In case you needed to see this:
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is mad as hell.
When a reporter asked her Tuesday how she’s feeling about the leaked U.S. Supreme Court draft opinion to overturn Roe v. Wade, the typically reserved legislator didn’t hold back.
“I am angry,” Warren said. “Angry and upset and determined.”
“The United States Congress can keep Roe v. Wade the law of the land ― they just need to do it,” she continued.
“The Republicans have been working toward this day for decades. They have been out there plotting, carefully cultivating these Supreme Court justices so they could have a majority on the bench who would accomplish something that the majority of Americans do not want.”
As of today, that video has 4.2 million views and we certainly need to make sure that everyone sees that video. She also had this to add:
Warren said her anger was driven by concern for the poor women in Republican-controlled states who lack the resources to travel to Democratic states that maintain legal abortion rights.
“I am angry because of who will pay the price for this. It will not be wealthy women. Wealthy women can get on an airplane, they can fly to another state, they can fly to another country, they can get the protection they need,” she told the rally before the court building. “This will fall on the poorest women in our country. This will fall on the young women who have been abused, who are victims of incest. This will fall on those who have been raped. This will fall on mothers who are already struggling to work three jobs, to be able to support their children they have.”
Warren, who ran for president in 2020, argued that Congress should pass a federal law protecting abortion rights. That effort faces an uphill battle, as Republicans would be sure to filibuster the measure in the Senate, and moderate Democrats in the chamber are unlikely to buck the filibuster.
“The United States Congress can keep Roe v. Wade the law of the land — they just need to do it,” Warren said, also endorsing expanding the number of Supreme Court justices.
More to add from Vogue’s Emma Spencer:
What I really want to see is my rage and sorrow reflected and magnified by the people I’ve elected to represent me in office, and that’s exactly what I got on Tuesday, when Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren addressed a crowd of pro-choice protestors outside of the Supreme Court.
“I am angry. Angry and upset and determined. The United States can make Roe v. Wade the law of the land, they just need to do it,” declared Warren. When a reporter remarked that they had never seen the senator so upset, she responded: “The Republicans have been working toward this day for decades. They have been out there plotting [and] carefully cultivating these Supreme Court justices so they could have a majority on the bench who would accomplish something that the majority of Americans do not want. 69% of people across this country—across this country! Red states and blue states, old people and young people—want Roe v. Wade to maintain as the law of the land. We need to do that, and we have a right.
"We’ve heard enough from the extremists, and we’re tired,” Warren continued, as anti-choice protestors attempted to drown out her words in a sadly apt metaphor for the state of abortion discourse as a whole. I thought I was past the point of identifying with (or, to be honest, caring much about) what politicians had to say, but as it turns out, on this grim and frightening Tuesday, what I needed was to hear from an elected official willing to sacrifice her composure in order to underscore just how much is currently on the line for pregnant people in America.
Now of course the two traitors in the U.S. Senate aren’t going to get rid of the filibuster. U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D. AZ):
Sinema: While Sinema is supportive of abortion rights, her spokesperson said her views on preserving the filibuster are unchanged and pointed to seven Senate votes where a 60-vote threshold ultimately protected abortion rights.
- “Protections in the Senate safeguarding against the erosion of women’s access to health care have been used half-a-dozen times in the past 10 years, and are more important now than ever.”
- “A woman’s health care choices should be between her, her family, and her doctor. Overturning Roe v. Wade endangers the health and wellbeing of women in Arizona and across America,” she said.
And U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D. WV):
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) defended the filibuster on Tuesday as some members of the Senate Democratic Caucus called for nixing the 60-vote hurdle in order to codify abortion rights.
Manchin declined several times on Tuesday to address a leaked Supreme Court draft opinion, written by Justice Samuel Alito, that would overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark case that guarantees a right to the procedure.
But asked about getting rid of the filibuster, Manchin defended it, saying that “the filibuster is the only protection we have in democracy.”
“We’ve protected women’s rights with the filibuster,” he added.
But this will certainly be a campaign issue for November:
Amid fallout from a leaked draft Supreme Court opinion, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the conservative justices “lied” to the Senate during confirmation hearings when they assured senators the case that since 1973 has allowed abortion access was settled law.
And two Republican senators who publicly support abortion access, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, but have voted to confirm conservative justices vented their frustrations at the court's draft document and pushed their own bill to turn the Roe v. Wade ruling into law.
"The Supreme Court is poised to inflict the greatest restriction of rights in the past 50 years — not just on women, but on all Americans,” Schumer said.
Murkowski told reporters on Capitol Hill that if the direction of the draft becomes the final opinion, “I will just tell you that it rocks my confidence in the court right now.”
The Congress, however, can do little to stop the court from undoing Roe v. Wade unless more Republicans join Democrats in voting to protect abortion access, which is almost certainly unlikely. Schumer said the Senate would vote next week on emerging legislation, but facing a certain filibuster by Republicans, the Democrats signaled they prefer to fight over the issue on the campaign trail this fall, rather than in Congress. The House is away this week.
With a 50-50 Senate and two traitors that refuse to budge no matter what, it’s time to make both of them irrelevant and clean expand our Majority in the Senate and save the House. There’s a couple of things that Warren is already doing. the first e-ail I received is from the Progressive Change Campaign Committee:
Fox reports that in the House, "Every Democrat except Rep. Henry Cuellar" voted for the Women's Health Protection Act that would enshrine Roe nationally.
Meanwhile, conservative Democrat Rep. Kurt Schrader, the "Joe Manchin of the House," called the Hyde Amendment that bars the use of federal funds to pay for abortion “a good balance" for a "diversity of views." And a past president of the National Organization for Women warns "A vote for Kurt Schrader is a vote against women's ability to realistically make their own life choices."
In these painful times, it's sometimes hard to know what we can do. But one thing is easy. In just 2 weeks, bold progressive Jamie McLeod-Skinner has a chance to unseat Schrader in Oregon's Democratic primary -- and a week later Jessica Cisneros goes up against Cuellar in a tight runoff in Texas.
RSVP here and get your ticket for a virtual fundraiser for Jessica Cisneros hosted by the PCCC, Senator Elizabeth Warren, and End Citizens United on Zoom -- TODAY, May 3, at 7pm Eastern. The event will include a Q&A so you can ask Jessica and Senator Warren your questions.
Cuellar's issues are not limited to Roe. Cuellar also opposed the Democratic economic agenda. He's under FBI investigation. He's horrible. And his campaign is being propped up by none other than Joe Manchin’s PAC.
And Schrader's no better. ABC News reports that "Schrader opposed a $15 minimum wage and a proposal to contain prescription drug prices, and he initially voted against last year’s $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill." He even likened the Trump impeachment trial for Jan 6 to a "lynching."
Moments ago, Jessica Cisneros said on Twitter, "I'll always stand for our health care and the right to choose. In 21 days, Cuellar and I will face off in the Democratic runoff. Let’s defeat the last anti-choice Democrat in the US House. #TX28"
And Jamie tweeted today: "In Congress, I will fight to make sure abortion rights are codified into federal law."
Can’t make it today? Chip in to Jessica's campaign here.
Can’t make it on Thursday? Chip in to Jamie’s campaign here.
Thanks for being a bold progressive.
-- The PCCC Team (@BoldProgressive)
Click here to donate to Jessica Cisneros’ runoff campaign.
Click here to RSVP to meet Jamie McLeod-Skinner.
Here’s the other e-mail I received from Warren today:
Last night’s news — that an extremist Supreme Court majority has drafted an opinion overruling Roe v. Wade — was devastating.
But we are not powerless. We can still fight back. And we must.
First, let’s be clear: This is only a draft opinion until the Supreme Court releases its final ruling, expected sometime this summer. Roe v. Wade is still the law of the land. If someone has an appointment to get an abortion right now, they can still keep that appointment and legally get an abortion.
Second, we’ve got to support people and organizations on the front lines of this fight.
Can you make a $15 donation to support local abortion funds that are still connecting patients to abortion care today? Click here to split a contribution between abortion funds in states with trigger laws that will immediately ban abortion — 100% of your donation will support these grassroots groups.
By making sure abortion funds have the reources they need, we can support those who are hit the hardest by abortion bans — low-income people and people of color who don’t have the means to travel across state lines.
Look: I’ve lived in an America where abortion was illegal. Wealthy women still got abortions. But the most vulnerable had their freedom constricted the most.
Abortion funds help make sure that the right to an abortion is a reality for all. They need our support today, and into the future.
Please pitch in $15 if you can today to support abortion funds in states that have trigger laws that will ban abortions if Roe v. Wade is overturned.
I’m going to keep fighting in every way I can to defend abortion rights — including ending the filibuster so we can codify Roe into federal law, and expanding the Supreme Court so we can stop them from ripping our rights away.
- Elizabeth
Click here to donate to these grassroots organizations.
It’s also important that you contact your Senator and let them know you support ending the filibuster to codify Roe v Wade. Click here to contact your Senator.
FYI:
It’s also important to help make sure Warren has more colleague she can rely on in the U.S. Senate. Click below to donate and get involved with these Democratic Senate candidates and incumbents campaigns:
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