Budowsky: High court ignites powerful midterm battle, lifting Dems

Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett — with their apparent attempt to reverse Roe v. Wade and issue other decisions in the coming weeks—are promoting conservative judicial ideology run amok, and igniting a profound and galactic battle that will have a powerful impact on the coming midterms elections.

The legal reasoning behind the draft opinion of Justice Alito is so legally radical and extreme that it suggests clear and present dangers to a panoply of constitutional rights involving contraceptives, gay marriage, the right to vote and a wide range of civil rights and civil liberties.

The upcoming decisions on Roe and other critical cases follow a pattern that has been growing in recent years of certain justices acting more like political factions, ideological fanatics and theological advocates than neutral adjudicators of the law. This follows years of packing the Supreme Court with maneuvers from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Senate Republicans. 

Even before the final Roe decision, the result of these disturbing trends has been a decline in public approval and confidence in the Supreme Court. If Roe is reversed that decline in public confidence will become a cascading crisis of confidence and credibility that could bring the Supreme Court into a dangerous degree of disrepute with a majority of Americans — which would be tragically damaging to the court and justice in America.

Some justices have turned the Supreme Court confirmation process into a tragic farce. Kavanaugh should recuse himself from this case after confirmation testimony that directly and strongly suggested he would not overturn five decades of settled constitutional rights. 

When Alito suggests constitutional rights should be decided by partisan politics in states, he is legally wrong. Constitutional rights are not determined by partisan politics. They are determined by the Constitution. He is playing with political fire with his position, which is highly unpopular politically. Democrats will gain by forcefully advocating a passionate majority position they support.

According to most polls, between two thirds and 70 percent of Americans oppose repealing Roe. Does Alito, seeking partisan political state solutions to constitutional rights, seek to aggressively polarize America over his position which a large majority of Americans strongly reject?

In Washington, President Biden, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) are rallying for choice. California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) seeks to make California a safe haven for women exercising their rights.

But in various states conservatives are moving to ban abortions in all cases. Some even vow to convict women who have an abortion of homicide.

Should these women face life imprisonment or the death penalty? Should their spouses, neighbors, friends, clergy or physicians who help them be prosecuted as accessories to homicide?

This is why the Supreme Court on Roe is igniting a galactic midterm election battle, from the large majority who passionately support a woman’s right to choose that has been settled law for five decades.

Pro-choice voters fully respect the personal views and choices of pro-life (and anti-choice) citizens. Most or all of us would back financial support to moms and dads who want to bring a child into the world but face financial difficulty.

By contrast, anti-choice advocates disrespect and deny the personal views and choices of pro-choice citizens. They believe the 30 percent who are anti-choice should dominate and destroy the rights of the 70 percent who are pro-choice. This is why this issue provokes powerful voting support from the highly motivated 70 percent!

Reversing Roe will cause a surge in enthusiasm, voter turnout and small and mega-donations for pro-choice candidates from grassroots America and pro-choice Wall Street, corporate and Hollywood citizens who fiercely defend our rights.

The galactic midterm battle will be that five justices on a Republican-packed court, and 30 percent of voters, should never have this power to destroy rights and lives of some 70 percent of their fellow Americans.

Budowsky was an aide to former Sen. Lloyd Bentsen (D-Texas) and former Rep. Bill Alexander (D-Ark.), who was chief deputy majority whip of the House of Representatives.