having a history of leaning hard authoritarian left or hard authoritarian right dictatorships. So from what I have experienced down there, is that often people who came from countries with far left leaning regimes, end up leaning center right or full right when they come to the U.S., and people who came from far right regimes, end up leaning center or left when they come to the U.S.

It is the unfortunate reality, and like Florida, Texas has a big conservative spanish american population.

The democratic party could just have a backbone and some principles, and not try to lure in conservatives by backing conservatives who want to do human rights abuses. I don't think you appreciate the gravity and urgency of what is happening. Things are bad, and could potentially get much worse very quickly from this point. We don't need action maybe possibly a couple of election cycles from now, we need it today, but the liberal prescription for every problem, regardless of time of year or efficacy or even whether or not the candidates stand for anything of value, is just to vote. Maybe phone bank or knock on doors for candidates, but ultimately it revolves around electoralism.

Joe Biden just appointed a federal judge in Kentucky who is an anti-choice republican. Liberalism doesn't have the answers. You know who's going to save us? Us.

 

[Clix]

The democratic party could just have a backbone and some principles, and not try to lure in conservatives by backing conservatives who want to do human rights abuses. I don't think you appreciate the gravity and urgency of what is happening. Things are bad, and could potentially get much worse very quickly from this point. We don't need action maybe possibly a couple of election cycles from now, we need it today, but the liberal prescription for every problem, regardless of time of year or efficacy or even whether or not the candidates stand for anything of value, is just to vote. Maybe phone bank or knock on doors for candidates, but ultimately it revolves around electoralism.

Joe Biden just appointed a federal judge in Kentucky who is an anti-choice republican. Liberalism doesn't have the answers. You know who's going to save us? Us.

Not sure what that has anything to do with the issue at hand we discussed with states like Texas and Florida where people fail to realize that unfortunately many “latinos” are conservative. And it’s impossible to sway many of them. It just is.

But many people ignore local elections and the importance of them, often only focusing on the capitol. You may focus locally, but truth is, many people don’t.

Hell, out of my friends group, I know three people who vote and two are those are my wife and myself.

How do I not understand the gravity? I haven’t been back to my country in years because of an authoritarian regime ripe with abuse of power and violations of human rights.

But at the end of the day, the GOP is organized. Even when they may dislike another member or not agree with what they say, they keep it together and organized to keep the GOP as a unified front and get seats on multiple levels. They adopted a clear strategy that is focused and are sticking to it. That screws us over a good bit.

 

[merp]

Not sure what that has anything to do with the issue at hand we discussed with states like Texas and Florida where people fail to realize that unfortunately many “latinos” are conservative. And it’s impossible to sway many of them. It just is.

But many people ignore local elections and the importance of them, often only focusing on the capitol. You may focus locally, but truth is, many people don’t.

Hell, out of my friends group, I know three people who vote and two are those are my wife and myself.

How do I not understand the gravity? I haven’t been back to my country in years because of an authoritarian regime ripe with abuse of power and violations of human rights.

But at the end of the day, the GOP is organized. Even when they may dislike another member or not agree with what they say, they keep it together and organized to keep the GOP as a unified front and get seats on multiple levels. They adopted a clear strategy that is focused and are sticking to it. That screws us over a good bit.

They have two things:

Unity

Consistency (which comes from discipline)

Even if they had a "losing strategy" they stick to it whereas the Democrats or anyone opposed to the Republicans don't have any consistency or strategy to speak of. And never mind the unity bit as well. Frankly, strategy in this case beats having no strategy at all.

 

[Christo750]

I know we're blaming the dems, but this is a direct consequence of the 2016 elections -- not the 2020 elections. So yeah, the "vote vote vote" never ends.

No, it really isn’t. This is the consequence of the ‘92, ‘00, and especially the ‘08 elections. If Democrats ACTUALLY codified Roe when they said and campaigned multiple times they’d do so (Obama pushed this particularly hard, then talked down to anyone who questioned it 6 months into his term), this wouldn’t ever have had to be a worry.

This was able to happen when Democrats controlled all 3 branches of government, so in actuality, it’s THE example of how voting in execution is not the same as voting in concept. If you’re in Texas, you were told by Pelosi and Schumer to vote blue for a VERY pro-life House candidate (the only House Democrat to vote against codifying Roe just last week, in 2 bills that are basically being sent to the senate to die for the sake of fundraising.) So truly who does that help?

The alarms have been sounding for conservative movements in this country for 20+ years. You'd think literally anybody would've taken strides to lock as much shit down as humanly possible which they had the chance. Obama had a majority in Congress and a supermajority in the senate. Could've gotten literally anything passed. He chose to sink 7 months into some bullshit Republican healthcare plan from the 80s and 90s in the spirit of 'bipartisanship'. 2010 midterms came around and his majorities got DECIMATED. Not enacting your promises fast enough has as much of a consequence as enacting terrible policies, which is why both GOP and Dem results swing opposite ways in midterms during a newly elected president's first term.

My great state of NJ has its problems but at least Murphy saw the writing on the wall when the Court's decision leaked and codified Roe v Wade into state law IMMEDIATELY. Biden, Pelosi, and Schumer did nothing on a federal level. They could build abortion clinics on federal land, or ignore the court's decision altogether and expand Medicare's services to include reproductive health for all ages; suddenly that becomes a budget reconciliation issue and now Dems need a 51-50 tie-breaking vote with Kamala Harris. But instead, you get nothing. No plan, except fundraising e-mails, and more blue names to vote for.

Not only that but the same body of Democrats who are actively talking down to the activist groups that helped get them elected in 2020, also bloated the federal funding for the same law enforcement bodies that will arrest you if you try to demonstrate. Trump didn't do that. DeSantis didn't do that. Biden did. He is a feckless and spineless wimp who forgets who had to essentially drag him over the finish line. He has failed to encourage his party to deliver on any possible message and now the party is a sitting duck.

The Democratic Party cries foul on these things happening, but in truth, they root for it because of a disillusion that it rallies the base. The base is now calling them on their bullshit. And frankly, I'm tired of being told to "vote harder". I'm tired of the traditional media class telling my generation they're to blame when these old out-of-touch officials have terrible approval ratings. I'm tired of people blaming the 2016 election; news flash, Hillary wouldn't have codified Roe either (and before any Hillary v Bernie arguments break out, I voted for Bernie in the primary and Hillary in the general, as most Bernie voters did.)

So let them lose. They need to, so something else can rise in their place.

 

[SaviourMK2]

I'm not one who can confidently say that if Democrats made attempts to codify Roe v Wade when they controlled all three branches prior to now, that it would have been successful. Abortion is still a taboo incident to some people in not just the right wing community (But lets be real, they cry about everything) but even in moderate/swing and some liberal circles.

You have Democrats who live in red states (Like Machin as an example) who would not support codifying it on the grounds that the Supreme Court settled that Abortion was a civil right (The lie everyone told themselves until an illigitmate Supreme Court overturned that ruling). This is also pre-MAGA when you had more Democrats oblivious to the Right's turn toward fascism and had more "We can work with each other"-Democrats.

I'm aware Obama promised to pass the Freedom of Choice act, but we were going through a massive recession. Please understand, I'm not trying to shift the whole blame away from Democrats, I'm just trying to shift some of the anger back toward the people who are stripping away people's rights because I don't feel it would've passed regardless of the times.

 

[merp]

This seems to be in response to what happened with Roe v. Wade:

Congress is considering making same-sex marriage federal law – a political scientist explains how this issue became less polarized over time

The U.S. House of Representatives recently voted for a bill that would federally protect same-sex marriage – and 47 Republicans signed on, too. Same-sex marriage isn’t the partisan issue it once was.

theconversation.com

 

[merp]

Protest demands Biden administration terminate Medicare privatization scheme

SEATTLE—Approximately 75 spirited protesters celebrated the 57th anniversary of the enactment of Medicare here on Friday, July 29, with a picket line and rally outside the Columbia Center chanting, Whose Medicare? Our Medicare!” and “Medicare is not for profit! Keep your corporate hands off i...

www.peoplesworld.org

We need more people to hold the Biden administration's feet to the fire.

 

[merp]

We stopped one, it seems..

Abortion Ban Stalls in West Virginia After Protesters Pack Hearings and Capitol

West Virginians are showing the fight for reproductive justice and bodily autonomy can still be won in the South.

truthout.org