What is going to happen to Roe?
Plus, why Democrats have a branding problem.
Recently at The Bulwark:
ALI ARIKAN reviews 'Get Back'.
CHARLIE SYKES: Cry Havoc, and Let Loose the Dogs of Culture War
SONNY BUNCH on awards season.
SECRET POD: The Everything Show.
You can support The Bulwark by subscribing to Bulwark+ or just by sharing this newsletter with someone you think would value it.
KIM WEHLE: Will the Supreme Court Overturn Roe or Prop It Up with a Compromise?
Casey offered another test thatās unique to abortionāthe āundue burdenā test, which tolerates government restrictions even prior to fetal viability if they donāt unduly burden the pregnant motherās constitutional right to access abortion treatment. The Court didnāt define āundue burden,ā so the test is messy and subjective, creating loads of litigation, and thus does not point to a workable replacement standard for viability, which seems to be what Roberts is looking for.
If Roberts can get five justices to join him on a watered-down rational basis or undue burden test for more restrictive abortion laws, the result would probably be a 6-3 split that looks like something of a compromise: Roe would live for another day, though in a constrained form. But such a compromise would require Roberts to persuade some of the other conservatives. Which justice might be gettable? Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch seem ready to ditch Roe altogether. So does Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who during Wednesdayās oral argument seemed inclined to punt the question to state legislatures entirely. Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who publicly criticized Roe before becoming a federal judge, focused during oral argument on so-called āsafe haven lawsā offering women places to relinquish their babies to the state without fearing prosecution for abandonment or endangerment, although it is unclear what part that question could play in developing a constitutional standard moving forward.
It's not just The Bulwark saying the Democrats have a branding problem ā Democrats are saying it too. So, cool it with the culture talk, control inflation, and as Bill Kristol has been telling the White House: Make Covid tests cheap and plentiful. Kristol joins Charlie Sykes today.
Slate's Will Saletan joins the group, including Bill Kristol, to discuss the implications of a possible reversal of Roe and Biden's opportunities to recover.
SONNY BUNCH on actors at work.
Cāmon Cāmon occasionally feels a bit more like a visual and auditory essay than it does a traditional feature film. The filmās narrative sees radio journalist Johnny (Joaquin Phoenix) care for his nephew Jesse (Woody Norman) while Jesseās mother Viv (Gaby Hoffman) tries to convince the boyās bipolar father Paul (Scoot McNairy) to commit to psychiatric treatment. But this is intercut with a series of interviews between Johnny and schoolchildren across the country, as well as snippets from essays and childrenās books read aloud by Johnny.
What Mike Mills has put together in Cāmon Cāmon calls to mind longform journalism of the sort practiced by a David Foster Wallace or a Matt Labash: empathetic and occasionally discursive, though always driving toward a deeper truth. Except, of course, that itās fiction, not fact. But the best fiction reflects reality on some level, so whoās to say that the distinction between fact and fiction is all that important when there are deeper truths to plumb. āFake but accurateā has nothing on āfictional but true.ā
šØOVERTIME šØ
Happy Friday! Hope youāre looking forward to the weekend. Ours involves irrigation work, Alexandriaās annual Scottish Walk, and going to find a Christmas Tree. And tying down that inflatable snow man that gets my twins up in the morning. FROSTY! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Kayleigh McEnany and logical fallacies. This is quite the claim.
Realtors, Redlining, and āFreedomāā¦ A look at how Republicans and Realtors share a lot of the same rhetoric.
Bye bye, beisbol. A look at the sad MLB content now that owners and players are at loggerheads.
Why did Pres. Biden sound so weird today? Hereās why.
Can we just get rid of fractional gas prices? Itās just silly.
Thatās it for me. Weāll see you Monday. Tech support questions? Email members@thebulwark.com.
-30-
Editorial photos provided by Getty Images. For full credits, please consult the article.
