American Bridge 21st Century Weekly Recap: July 1, 2022
Our top moments of the week
Let’s get one thing straight: We didn’t lose the abortion rights affirmed by Roe v. Wade because the American people are “divided” on the issue — 80% of Americans believe that abortion should be legal. Millions of Americans lost their access to legal abortion care because Republicans packed the Supreme Court with far-right extremists hell-bent on taking away our freedoms.
Last Friday was one of the darkest days in American history — but even darker days could be ahead. A Republican-controlled Congress will very likely pass a nationwide abortion ban. They will come after birth control. They will come after marriage equality. They will continue to break down the separation between church and state and slash environmental regulations.
That’s their plan — and we have to stop them.
1. What Happens Now? Post-Roe Realities in Swing States
The radical, Republican-packed Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, and now Americans’ abortion access is in the hands of Republican governors and state legislators — and soon, the GOP candidates running to take these key positions in November.
Republicans are for unpopular, undemocratic, and dangerous abortion bans. With the arrival of the post-Roe reality, they now own the consequences of their support for complete abortion bans — radical legislation not even their base supports.
Our team has the breakdown of what could happen in key 2022 and 2024 swing states — and what the gubernatorial candidates running there have to say about abortion rights post-Roe.
2. AB21 Co-Chair Cecile Richards on Roe’s Rollback
In response to the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, American Bridge 21st Century Co-Chair and former President of Planned Parenthood Cecile Richards joined Andrea Mitchell Reports, Deadline: White House with Nicolle Wallace, and The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell.
On The Sunday Show with Jonathan Capehart, Richards called out the Court:
“Obviously, voting is critical. This November’s going to be critical, but we do have to be in the streets. What I really read in this Supreme Court opinion was that they simply didn’t care. They didn’t care that millions of people’s futures were going to be ripped away. They didn’t care that the vast majority of people in this country support the right of people to make their own decisions about their pregnancy without the government interfering. And they didn’t care that 50 years of precedent was going to be turned on its head. So our job … is to make them care.”
3. Ken Paxton Defends 1973 Texas Sodomy Law
Striking down Americans’ constitutional right to an abortion wasn’t enough for Justice Clarence Thomas. In a concurring opinion with his conservative colleagues, Thomas wrote that the Court should review other “demonstrably erroneous” rights — like the right to use contraception, legalized same-sex relationships, and marriage equality.
GOP Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton couldn’t agree more. In an interview with NewsNation, Paxton said he’d defend Texas’ 1973 law criminalizing sodomy if the Supreme Court revisits its Lawrence v. Texas ruling.
We shared Paxton’s horrific comment, and he…retweeted it. As Jezebel wrote, Paxton “deleted it, probably after someone informed him that American Bridge wasn’t praising his comments.”
4. Ron Johnson Pushed To Overturn Our Election
New text messages from Wisconsin GOP U.S. Senator Ron Johnson’s chief of staff released by the House Select Committee investigating the January 6th insurrection revealed that Johnson was directly involved in trying to pressure then-Vice President Mike Pence to acknowledge fake “elector slates” from Wisconsin and Michigan.
After the bombshell texts were released, Johnson sought to blame an unknown House office and one of his interns — as if he’s in the routine habit of passing along to the Vice President of the United States any mysterious package that his office receives, without caring about its provenance.
But Johnson’s actions in the run-up to January 6th, and his efforts to pressure Pence on the fake “electors” tells a different story. Taken together, Johnson’s actions show that he was deeply involved in and complicit in the Trump campaign’s scheme to overturn the election — and this Pence pressure campaign is just the latest shoe to drop.
5. Herschel Walker Opposes Bipartisan Gun Safety Law
This week, Georgia GOP U.S. Senate candidate Herschel Walker praised the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act — saying he was “glad to see” Democrats “get something done.” Just 24 hours later, Walker’s campaign was on clean-up patrol, walking back their candidate’s praise for the historic bipartisan gun safety bill and confirming that he would have opposed the measure.
Here’s a list of additional 2022 Republican Senate candidates who refuse to support the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act:
- Aspiring Ohio U.S. Senator Rob Portman replacement J.D. Vance has already come out against the bipartisan proposal.
- Pennsylvania Republicans’ pick to replace retiring U.S. Senator Pat Toomey, Mehmet Oz, has so far declined to support the measure.
- Every Missouri Republican running to replace outgoing Missouri U.S. Senator Roy Blunt — from Eric Greitens to Eric Schmitt — opposes the mental health and gun violence prevention bill.
- And Ted Budd, North Carolina Republicans’ nominee to replace U.S. Senator Richard Burr — who backed the bill — voted against its passage in the U.S. House.
