It’s a terrible day in America, and you can thank Kentucky’s own Mitch McConnell for it.

This morning, I set out to write a column that would give some credit to Sen. Mitch McConnell for FINALLY allowing some action to curb our insane gun violence.

But as I was typing, the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade was released, and I was reminded once again that any small, positive steps Mitch takes (under duress, I might add) pale in comparison to the hellish theocracy he has unleashed on this land.

It was he who basically ushered the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, opening the floodgates to the tsunamis of money in politics that have corrupted our legislative process so completely. That, in turn, has led to dark money flooding Washington, even influencing the already corrupt and audacious ways that McConnell has stacked the Court with right-wing activists. People who promised that Roe v. Wade was settled law, by the way. Those justices have fulfilled many conservative dreams this term, and have ended much of what made this country great: A hard separation between church and state, the ability of states and cities to regulate gun violence, and last but most of all, a woman’s right to choose.

Thanks to Kentucky’s own right-wing government, a trigger law makes all abortion illegal in Kentucky today, immediately at 10:06 a.m. It will not end abortion, of course, but it will shuttle women to back alleys and dirty rooms where they used to have to go, to die of dangerous, unregulated procedures. Under this trigger law, there are no exceptions for rape, incest or teens. Thinks about that for a minute. If a 12-year-old is raped by her father and gets pregnant, she will not be able to get an abortion in the state of Kentucky. Even using safe and effective medication.

Also remember how in the leaked version, Justice Alito said this decision only concerns abortion? Well, Justice Clarence Thomas (whose wife, Ginni, appears to have been highly involved in overturning the 2020 presidential election) said hang on a minute. “For that reason, in future cases, we should reconsider allof this Court’s substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell.”

Just to remind you, Griswold legalized birth control, Lawrence legalized same-sex relations and Obergefell legalized gay marriage. Theocracy may be too weak a word to describe what’s coming down the pike.

The only small bright spot is the tireless work of Kentuckians who have been planning for this travesty. As documented by Alex Acquisto, groups like the Kentucky Health Justice Network have been planning and raising money for women to travel out of state to get the healthcare they need.

It’s still deeply depressing that Mitch McConnell’s personal power-mongering over 30 years has so many innocent victims, including our democracy. And just wait til his henchmen and women take on birth control and gay rights.

Here’s the only thing getting me through now. By his own account, McConnell’s movement on guns came not because he was personally traumatized by the thought of 19 dead children in Uvalde but because of worries about lost votes in the suburbs. He wasn’t traumatized enough by Sandy Hook to do anything. Some Republicans got behind the bill because of public pressure, hundreds of thousands of people protested and called their representative and senators demanding action.

It’s going to take a long time to get our democracy back. Supreme Court justices are there for life. There are legislative remedies, but the only way to get them is to get rid of politicians like McConnell, Rand Paul, our local Republicans and anyone who puts personal power above the needs of women and children. It’s really the only way, we can do it, but we all have to show up.