Back in December 2021, I wrote an essay which you can find on this website, with the same title as this one, which warned that, because of Democratic Party failings, the Supreme Court would overturn Roe v. Wade in June 2022 when it delivered its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s.
There are millions of people devastated and angered by the Dobbs ruling and the loss of abortion rights — rights which had been constitutional rights for the previous 49 years. But these people should focus their anger where it belongs: Not on the Republicans, who were just doing what they always said they would do, but on the Democrats who once again failed them by doing nothing to protect abortion rights.
These are the people to blame for your loss of abortion rights:
Joe Biden — Who as chairman of the senate judiciary committee in the 1980s could have kept Clarence Thomas off the court by calling all of the witnesses who, like Anita Hill, were prepared to testify against Thomas and prevent him from being confirmed.
Bill Clinton — Who during the early years of his presidency had control of both the senate and the house yet failed to pass federal legislation codifying the ruling in Roe v. Wade.
Barack Obama — Who during the early years of his presidency had control of both the senate and the house yet failed to pass federal legislation codifying the ruling in Roe v. Wade.
Nancy Pelosi (who can’t even say the word “abortion” out loud) — See Bill Clinton and Barack Obama above.
Barack Obama — Who failed to put Merrick Garland on the Supreme Court using a recess appointment when Mitch McConnell refused to hold confirmation hearings for him.
Democratic Party leaders (Barack Obama, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, Tom Perez, etc.) — Who cleared the Democratic Party presidential primary field for Hillary Clinton and prevented much better candidates from challenging her for the nomination.
Hillary Clinton — Who ran such a terrible presidential campaign that she actually lost to Donald Trump in 2016 and enabled President Trump to appoint Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett to the high court.
Ruth Bader Ginsberg — Who after her second bout with cancer selfishly refused to retire from the court and allow Barack Obama to appoint her successor, and instead died while still on the court allowing Donald Trump to appoint Amy Coney Barrett to the court in her place.
Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi (who can’t even say the word “abortion” out loud), and Chuck Schumer — Who, even though we’ve all known since late in 2021 that the Supreme Court was going to overturn Roe v. Wade, have no plan — none — to restore abortion rights to the women of this country. (These people don’t really care about abortion rights. They only care about one thing: Getting reelected. All they’ve been saying since the Dobbs decision is send us money and vote for us in the next election. What good will it do us if they’re reelected? We’ll just be in the same mess we’re in today.)
With the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s decision, it will now be state legislatures which decide whether abortions will be legal in each state. Here’s where Barack Obama comes in again: During his administration, in the worst act of political malpractice in history, the following happened: (1) 13 governorships flipped from Democratic to Republican. (2) 29 state legislatures flipped from Democratic to Republican. (3) The Republicans gained seats in 83 of this country’s 99 state legislative houses. And (4) 948 state legislative seats switched from Democratic to Republican. The Republicans then used the 2010 redistricting period to gerrymander themselves into permanent control of a score of state legislatures – even in states like Wisconsin and North Carolina where Democrats outnumber Republicans. As a result of Obama’s general lack of interest in politics, and belief that state politics were beneath him, far more states will now outlaw abortion than would have had the Democrats just held onto the state legislatures they controlled going into 2010.
If you’re upset about the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s decision and demonstrating outside of Brett Kavanaugh’s house, you’re wasting your time. Start demonstrating outside Joe Biden’s house.
Twenty years from now, when our democracy is gone, and we’re living in a quasi-authoritarian country modeled after Viktor Orban’s Hungary in which abortion is outlawed nationwide, we’re all going to look back and ask why in 2022, with our democracy hanging by a thread, Joe Biden did nothing — nothing — to try to save us and our democracy.
