Jill Lawrence/USA Today:
It’s time for Democrats to use the leaked Roe opinion as a battering ram against the GOP
Democrats could pick up Republican seats in states where majorities support broad access to legal abortion by double-digit margins.
“Saturday Night Live” used to have a segment called “What if?” that asked the pressing questions on everyone’s mind. Like, what if Superman grew up in Germany instead of America? What if Napoleon had a B-52 bomber at Waterloo? And my personal favorite, what if Eleanor Roosevelt could fly?
Here’s a new one that might seem equally hypothetical, but I’ve got to ask: What if Democrats could emerge from the midterm elections with enough senators to eliminate a stupid custom that’s kept them from getting things done, even things America sorely needs and most Americans support? In other words, what if Democrats had enough votes to kill the filibuster, an obstruction tactic that lets 41 of 100 senators block any bill they want?
The Supreme Court’s draft opinion overturning its 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, which established abortion as a constitutional right, has the potential to turn goals into realities.
CNN:
Oath Keepers sharing with January 6 investigators their efforts to find election fraud, communications with Trump allies
Top leaders in the Oath Keepers, the far-right extremist group, have been turning over phones and digital files and sitting for interviews with the FBI — and detailing how they worked to benefit Donald Trump’s campaign and communicated with others in the former President’s orbit, according to court records and multiple sources familiar with the federal investigation.
Kellye SoRelle, a lawyer working with the Oath Keepers, told CNN that she has met with the FBI several times and handed over phones.
She declined to say more about what she’s shared with investigators, but her ties to the group have come up in court filings, including a virtual meeting a week after the 2020 presidential election when Oath Keepers talk about heading to Washington, DC, and SoRelle briefs them about the campaign’s legal fight.
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CBS: “The nearly two-thirds of Americans who want Roe v. Wade kept in place say they feel angry and discouraged about the prospect that it may be overturned, describing that as “a danger to women” and as a threat to rights more generally” https://t.co/VNDemVALOI
— Joe Sudbay (@JoeSudbay) May 9, 2022
Rebecca L Davis/LA Times:
The pendulum is swinging back, reversing hard-won sexual freedoms and civil rights
Whether or not federal protection for abortion rights disappears this year, the erosion of sexual freedoms is already well underway. Although a majority of Americans support abortion rights, several states have passed extraordinarily restrictive abortion laws. School boards have banned books with LGBTQ content. And state legislatures have authorized retaliation against transgender people and their allies — even investigating the parents of children who receive trans-affirming healthcare.
It is not a historical accident that a likely Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe has coincided with these other assaults on sexual freedom and gender identity. The legal right to abortion is but one issue — if a critical one — at the heart of a much larger struggle for sexual autonomy.
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I’ve written more that one book on the deeply flawed idea that Roe created the culture wars. This argument ignores the role of party realignment, negative partisanship,& the polarization of media, among other things. And it absolves a lot of people for their role in polarization. https://t.co/6L72mkwoeG
— Mary Ziegler (@maryrziegler) May 9, 2022
WaPo:
This just in: In shift, Casey to vote yes on Democrats’ abortion legislation
In a dramatic shift Tuesday, Sen. Robert P. Casey Jr. (D-Pa.), one of the last Democrats in Congress with conservative views on abortion, said he would support legislation that would codify Roe v. Wade into law.
In a statement, Casey said that he will vote yes Wednesday to advance debate on the Women’s Health Protection Act and that he will support the bill if there is a vote on its final passage, our colleagues Amy B Wang and Seung Min Kim report. His position shift comes after a draft Supreme Court majority opinion overturning Roe leaked last week.
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A senior U.S. defense official wrapped up a briefing about an hour ago with an update on Russia’s war in Ukraine on day 76.
Here are some of the most important notes, including more American training of Ukrainian troops and weapons deliveries
— Jack Detsch (@JackDetsch) May 10, 2022
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Despite Putin’s making no major announcements on ‘Victory Day,’ U.S. officials believe the Kremlin could leverage a Russian foothold in the Donbas to push deeper into Ukraine, again. https://t.co/gOfs2ragZd
— Jack Detsch (@JackDetsch) May 10, 2022
David Rothkopf/Daily Beast:
Putin Sounded Like a Loser In His ‘Victory Day’ Speech
Russia’s president commemorated his country’s victory over the Nazis with a sad, delusional speech—sounding like a man facing defeat.
In a carefully crafted video message, Zelensky’s point was inescapable: Russia’s effort is doomed precisely because Putin has not only forgotten the lessons of World War II but because he’s defiled and abused the memory of its victims and heroes.
Zelensky’s video was stark and involved none of the flash and posing of the Russian “celebration.” But in that simplicity and starkness, it revealed the sham and betrayal of Russia’s parades.
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One thing to remember is that the Supreme Court didn’t have to take up abortion at all. There was no conflict, no ambiguity in a type of ban they’ve easily dismissed before. Just a series of pleas from the right that at least four justices decided now was the time to answer.
— Irin Carmon (@irin) May 9, 2022
Phillips P. O’Brien and Edward Stringer/Atlantic:
The Overlooked Reason Russia’s Invasion Is Floundering
Russia has failed to understand the importance of airpower.
The Russian air force’s failure is perhaps the most important, but least discussed, story of the military conflict so far. Ukrainian forces showed surprising strength in the air war, and adapted as the fighting progressed. But either side of this war could still gain air supremacy—and fundamentally change the course of the conflict.
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Senior defense official says Russia has “blown through” its PGM stockpile and is having trouble replenishing. “They are having inventory issues,” senior defense official says #Ukraine
— Tara Copp (@TaraCopp) May 9, 2022
*Precision-guided munitions.
Jonathan V. Last/Bulwark:
The Republican Party Is What Republican Voters Want It To Be
A TV doctor, a titan of finance, and a cosplay generalissmo walk into a Wawa …
Who’s going to win? I have no idea. In a race like this where none of the candidates has much of a base and even the leaders are struggling to get out of the teens, it’s a total crapshoot.
Why hasn’t either McCormick or Oz been able to achieve lift-off? Because neither of them is what Pennsylvania Republicans want.
David McCormick is what Glenn Youngkin would have been if he had been forced to face Republican primary voters: A conventional, country club, Chamber of Commerce Republican in the Romney mold. You can see how hard it is to fake your MAGA bona fides when you have to perform for the voters.1
Source by www.dailykos.com
