SCOTUS Is About to Get Less Progressive-VOTE!

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By Juan Hinojosa

I am not going to tell you how to vote or to vote in general. I believe that is your right as a citizen. If you see it as a way of protest, then so be it. At least you’re not protesting by spitting on people, shooting protesters, or walking around in jorts and MAGA tank tops that are just too short for your beer belly. But just be reminded that not voting or voting for a third party does not go without consequence that could affect, not just you, but your children. Think about it. Had HRC won, she would have possibly appointed three Supreme Court justices, shaping the course of our country. Sure, the SCOTUS doesn’t make any big media splashes. Aside from the notorious RBG, almost nobody even knows who they are, but they do alter the course of history. So, before you truly decide not to vote, let me highlight some of the current rulings.

The first case, Junes Medical vs Russo, would have required all doctors in Louisiana who perform abortions to have admission privileges at a hospital that was within a 30-mile radius from the abortion clinic, which for many doctors would have been impossible. The only purpose this served for Republicans was to limit women’s rights and access to care, point blank. Had all Republican justices agreed, the decision would have significantly reduced the number of choices where women could receive care. And don’t think another state will not attempt it again, especially since the swing vote, Justice Roberts, only sided with the liberal justices because of precedent, not because he disagreed with conservatives. When they revisit Roe vs Wade, six justices will be pro-life. Will two of them side with precedent?

This next one is personal to me because it hits home, it doesn’t make it more important, it just makes it more relevant for me. The court ruled 5-4 that the trump administration illegally repealed DACA. No matter how you feel about immigration, sending away people who have only known, and given everything they have to this country, is wrong. These kids are highly contributing members of society. In every sense of the word they are Americans, except for a technicality. Had this been a 6-3 court, to MAGAt delight, dreamers would be on their way to “the country they came from”.

Bostock vs Clayton County was a case to determine if the LGBTQ community was protected under federal civil rights laws. Yea, no joke. Republicans want to be able to discriminate based on who you love. Luckily, the court agreed that civil rights applied to the LGBTQ community in a 6-3 ruling. But with a 6-3 Republican SCOTUS, and the pressure of being the only conservative justice to vote with liberals, this could have gone either way. Imagine the LGBTQ community not getting equal rights because some Republican, church-going hypocrite had it in his head that gay men can’t stop sucking dick and was afraid he may like it?

And one more for good measure. For those of you screaming about trump stealing the election, Republicans have been trying and many times succeeding (re: Texas) to cheat their way to power by gerrymandering. This was the case in Virginia is 2019. The Virginia Republican-controlled house of Delegates tried redrawing electoral maps based on race and partisanship. The SCOTUS, however, told the Republicans to go kick rocks after they tried to fight the Democratic Attorney General who refused to sign the new maps. They lost, and gerrymandering was defeated. Had this been a 6-3 court, gerrymandering would have been allowed, giving the Republicans an edge in Virginia, after they failed, again, to take back the Governorship.

It is not just about the presidency, it really is about America and about our future. The SCOTUS has a lot of power to set the course on where we are going. Do you really think a 6-3 SCOTUS will side with climate change when the time comes? Do you think they will give a shit about any minority rights? Do you think they will keep allowing us to drink on Sundays? (Okay, I might be the only one worried about this one) Or worse yet, while farfetched, do you think they will side with Democrats when trump tries to take authoritarian control? Many do believe it’s possible.

You think Biden is not progressive enough? Imagine a 6-3, or maybe even a 7-2 Republican SCOTUS.