Sen. Chuck Schumer is connecting the dots between alarming court rulings and the election
President Donald Trump and others on the right have responded disingenuously to Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer’s remarks, choosing to deliberately misconstrue his meaning. And their reasons are all too obvious.
As Schumer has made clear, his intended reference was to political consequences for Republicans if Americans are stripped of our reproductive rights. Standing on the steps of the Supreme Court, he was connecting the dots between alarming decisions coming from the high court and other federal courts, and the enormously consequential election ahead.
He knows the two cannot be separated. He is acutely aware that Trump and the far right are packing the courts with extreme ideologues, and has often said so. He believes, as do we, that there will be tremendous voter backlash if judges picked by this president, and rubber-stamped by Senate Republicans, undermine reproductive rights.
The threat to the fundamental right to control our own bodies calls for passion, and Schumer has shown it — not just on Wednesday, but for many years. He has also shown a passion for fair courts that is increasingly shared by voters. It is not inaccurate to cite a coming “whirlwind” if courts act against our interests and our rights.
No longer are courts and judges noticed mainly by Republican constituencies: Voters are now citing the courts, including the Supreme Court, as a factor in their support for Democrats. The political climate really is changing, and Schumer is channeling it.
OUR VIEW: Sen. Schumer's threatening rhetoric to justices crosses a line
Republican politicians fear this, hence their cynical attempt to distract from the real issue at hand. This outrage is especially hard to swallow when coming from a president who repeatedly insults the integrity of federal judges. But the motive is clear.
The bottom line is this: The courts really are on the ballot this November. Sen. Schumer gave exceptionally loud voice to that Wednesday, but he isn’t the only one who knows it. And Republicans are running scared.
Marge Baker is executive vice president for policy and program at People For the American Way.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump, others respond disingenuously to Sen. Chuck Schumer’s remarks
