SCOTUSwatch
DOMA and Prop 8
What you need to know about the Supreme Court's decision to strike down DOMA. Dylan Matthews at Wonkblog.
And what you need to know about the Prop 8 decision. Dylan Matthews at Wonkblog.
Good day for gay rights. "Today, the Supreme Court finally issued two long-awaited major opinions on gay and lesbian rights. One of them was a historic opinion and a major victory for civil rights. The other stopped short of what could have been, but will at least result in same-sex marriage being legal in the nation's biggest state." Scott Lemieux at the American Prospect.
For that matter, it's a good year. "The Supreme Court ... struck down the Defense of Marriage Act and declined to reinstate California's Proposition 8. As a result, gay marriage will be legal in America's most populous state, and gay couples legally married in their states will enjoy federal benefits ... The decisions ... cap off an epic year of progress for gay-marriage advocates. Same-sex marriage is now legal in 13 states, more than double the number from just a year ago. Thirty percent of Americans now live in a state where gay couples can legally marry, and nearly half live in a state that recognizes gay relationships in some form, be it marriage or civil union." Molly Ball at the Atlantic.
No more DOMA. "The Supreme Court just handed down a 5-4 decision striking the unconstitutional Defense of Marriage Act. According to Justice Anthony Kennedy’s opinion for the Court, '[t]he federal statute is invalid, for no legitimate purpose overcomes the purpose and effect to disparage and to injure those whom the State, by its marriage laws, sought to protect in personhood and dignity. By seeking to displace this protection and treating those persons as living in marriages less respected than others, the federal statute is in violation of the Fifth Amendment.'" Ian Millhiser at Think Progress.
Immigration implications. "The Supreme Court handed down a historic decision repealing the unconstitutional Defense of Marriage Act ... Today’s ruling is especially significant to the estimated 24,700 binational LGBT couples in the United States. Among the many policy implications ... the repeal of DOMA will permit legally married LGBT United States citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs) to sponsor their foreign-born spouses for green cards." Sharita Gruberg at Think Progress.
Fiscal consequences of the DOMA decision. Neil Irwin at Wonkblog.
The DOD moves forward. "In February, the Pentagon made an important and welcome announcement, extending new benefits to gay men and women serving openly in the military and their families. There was, however, a catch: the Defense of Marriage Act prevented the Department of Defense from going as far as officials wanted to. And now that DOMA is no more, the military is ready to finish the job. The Pentagon will offer full benefits to same-sex military couples after the Defense of Marriage was struck down by the Supreme Court, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Wednesday." Steve Benen at Maddowblog.
Sadly, no constitutional right to gay marriage. "In both cases the Court managed to limit the precedential value of the decisions. Kennedy’s opinion in Windsor does not create any constitutional right to marriage, so the slow slog through the states to establish marriage equality is still required. And the majority (represented by the Chief Justice) in Hollingsworth based its opinion on standing issues alone, ruling that it will not interfere with California’s decision against defending Prop 8 in federal court." Ed Kilgore at the Washington Monthly.
But it could exist in the future. "Justice Kennedy’s majority opinion ... offered passage after passage that reads like it was lifted straight from an opinion holding that same-sex marriage is a constitutional right. Consider: States that legalized same-sex marriage have 'decided that same-sex couples should have the right to marry and so live with pride in themselves and their union and in a status of equality with all other married persons.' ... Differentiating ... 'demeans the [gay] couple, whose moral and sexual choices the Constitution protects.' ... The law’s 'principal purpose is to impose inequality,' ... Same-sex marriage supporters can wield these statements, and many others ... in future cases." Dominic Perella at MSNBC.
The Court's ruling aligns the law with public opinion. "The US supreme court made two monumental rulings today. First, it struck down a portion of the Defense of Marriage Act ... The ruling will be welcomed by most Americans ... At least 60% of Americans have agreed that the federal government should recognize same-sex marriages in those states that allow it ... The supreme court also decided to punt on Proposition 8 ... The court's ruling upholds a lower court's decision to allow for same-sex marriage to be legalized in California ... Over 55% of California voters want same-sex marriage to be legal versus the 48% who voted against Prop 8 in 2008." Harry Enten at the Guardian.
The five craziest reactions to the rulings. Zack Beauchamp at Think Progress.
Thankfully, we're not stuck with a Scalia opinion. Here are the 7 worst things that he's said or written about homosexuality. Adam Serwer at Mother Jones.
Voting Rights
The judiciary, unrestrained. "The question in Tuesday’s case, Justice Ginsburg wrote, was who gets to make the judgment about that extension — 'this court, or a Congress charged with the obligation to enforce the post-Civil War amendments 'by appropriate legislation.'' Instead of taking a more modest course, perhaps by enhancing the opportunity for jurisdictions to bail out, Justice Roberts and the jurists who joined him instead substituted their reading of the substantial evidence available for that of Congress. That’s not just calling balls and strikes — that’s pushing the batter aside and stepping into his place." The Washington Post Editorial Board.
Another case of conservative activism. "Whenever conservatives on the court have had the opportunity to tilt the playing field toward their side, they have done so ... Bush v. Gore had the effect of installing the conservatives’ choice in the White House and allowed him to influence the court’s subsequent direction ... Citizens United swept aside a tradition that dated to the Progressive Era ... by vastly increasing the power of corporate and monied interests in the electoral sphere. The Shelby County ruling will make it far more difficult for African Americans to challenge unfair electoral and districting practices. For many states, it will be a Magna Carta to make voting more difficult." E.J. Dionne Jr. at the Washington Post.
The VRA, DOMA, and the role of Congress. "Shorter John Roberts, Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, and reasonable, moderate, thinking person’s most reactionary justice since James McReynolds Sam Alito: 'Congress may not have the power to prevent discrimination, but it certainly has the power to deny the equal protection of the laws.'" Scott Lemieux at Lawyers, Guns, and Money.
The Roberts Court has to know the relevant data. It just doesn't care. "After studying census records from 2000 to 2010, voting records from 2000 to 2012, public opinion data, lawsuits about the Voting Rights Act and all relevant state legislation in recent years ... scholars strongly disagree. Their research found 'clear and statistically significant evidence' that discrimination is still widespread today ... and even remains more widespread in Section 5-covered jurisdictions ... Those jurisdictions, they found, are also twice as likely as non-covered areas to adopt policies that make voting more difficult for African-Americans and language minorities." Matt Baretto at Latino Decisions.
I hope nobody is surprised. "After the high court announced its momentous ruling Tuesday, officials in Texas and Mississippi pledged to immediately implement laws requiring voters to show photo identification before getting a ballot. North Carolina Republicans promised they would quickly try to adopt a similar law. Florida now appears free to set its early voting hours however Gov. Rick Scott and the GOP Legislature please. And Georgia’s most populous county likely will use county commission districts that Republican state legislators drew over the objections of local Democrats." Bill Barrow at the Associated Press.
The ball is back in Congress' court to deny victory to the Court's conservatives. "The ball is now in Congress’s court. If House Republicans don’t want to alienate minority voters further, they will look to pass a new Voting Rights Act in response to the court’s decision ... It is too much to hope that this divided Congress would use its power to stop discriminatory voter-ID laws or to require nonpartisan redistricting, particularly when some of its members believe these laws help them get elected. But if Congress fails to do anything in response to the case, it will be a second victory for the court’s conservatives, a victory on which they may have been counting." Richard Hasen at the New York Times.
And we're waiting on them to fix this. "To be sure, not all Republicans oppose redressing the gaping hole in the VRA. No less than Majority leader Eric Cantor noted this week that 'I’m hopeful Congress will put politics aside, as we did on that trip [to Selma with Democrat John Lewis of Georgia], and find a reasonable path forward that ensures that the sacred obligation of voting in this country remains protected.' Of course, it’s ... quite another thing to corral a recalcitrant GOP conference into bipartisan agreement. But Cantor’s sentiment suggests that at least some Republicans might retain ... a commitment to exploring ways of recovering the core of the nation’s voting rights regime." Sarah Binder at the Monkey Cage.
Politics
Abortion
Texas isn't the only state advancing abortion restrictions. Sadly, there are plenty of others. Tara Culp-Ressler at Think Progress.
The Economy
CEOs and the rest. "The ratio of CEO pay to average worker pay is 273-1, down from a high of 383-1 in 2000, but up from 20-1 in 1965. CEO pay has increased faster than wages to high-skilled workers, suggesting that the salary market isn’t very efficient." Lydia DePillis at Wonkblog.
Everything you need to know about patent trolls. Colleen Chien at Wired.
Education
Decreasing demand for the skills of college. "It’s a parent’s nightmare: shelling out big money for college, then seeing the graduate unable to land a job that requires high-level skills. This situation may be growing more common ... because the demand for cognitive skills associated with higher education, after rising sharply until 2000, has since been in decline. So concludes new research ... This reversal in demand has caused high-skilled workers to accept lower-level jobs, pushing lower-skilled people even further down the occupational ladder or out of work altogether. If the researchers are right ... the consequences are huge and troubling." Peter Orszag at Bloomberg.
Elections
Newly elected Sen. Markey. "As expected, Congressman Ed Markey easily defeated businessman and former Navy SEAL Gabriel Gomez to become the next Senator from Massachusetts ... keeping both Bay State Senate seats in Democratic hands and denying Republican Gabriel Gomez’s bid to repeat of Scott Brown’s stunning upset of 2010 ... Markey has held a solid lead in this race for quite some time, and Gomez never showed any signs of being able to launch the kind of insurgent campaign that Scott Brown did in 2010 ... Senator-Elect Markey will enter the Senate a freshman, but ... he’ll have more Washington experience than many members of the Senate." Doug Mataconis at Outside the Beltway.
Which means the Senate has another solid progressive vote. "Markey's entrance guarantees another unapologetic progressive voice in the upper chamber. With a series of important legislative fights on the way, the senator-elect vowed in his victory speech to fight for measures to reduce gun violence, protect reproductive rights, and invest in infrastructure. And in case there were any doubts, if Markey takes the oath before the looming immigration vote in the Senate, he will support comprehensive immigration reform." Steve Benen at Maddowblog.
The GOP can't seem to break into the blue states. "Gabriel Gomez billed himself as a modern Republican – more moderate and culturally-savvy, the kind who could win in heavily-Democratic Massachusetts. Tuesday's defeat showed that most Bay State voters didn't believe the message. Blue state voters rarely do. Democratic-leaning states have been close to off limits to most GOP Congressional candidates. In New England, there isn't a single Republican representative in the House and only two GOP senators remain ... The West Coast is dominated by Democrats, and a winnable open Senate seat in New Jersey ... has been all but conceded to the Democrats." Alex Roarty at the National Journal.
Like it or not, the GOP needs minority voters. "The racial dynamics of the modern Democratic Party are far more stable than they were 50 years ago. The New Deal Democrats were holding together a coalition of pro-civil-rights liberals and white supremacists. The Obama-era party is a coalition of nonwhites and white voters who are comfortable with diversity. The Obama coalition may fracture, and in any case, the Republican structural advantage in Congress will give it a viable power base for years. But the hope for building a nearly all-white party that regularly wins presidential elections is highly optimistic." Jonathan Chait at New York Magazine.
Gay marriage won't play a large role in the midterms. "Gay marriage could become a flashpoint in some GOP primaries and Southern Senate elections, but don’t expect national Republicans to make the Supreme Court decisions a signature issue in 2014 elections. After the Supreme Court Wednesday struck down the Defense of Marriage Act and cleared the way for gay marriages to resume in California, GOP strategists said same-sex marriage will have a bit part in the midterms. Obamacare and the size of government will be a much keener focus." James Hohmann at Politico.
Energy and the Environment
The GOP is picking their fights on climate change. And it seems like they're giving up on disproving climate science. "GOP leadership is showing little interest in new fights with President Obama over the science of global warming. They’re battering Obama’s wide-ranging new climate plan with arguments it will cost jobs and hurt the economy. House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), asked Wednesday whether GOP leaders will challenge Obama on scientific grounds, trained his fire elsewhere." Ben Geman at the Hill.
Four ways that industry could challenge Obama's environmental regulations in court. Molly Redden at the New Republic.
GOP
If Rand Paul is one of their best, the GOP is in trouble. "If this is what constitutes a ... 'rising star' in Republican politics, the GOP is in dire straits, indeed ... Rand Paul probably isn't the champion these folks have been waiting for. He believes bizarre and unsettling conspiracy theories ... his concerns about armed drones are strikingly ignorant and contradictory; he considers fringe outlets like World Net Daily to be credible news organizations, and on the morning of a civil-rights breakthrough for LGBT Americans, he hangs out with Glenn Beck and raises the specter of bestiality. If you've chosen Rand Paul as your freedom-celebrating hero, you've probably picked the wrong guy." Steve Benen at Maddowblog.
Guns
For gun manufacturers, business is booming. "The purported 'war' on the Second Amendment largely faded in Washington, D.C. ... but it’s still registering ... in gun-industry profits. Just check out Smith & Wesson Holdings ... and its impressive numbers from its last fiscal year: a record $588 million in sales—43 percent above fiscal 2012—with expectations of even higher revenue in the year ahead. Stoked largely by ... fears that the federal government will restrict firearm sales ... gunmakers have seen consumer demand far outpace supply. Both Smith & Wesson and a large rival, Sturm, Ruger ... are selling all the firearms they can manufacture and have worked to expand production." Justin Bachman at Bloomberg.
Health
States that refuse to expand Medicaid are deliberately screwing the working poor. "Though last year’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling upheld Obama’s 2010 Affordable Care Act, it also let states choose not to expand Medicaid. That has left ... 4.4 million ... in the 19 states that have opted out of Medicaid expansion in a bind. They would need pay raises potentially triple their current wages or more, depending on the size of their families, to reach enough income to qualify for government subsidies for private insurance." Alex Wayne and David Mildenberg at Bloomberg.
Immigration
The House and immigration reform. "House Republicans say they feel no pressure to act ... Two senior House Republican leadership aides were more blunt when speaking privately: Speaker John A. Boehner has no intention of angering conservative voters and jeopardizing the House Republican majority in 2014 in the interest of courting Hispanic voters on behalf of a 2016 Republican presidential nominee who does not yet exist. If anything, the politics of a gerrymandered House where Republican lawmakers have much more to fear politically from the right than from the left could push many Republicans to oppose a conservative alternative to the Senate’s plan." Jonathan Weisman at the New York Times.
Polling California on immigration. "Advocates of a path to legalization of illegal immigrants should take heart that a steady majority supports that idea, even when weaker alternatives are proposed, and that among Republicans, a plurality backs the notion that Dreamers deserve a shot at becoming citizens. On the other hand, reformers should take heed that even in strongly Democratic California, a large majority supports border security, electronic verification, and the deportation of illegal immigrants who fail to meet the conditions for a pathway program." John Sides at the Monkey Cage.
Nominations
Ted Cruz vs the State Department. "The State Department has a new problem to contend with: Sen. Ted Cruz (R–Texas) has pledged to stop all State Department nominations from proceeding until Secretary of State John Kerry appoints an inspector general, potentially delaying confirmation of Samantha Power, President Obama’s choice to represent America at the United Nations." Josh Rogin at the Daily Beast.
NSA
Snowden's misguided fight against the existence of electronic surveillance. "The existence of electronic espionage seems to be his beef ... Snowden is on this fit of self-righteous arrogance because he thinks there is something wrong with what he’s seen of United States surveillance in other countries. But to decide that standard espionage activities are improper is a foolish, ahistorical belief. N.S.A. surveillance has been beneficial repeatedly in American foreign policy." Kurt Eichenwald at Vanity Fair.
Texas
Wendy Davis - 1, SB-5 - 0. "The nation watched ... as Democratic Sen. Wendy Davis and hundreds of impassioned reproductive rights advocates stalled proceedings and ultimately defeated controversial abortion legislation ... Some have called the abortion restrictions proposed in SB 5 the toughest in the nation. The bill would have banned abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, required physicians to have hospital admitting privileges within 30 miles of an abortion facility, required abortions ... to be performed in ambulatory surgical centers and required doctors to administer drugs that induce abortion in person." Becca Aaronson at the Texas Tribune.
Getting ready for round 2. "Hours after Democrats won a rare victory by blocking a restrictive abortion bill, Republican Gov. Rick Perry called a second special session to take up the issue again." Jay Root at the Texas Tribune.
Filibustering the old-fashioned way makes it even cooler. "Texan State Senator Wendy Davis was so determined to stop the ... bill that would have ended access to safe abortions in Texas Tuesday, that she set out to complete a 13-hour filibuster, without assistance or interruption ... It was an extraordinary measure ... Under state senate rules, Davis had to speak continuously and remain upright on the senate floor without pausing for bathroom or meal breaks for more than half a day. Had she paused, exited the room, or even leaned against a pillar at any point during the filibuster, it would have come to a premature end and the Texas Senate would have been able to vote on its 20-week abortion ban." Ned Resnikoff at MSNBC.
7 points on the Texas filibuster. Gregory Kroger at the Monkey Cage.
Wendy Davis is awesome. And it's all thanks to the Voting Rights Act. "Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis (D), who captivated the country with her attempted 13-hour filibuster of a sweeping anti-abortion bill, likely would have lost her seat in 2012 to redistricting if not for the Voting Rights Act that was gutted Tuesday by the U.S. Supreme Court ... Republican leaders in Texas tried to slice up Davis' Fort Worth district in 2011 and move thousands of black and Hispanic voters into neighboring districts. But Davis challenged the move in federal court under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act -- a part of the law rendered inoperable by the Supreme Court decision that struck down the heart of the law." The Huffington Post.
International
Global
How America compares to the world on same-sex marriage rights, in one map. Max Fisher at the Washington Post.
Middle East
Syria gets too hot for Russia. "Russia has withdrawn all its military personnel from Syria and left its strategic Tartus naval centre unstaffed because of the escalating security threat in the war-torn country ... The decision was taken to limit the dangers posed to Russians amid a raging civil war and to reduce the threat of political damage that could result from Russians being killed by either side." AFP.
Hezbollah is bailing out Assad - but Syria can't acknowledge that. "Syria's U.N. envoy ... refused to respond to questions about Hezbollah's role in the fighting ... The hesitancy to acknowledge Hezbollah's role ... reflects the Syrian leadership's reluctance to admit its dependency on foreign fighters to prevail in battles on its own territory. At stake is the ability of the Syrian leadership ... to demonstrate convincingly that it is a truly sovereign nation with the power to rule its own country. Assad ... 'needs to keep up the pretense that Syria is a functioning state ... It is not a sign of strength for the mighty Syrian army to have to rely on foreign ... militias to take control of a town of 30,000 people.'" Colum Lynch at Turtle Bay.
The Pacific
Rudd returns as Prime Minister, ousting Gillard. "Kevin Rudd returned as Australian prime minister on Wednesday, executing a stunning party room coup on Julia Gillard almost three years to the day after being ousted by his former deputy and less than three months out from a general election. The reinstatement of Rudd was a last-ditch effort to shore up support by the governing Labor Party, which opinion polls show faces catastrophic defeat at a poll scheduled for Sept 14." James Grubel at Reuters.
The climate change implications. "The news today that Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has been ousted as leader of the country’s Labor Party in favor of Kevin Rudd is actually pretty interesting — with potentially broader implications for climate-change policy in the years ahead. Back in 2011, Gillard’s governing Labor Party pushed through a big carbon tax in Australia ... and has been suffering in the polls ever since. The opposition has threatened to repeal the taxes after the elections set for September. So now the Labor Party is reshuffling its leadership and fighting for survival." Brad Plumer at Wonkblog.
Miscellaneous
4 ways that the English language is evolving. Arika Okrent at Mental Floss.
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