As demonstrators around the country rally in support of abortion rights and voice their outrage over the Supreme Court’s biggest rollback of rights in modern history, many are wondering whether Democrats in Washington will have an immediate response beyond vows to campaign on the issue.
The near-total paralysis of the Senate and Joe Biden to changing the filibuster rules to address that freeze has left many around the country frustrated with party leaders and wondering whether there is any prospect of winning back federal protections for abortion rights in the near future.
Democrats would need to do astronomically well in the upcoming November midterms to capture ten seats in the Senate and secure a filibuster-proof majority, which is almost certainly not going to happen, and that reality is leaving many — including lawmakers on Capitol Hill — frustrated with the powerlessness of their situations.
As such, Joe Biden and congressional leaders like Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer have taken a back seat to Democratic governors around the nation who, unlike their counterparts in Washington, still have at least some ability to effect change in their states.
Leading that charge of Democratic state governors responding to the strike down of Roe vs Wade is California’s Gavin Newsom, a charismatic 54-year-old progressive who is thought to have national ambitions beyond running one of America’s bluest states. The governor, who has lately faced criticism for backing off his support of legislation to implement a universal healthcare system in the state, is now pledging to make California a “sanctuary” state for women in red states seeking abortions that may be or have already been banned following Roe’s fall. Earlier this year, he also signed a bill requiring private insurance providers in the state to fully cover abortions.
His latest move is to sign legislation shielding women from other states from being sued in California courts if they travel to the liberal stronghold to seek abortion care in defiance of their own state’s laws.
“I want people to know all around the rest of the country and many parts of the globe, that I hope we’re your antidote to your fear, your anxiety,” the governor said on Friday at a news conference.
And he had a dire warning for liberals: The Supreme Court’s conservative majority will seek to overturn gay marriage protections next, a fear shared by many on the left and hinted at directly in Justice Clarence Thomas’s concurring opinion.
“They’re coming after you next. Period. Full stop,” the governor said.
Whether the governor’s efforts are proving more convincing than the responses of the White House or other DC Democrats is not in question. A tweet outlining his plan sent from Mr Newsom’s account on Friday garnered more than 1m likes; meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris faced a mild pillorying on the same platform for her own tweet depicting her in a photograph watching CNN on a television screen and looking concerned.
One Democratic voter summed up the situation succinctly in an interview with MSNBC on Friday as protests raged in cities across the nation, describing how she had immediately received a fundraising request for Democratic candidates after the ruling was announced.
“I thought that was absolutely outrageous,” the young woman declared. “My rights should not be a fundraising point for them.”
