Dispatches

McCONNELL TRIED TO TAMP DOWN GOP TALK OF PASSING FEDERAL ABORTION BAN. HE FAILED. After the demise of Roe v. Wade was telegraphed by the leak of a Supreme Court draft opinion, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) sought to downplay the substance of the ruling, Kerry Eleveld noted at DailyKos (5/9).

McConnell immediately instructed his caucus to focus their outrage on the unprecedented leak, but the reality is that McConnell no longer leads his caucus—he follows it. And after feigning indignation for about a day, Senate Republicans started coming clean about their ultimate destination: a national abortion ban.

Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) explained that if someone crossed state lines to have an abortion in Moorhead, Minn., he wouldn’t “find a lot of solace in that just because it didn’t happen in my state.”

“I think you could expect that pro-life activists would push for federal protections,” Cramer added. “I mean, I wouldn’t take that off the table.”

Toward the end of the week, McConnell had clearly concluded he had no choice but to admit his caucus is actively debating the possibility of passing a federal abortion ban if they retake the majority in November.

“If the leaked opinion became the final opinion, legislative bodies—not only at the state level but at the federal levelcertainly could legislate in that area,” McConnell told USA Today (5/6).

“And if this were the final decision, that was the point that it should be resolved one way or another in the legislative process,” he added. “So yeah, it’s possible. It would depend on where the votes were.”

“The votes” is where McConnell still hopes to temper the reality that Republicans ultimately hope to pass federal abortion restrictions.

McConnell—who summarily nuked the filibuster to place three right-wing judges on the Supreme Court—now wants Americans to believe that the 60-vote threshold imposed by the filibuster to pass legislation will serve as a buffer against such a ban.

McConnell promised (5/3) he would “absolutely” protect the legislative filibuster.

“We don’t want to break the Senate, and that’s breaking the Senate,” said McConnell, who already broke the Senate on his way to breaking the Supreme Court that is now forcing its fringe agenda on the American people.

But as Law Professor Joyce White Vance pointed out, McConnell promised the National Right to Life Conference in 2014 that he would indeed push through abortion restrictions if Republicans retook the majority.

“We would have already had a vote,” McConnell told attendees at the conference before they reclaimed the Senate Majority later that year.

Instead, McConnell used his majority to engineer a Supreme Court that would do his dirty work on abortion for him.

But once that abortion decision drops, likely declaring open season on abortion protections nationwide, the pressure on congressional Republicans for federal action will be enormous.

As Vance tweeted, “You don’t go halfway towards achieving your decades-long agenda & then quit when victory is in sight. McConnell will drive towards a national ban if he is in power after the midterms. Vote like your daughter’s life depends on it.”

If Republicans retake the House and Senate in November, they will surely make a push to pass a nationwide abortion ban—as they have promised their base for decades. If they somehow managed to succeed, President Joe Biden would surely veto it. But more likely, that initial federal push would just be a practice run for Republicans, biding their time until they have a GOP president in place who would sign the measure into law. That’s the point at which McConnell would pull the trigger on ending the filibuster. Until that time, he might just keep his powder dry in hopes that voters forget the Republican agenda awaiting them the next time the GOP takes full control of Washington.

TEXAS GOVERNOR WANTS TO DENY IMMIGRANTS FREE EDUCATION. Days after rights advocates warned that the U.S. Supreme Court’s expected overruling of Roe v. Wade portends rollbacks of numerous rights for people in the US, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) said he wants to challenge a 40-year-old ruling that affirmed states must offer free public education to all children, Julia Conley reported at CommonDreams (5/5).

In a radio interview with right-wing host Joe Pagliarulo (5/4), Abbott discussed border security and agreed with the host’s claim that the children of undocumented immigrants place a “real burden on communities” when they attend public schools, as the Plyler v. Doe ruling required states to allow in 1982.

“The challenges put on our public systems [are] extraordinary,” Abbott said. “Texas already long ago sued the federal government about having to incur the costs of the education program ... And the Supreme Court ruled against us on the issue about denying, or let’s say Texas having to bear that burden.”

“I think we will resurrect that case and challenge this issue again, because the expenses are extraordinary and the times are different than when Plyler v. Doe was issued many decades ago,” the governor added.

The Plyler case arose from a 1975 decision by the state of Texas to permit school districts to deny admission or charge tuition to undocumented immigrant families. The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund filed a class action lawsuit after Tyler Independent School District charged $1,000 per year to children who did not provide proof of American citizenship.

The case eventually was taken up by the Supreme Court and the justices ruled 5-4 that all children in the US were entitled to free public education under the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection clause.

The Texas Constitution also requires the Legislature “to establish and make suitable provision for the support and maintenance of an efficient system of public free schools,” without regard to citizenship.

Abbott’s comments came two days after a draft opinion was leaked from the US Supreme Court showing that the court’s right-wing majority voted earlier this year to overrule Roe, a move that would eliminate abortion rights for millions of women in states hostile to reproductive justice.

“The leaked opinion is an invitation to all manner of challenges to deeply rooted precedents,” said Tom Jawetz, former vice president of immigration policy at the Center for American Progress.

Abbott’s threat to the children of undocumented immigrants, said one healthcare advocate, exemplified the late comedian George Carlin’s summation of the anti-choice movement’s views on the rights of children.

“I can’t believe this has to be said, but ALL children deserve access to a quality public education,” said Gwenn Burud, a Democratic candidate for the Texas state Senate from Fort Worth. “Unlike the other side, I understand what settled precedent means.”

As Charles P. Pierce noted in his blog at Esquire.com regarding Abbott’s threat to oust undocumented kids, “The siren doesn’t go any louder, They’re coming for everything.”

MIDTERM BOMBSHELL: 50% OF ROE SUPPORTERS ‘SURPRISED’ IT MIGHT BE OVERTURNED. New polling suggests the likely Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade could prove to be explosive this fall. A CBS News/YouGov poll taken in the three days following the bombshell news (May 4-6) found that fully 50% of Roe supporters reported being “surprised” the landmark ruling might be overturned.

That represents a total shock to a political system in which a sizable portion of the electorate considered the landmark 1973 decision guaranteeing the right to an abortion to be settled law, Kelly Eleveld reported at DailyKos (5/9).

The survey found that nearly two-thirds (64%) of Americans said the high court should keep the original ruling “as is,” including 90% of Democrats, 68% of independents, and 38% of Republicans—all numbers that are very much in line with previous polling on the issue. Frankly, 38% of Republicans saying it should be left in place is a notable data point on a matter that could become a wedge issue this fall. Just 36% of respondents overall favored overturning the decision.

But perhaps most importantly, the survey showed that the radical nature of the draft opinion has come as a jolt to the system of Roe supporters. Among those who wanted it left in place, 70% said they felt “discouraged,” 68% reported feeling “angry,” 61% said they were “scared,” and 50% felt “surprised.”

Those who want Roe left in place also feel strongly that overturning it would have corrosive effects:

• 84% said it would “move the country in the wrong direction”

• 82% said it would be “a danger to women”

• 82% said it would be “dangerous for Americans’ rights.”

• 82% of Roe supporters also favored passing a federal law legalizing abortion, in the survey.

Overall, 58% of respondents supported codifying Roe into federal law. Conversely, just 33% of respondents supported passing a federal law making abortion illegal, while 67% of Americans oppose criminalizing abortion.

ISPs UNDER FIRE FOR SABOTAGING BIDEN FCC AS WHITE HOUSE TOUTS BROADBAND PROGRAM. The White House announced (5/9) that it has brokered a deal with 20 internet providers which will offer discounted service to people whose incomes are at or below 200% of the federal poverty line or who participate in government-run housing, food assistance, or other aid programs.

An estimated 48 million people across the US will qualify for reduced rates under the program, according to the Biden administration, which arranged the lower costs with companies including Altice USA, AT&T, Comcast, Verizon, and Spectrum.

The commitment from internet companies is expected to build on the $14.2 billion Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which was passed as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in 2021. That program provides $30 monthly stipends for low income households and $75 stipends for people in tribal areas. Before the White House’s announcement on May 9, 11.5 million families were participating in the ACP.

According to the White House, about 40% of US households will now qualify for the ACP under the agreement with the internet companies, which will apply to high-speed plans of at least 100 megabits per second.

But media justice groups warned that the discounted internet service to people with low incomes isn’t “nearly enough” to help households facing barriers to broadband access and denounced the White House for celebrating the program with the same companies currently blocking the confirmation of consumer advocate Gigi Sohn to the Federal Communications Commission, Julia Conley noted at CommonDreams (5/9).

“Instead of applauding corporations that continue to fail families needing to stay connected to healthcare, jobs, school, and one another through the pandemic, President Biden should be applying pressure to Senate leadership to confirm his Federal Communications Commission nominee Gigi Sohn,” said Steven Renderos, president of MediaJustice.

“While Sohn’s confirmation has stalled for over six months, preventing the full functioning of the FCC, these internet service providers watched their profits rise as 21 million Americans go without home broadband,” he added. “These companies don’t need a White House ceremony, they need the oversight and regulation that only a complete FCC can provide.”

The telecommunications industry has donated to political action committees intent on waging a “smear campaign” against Sohn aimed at portraying her as insufficiently committed to expanding rural broadband access and as having a “deeply problematic track record on media diversity issues.”

Some of the people representing internet providers at the White House, said Matt Wood, vice president of policy for Free Press, are actively “sabotaging President Biden’s FCC even as they pose for today’s photo op.”

Sohn, a fierce defender of net neutrality, was nominated to the FCC earlier this year. Her confirmation would end the 2-2 deadlock of the panel, which has left the commissioners unable to reinstate net neutrality protections, ensure that the funds appropriated for the ACP are distributed equitably, create rules to protect communications networks from the climate crisis and other threats, and halt monopolization within the sector.

Biden’s efforts to ensure Sohn is confirmed “have not been nearly enough,” said Renderos, urging the president to work with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) “to get the votes necessary to confirm Sohn now and get the FCC fully running.”

APRIL JOBS REPORT SHOWS CONTINUING STRONG JOB CREATION. The April jobs report released May 6 was strong, with 428,000 new jobs and unemployment holding steady at 3.6%, Laura Clawson noted at DailyKos (5/6). Black unemployment ticked down to 5.9%, which, while it’s far above white unemployment the Economic Policy Institute’s Elise Gould notes is the first time it’s been under 6% in the pandemic recovery.

That’s the good news. There are key areas of weakness:

Heidi Shierholz, president of the labor-oriented Economic Policy Institute, tweeted,

“One huge problem: There is still a giant gap in state and local govt jobs—they are down 699,000 since Feb ‘20, with half of that, 350,000, in education. It’s crucial that state and local govts use their ARPA funds to raise pay and refill those jobs.

“The private sector has now gained back 97.6% of the jobs it lost in the recession. State and local governments have gained back just 52.9%. Folks, state and local government must be pushed to use their ARPA funds to raise pay and hire.”

Overall, though, the jobs recovery from the pandemic continues to beat all expectations, thanks to legislation like the American Rescue Plan and the CARES Act.

LAWSUIT SEEKING REPARATIONS FOR 1921 TULSA RACE MASSACRE GOES FORWARD. A judge ruled (5/2) that a lawsuit demanding reparations for survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre and their descendants can move forward, the Washington Post reported (5/3). The lawsuit, which was filed in September 2020, claims the city, the county, the Oklahoma National Guard and other officials caused “public nuisances” in 1921, when they did not defend the Black community from a White mob that descended on Greenwood, a community so prosperous that it was called Black Wall Street.

The lawsuit, filed by three remaining survivors and descendants of other victims, emphasizes that every elite institution in the city was either directly involved or complicit in the violence that erupted 101 years ago. For example, the Chamber of Commerce is a named defendant in the suit on the grounds that, in 1921, the Chamber allegedly joined with local law enforcement and deputized vigilantes to suppress Black survivors in the aftermath.

The lawsuit identifies seven entities or organizations that it alleges were directly involved in the massacre, including the city, county, state National Guard and Tulsa Chamber of Commerce. “The city police department and the county sheriff’s office deputized and armed white Tulsans to murder, loot, and burn the nearly 40 city blocks of the Greenwood District,” the lawsuit states. “The State National Guard participated with this angry white mob in killing and looting and destroying the property of Black residents of Greenwood.

The city, sheriff, chamber, and county targeted Black community leaders and victims of the massacre for prosecution as instigators of the massacre — despite knowing who were truly responsible.” The lawsuit accuses the chamber of joining with other officials after the massacre to impose martial law and round up survivors into “concentration camps,” only releasing them if White employers sponsored them to work.

Charles P. Pierce noted at Esquire.com (5/3), “It’s difficult to resist noting that, while it’s devoutly to be hoped that this lawsuit will grind toward a just conclusion, the Oklahoma governor, its legislature, and all of the Republican candidates for election this fall have joined in the push to eliminate serious discussion of events like the Tulsa massacre from the state’s school books.”

FORMER DEFENSE SEC’Y: TRUMP WANTED TO FIRE MISSILES INTO MEXICO AND PRETEND SOMEBODY ELSE DID IT. Former President Donald J. Trump asked Mark T. Esper, his defense secretary, about the possibility of launching missiles into Mexico to “destroy the drug labs” and wipe out the cartels, maintaining that the United States’ involvement in a strike against its southern neighbor could be kept secret, Esper recounts in his upcoming memoir, “A Sacred Oath,” Maggie Haberman reported in the New York Times (5/6).

When Esper raised various objections, Trump said “we could just shoot some Patriot missiles and take out the labs, quietly,” adding that “no one would know it was us.” Trump said he would just say that the United States had not conducted the strike, Esper recounts, writing that he would have thought it was a joke had he not been staring Trump in the face.

Esper, the last Senate-confirmed defense secretary under Trump, also had concerns about speculation the president might misuse the military around Election Day by, for instance, having soldiers seize ballot boxes. He warned subordinates to be on alert for unusual calls from the White House in the lead-up to the election.

“Of course, during his first term, Trump was surrounded by various babysitters and other marginally competent advisers who steered him away from some of his more godawful ideas, like nuking hurricanes or shooting protesters in the legs,” Aldous Pennyfarthing noted at DailyKos (5/5).

. “Those minders won’t be around in his second term, assuming he gets one. His cabinet is more likely to resemble the line of people standing outside hoping to get into ‘The Price Is Right’ than anything we’ve seen from previous administrations. You thought Betsy DeVos was a horrible cabinet pick? Get ready for Education Secretary ‘Last Person Trump Saw on Tucker Carlson’s Show Gurgling Lies About Public Schools.’”

INDIANA MAN CHARGED WITH MURDERING HIS WIFE WINS GOP PRIMARY FROM JAIL. Another problematic Republican has won a local primary election, despite being held on a charge of murdering his wife. Andrew Wilhoite of Lebanon, Ind., whose residence has been the Boone County Jail since March, won the May 3 Republican primary election for Clinton Township Board, Aysha Qamar reported at DailyKos (5/6).

According to Boone County election data, Wilhoite ran uncontested and received 60 votes. Two other Republican candidates for the three seats received 106 and 100 votes each. While no Democratic candidates were on the ballot in the Clinton Township Board primary, candidates from other parties could still make the ballot by November, WXIN reported. If not convicted, Wilhoite is expected to be on the November ballot.

Wilhoite was charged in March in the death of his wife, Elizabeth “Nikki” Wilhoite, after she had completed her chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer. According to the *Lebanon Reporter*, Elizabeth Wilhoite was allegedly seeking a divorce after confronting Wilhoite about having an affair when the two got into an argument.

According to the Indiana State Police, as the argument escalated Wilhoite “allegedly struck her in the head” with a cement, gallon-sized flower pot. He then allegedly placed her body in his car and dumped her body in a nearby creek.

Wilhoite’s arrest was detailed on social media weeks before the election.

“The investigation continued into the evening and, eventually, Andrew Wilhoite, Nikki’s husband, was arrested for murder by the Indiana State Police and Nikki Wilhoite’s body was found in a creek within a few miles of the Wilhoite residence,” a Facebook post by the Boone County Sheriff’s office said. It explained how the missing person report escalated into a domestic homicide investigation.

While Wilhoite initially lied about his wife’s whereabouts to detectives, he later admitted to killing her, NBC News affiliate WTHR reported. When police officials found her body, officials noted that despite being submerged in at least three feet of water, the cause of death was not drowning,

“All signs point to that she died at home,” Boone County Prosecutor Kent Eastwood said in March. “Nothing indicates that she drowned.”

Indiana state election officials say it is legal for people charged with a felony to run for local office, but they become ineligible if they are convicted.

According to the Washington Post, while a date has not been set for Wilhoite’s murder trial, it is expected to begin in late August. If convicted of first-degree murder, the 40-year-old could face life in prison or even the death penalty, state law says.

“There is no legal reason he can’t be a candidate,” Brad King, co-director of the bipartisan Indiana Election Division, told the *Tribune-Star*. “Under our system, you are innocent until you are proven guilty. If a person is convicted of a felony, then they are no longer eligible to be a candidate and are ineligible to hold office.” He noted that if convicted, depending on the time of the conviction, the person can be replaced on the ballot by the political party that has a vacancy.

According to King, if the election takes place before Wilhoite’s trial, Wilhoite can take his oath of office in jail. Wilhoite also has the ability to remove his own name before the June 15 deadline.

This situation may be a first. Boone County Republican Chairwoman Debbie Ottinger told the Tribune-Star that she cannot remember a time when an incarcerated candidate has won a primary.

“Our hope is that he asks to be removed from the ballot and we can just replace him,” she said, “but I don’t know if anyone has talked to him about that.”

From The Progressive Populist, June 1, 2022

Populist.com