Elizabeth Warren announces abortion protections in wake of Alabama ban
Clark Mindock
1 / 2
Both Republicans and Democrats are scared by Elizabeth Warren. Let's talk about why
In early June, an unnamed adviser to Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders used the anonymity afforded to him by a reporter to berate one of Sanders’ main competitors: Elizabeth Warren.Speaking with US News & World Report, the adviser, whose comments were described by many as “cutthroat” — though “cowardly” feels like a better fit to me — was dismissive of the possibility of a Warren presidency. “Warren fundamentally fails a basic threshold question: Can she beat Trump?” the unnamed adviser explained. “Look at all the general election polling. She does the worst of all the candidates tested. That's the DNA test debacle. It just fundamentally killed her. People want somebody who can beat Trump. She loses that argument."Sanders’ longtime strategist, Jeff Weaver, who made his own comments on the record, was equally dismissive (even if he did package up his thoughts with false-sounding niceties). "She's basically flat," Weaver said. "I know all of you think she's surging. This campaign has great respect for Elizabeth Warren. That's not a dis on Elizabeth Warren, by the way. That's just where the numbers are. High single digits, 8, 9 per cent."The article where this quote appears is titled “How the Revolution Ends,” and purports to detail how the Democratic nomination might once again be “stolen” away from Bernie Sanders by the apparent all-powerful Democratic National Committee — who, by the way, began 2019 in debt. It read as a preview of the excuses that might come should Bernie Sanders fail to secure the nomination in 2020. As fate would have it, mere weeks after those comments from Sanders’ people were made, more recent polling shows that Warren’s support has risen and, in a trio of polls, she surpasses Sanders. The Trump re-election campaign has noticed and is taking her ascension with the seriousness it warrants. In a recent Politico report titled “Trump campaign zeroes in on a new threat: Elizabeth Warren,” Trump campaign officials acknowledged that after initially dismissing her as a non-factor in the looming presidential race, her rise in polling coupled with her populist message has put them on notice. In a text message to Politico, Trump campaign pollster John McLaughlin wrote: “Although our own early published polls and internal polls discounted Elizabeth Warren, her recent momentum in May and June in national and early caucus and primary states into a strong second place to a flat Joe Biden is a cause for our campaign’s attention.”Although Biden will still receive much of their attention, Politico’s Alex Isenstadt notes: “Trump aides say they're less certain that he'll be their eventual opponent.”The supposed inevitability of Joe Biden is predicated on the lingering delusions of a majority white political commentariat that chooses to be willfully ignorant about the factors behind Donald Trump’s win. This was always about racism and propaganda; it was never about “economic anxiety”.It’s easier for many to buy into the folklore of “economic anxiety” fueling Trump supporters (despite evidence to the contrary) because it yields them the easiest solution for 2020: just elect a different old white dude. Yet Warren’s disciplined style, populist-infused speeches, and perceived ability to win over suburban female voters have propelled her into the spotlight — and now Democrats and Republicans are struggling to deal with the reality of her success. The people paid handsomely to know better should have. We can imagine how Trump will start off trying to discredit Warren. This is a man who uses the racial slur “Pocahontas” every chance he gets, after all. While Warren should have settled this issue several years ago, as it stands now, the biggest mistakes made on that issue — releasing a video claiming a DNA test taken proved she had distant Native American ancestry to scorn and ridicule, after which Warren had to apologize — are behind her. Trump might try to breathe life back into that self-inflicted scandal, but I can’t imagine it will get much further traction.The reason why Warren has been discounted is the same reason her “likeability” is gauged in ways her male competition is not, the same reason her intellect and overall wonkiness is compared to a man who initially said he didn’t want “drown people in minutia,” and why even favorable profiles still question her electability. It is sexism, but while that may be Warren’s burden to bear, it does not have to dictate her fate. Let’s not forget that Joe Biden has more baggage than anyone else running. Like with Sanders, his campaign managers no doubt know this, and will be just as willing to publicly discredit her as their Republican counterparts. If they can resist, however, they should. Straight white men lining up to attack more diverse candidates won’t be a good look for 2020, whichever voters the eventual candidate wants to play to.Warren will need to capture a sizeable portion of the black vote in the primary to secure the nomination, which means seriously engaging with racial justice. She has made a good start on that, choosing to address racial disparities in healthcare and housing, marijuana legalization and structural prejudice in a number of public appearances (notably, she mentioned all of these early in her campaign, rather than as necessary afterthoughts.) But she still has a long way to go. After that, of course, she’ll have to survive being decried as socialism’s answer to Cruella de Vil by the right. There will be a lot of bait she’ll have to resist rising to, lest she find herself categorized as “emotional”, “incompetent” or “all over the place”. Something tells me the nickname that comes after Pocahontas will be even more offensive than its predecessor.What Warren’s meteoric rise has shown most of all is how important it is not to make political calculations based on the faulty formula that being a loud white guy lends you “electability”. This word has increasingly become a dog-whistle for “how much you resemble the other men in government” and is now being deployed by Democrats and GOP members alike in an effort to keep the White House white and male. I decided not to subscribe to the “electability” narrative a long time ago — and I’ve found it gives one a much more clear-eyed view of how 2020 might turn out to be. I invite others to try it.
Elizabeth Warren has called on Congress to take action amid the wave of anti-abortion bills that have been passed across the US this year, including the recent bill in Alabama that could send doctors to prison for life over the procedures.
Ms Warren, a top Democratic presidential candidate, warned that the laws pushed forward by conservatives could allow the Supreme Court to chip away at America’s abortion protections established in Roe v Wade, or reverse that precedent all together.
"Right-wing Republican lawmakers in Alabama just enacted the most extreme abortion ban in over 40 years," Ms Warren wrote in a Medium post on Friday. "The new law bans abortion at every stage of pregnancy, doesn’t include exceptions for rape and incest, and could result in doctors who perform an abortion being thrown in prison for up to 99 years. Republicans in Missouri are following close behind with a bill of their own."
Ms Warren continued, casting the effort as a broader Republican attempt to overturn Roe v Wade.
“I’ll be blunt: It just might work. President Trump has packed the courts with extreme, anti-choice judges,” Ms Warren said of the conservative plan to undermine abortion access. “Senate Republicans stole a Supreme Court seat and rammed through the confirmation of Justice Kavanaugh last year in order to cement an anti-choice majority on the Supreme Court.”
The Massachusetts senator noted that efforts to undermine the landmark Roe decision have been well underway since the decision was passed down 46 years ago. That has included efforts that have eliminated abortion clinics in 90 per cent of American counties, and the curbing of access to reproductive health services.
Ms Warren is calling for Congress to take on the issue, and to pass a federal statute that “parallel the constitutional right in Roe v Wade”.
Noting that polling shows that 71 per cent of Americans oppose the removal of Roe, Ms Warren said that the US government should work to stop states from interfering with the ability of healthcare providers to do their job.
The bill recently signed into law in Alabama would effectively ban abortion in the state, and would see physicians who perform the procedures going to prison for up to 99 years or life.
Opponents of the bill note that the law would rip the agency of women from them, and could lead women to seek dangerous and unregulated abortions from non-medical professionals.
The NFL will allow players to wear protective Guardian Caps during games beginning with the 2024 season. The caps were previously mandated for practices.
Atlanta Falcons first-round draft pick Michael Penix Jr. said quarterback Kirk Cousins called him after he was picked No. 8 overall in one of the 2024 NFL Draft's more puzzling selections.
Tyrese Haliburton hit a floater with 1.1 seconds left in overtime to give the Indiana Pacers a 121–118 win over the Milwaukee Bucks. The Pacers lead their first-round playoff series two games to one.
Dan Wetzel, Ross Dellenger & SI’s Pat Forde react to the huge performance this weekend by Texas QB Arch Manning, Michigan and Notre Dame's spring games, Jaden Rashada entering the transfer portal, and more
Trump is entitled to an additional 36 million shares if the company's share price trades above $17.50 "for twenty out of any thirty trading days" over the next three years.
