June 30, 2022

UPDATE:

According to this Reuters piece, the White House is unlikely to take any bold steps to protect women's right to abortion -- or anything else, for that matter. In a piece based on interviews with unnamed officials, Joe Biden sounds downright timid.

Look, Joe, we knew you weren't a firebrand. But we did think we could count on you to do the right thing.

In a speech after the rollback of the Roe vs. Wade decision on Friday, President Joe Biden slammed the "extreme ideology" of the conservative-leaning Supreme Court, but said then there are few things he could do by executive order to protect women's reproductive rights.

[...] But the White House is pursuing a more limited set of policy responses while urging voters and Congress to act. The White House's plans include a range of executive actions in the coming days, as well as promising to protect women who cross state lines for abortions and support for medical abortion.

Biden and officials are concerned that more radical moves would be politically polarizing ahead of November's midterm elections, undermine public trust in institutions like the Supreme Court or lack strong legal footing, sources inside and outside the White House say.

Biden is "telling people the truth and putting the focus where it needs to be, holding Republicans' feet to the fire for the harm they're causing," a White House official said when asked about the strategy.

We already know we have to vote. But you can't put the burden of fixing this systemic crisis by putting all the responsibility on individual voters. And it's not just about Roe! The renegade, lawless Supreme Court is raining down one unhinged, irrational, voter-suppressing opinion after another, and you should be out there leading the charge to get Congress to change it.

Be a leader, Mr. President.

All you have to say is the original legislation named one justice for each federal judicial circuit. There were nine then; there are 13 now. All court experts agree that SCOTUS is not adequate to meet the demand. So talk about that! Tell the voters this is about efficiency, and fairness (justice delayed is justice denied). Rinse, repeat. Stick to the script. Relieved voters will reward you.

Just as you didn't realize there was a serious problem with baby formula, you are missing a crisis of confidence that is certain to suppress Democratic turnout -- the very outcome your caution is meant to avoid. Democrats are despondent over this unhinged Court and want someone to protect us. They want you to lead.

Meet the moment, Mr. President.

Or would you rather go down in history as Tiptoe Joe?

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