Today's Edition (May 18, 2021)

Steady leadership.

         On a tumultuous and worrisome day, Biden continues to provide steady leadership, both domestically and internationally. Let me start with a story that will receive little notice in the press because it typifies the integrity and transparency we have come to expect from Joe Biden—but which was sorely lacking in his predecessor.  On Monday, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris released their 2020 tax returns one day after they were due to be filed. President Biden’s 2020 tax return is here if you care to read it: “2020 Form 1040 for Joseph R. Biden and Jill T. Biden.” In contrast, the former president’s tax returns are held in a hermetically sealed vault in Manhattan, where they landed after the Supreme Court refused the former president’s effort to quash a grand jury subpoena investigating possible criminal tax fraud. After four years of tortured litigation over the prior president’s tax returns, the routine release of Joe Biden’s tax returns is a notable event that deserves recognition. See WhiteHouse.gov, “The President and Vice President release their 2020 tax returns.”

          On Monday, President Biden also announced that nearly 40 million American households will begin receiving monthly child tax credits that are technically part of their 2021 tax returns. See Bloomberg, “Biden’s Child Tax-Credit to Send First Payments on July 15.” The payments were authorized under the American Rescue Plan passed in March. Families with children under age six will receive monthly payments of $300 for each child and as much as $250 per child aged six to 17. The payments will begin in July and continue through the end of the year. You will recall that not a single Republican voted for the American Rescue Plan, though some are now trying to take credit for the benefits under the bill. See Vox, “Republicans shamelessly take credit for Covid-19 relief they voted against.” Republicans will be put to the test later in the year when they have the opportunity to vote against extending the benefits. Biden’s instinct to “go big” in the American Rescue Plan was the right choice.

          President Biden also announced that the U.S. would expand its commitment to share coronavirus vaccine with other countries. See  APNews, “Biden boosting world vaccine sharing commitment to 80M doses.” Biden had previously committed to sharing 60 million doses by June. Notably, Biden rejected a “quid pro quo” approach to vaccine sharing, saying that “we will not use our vaccines to secure favors from other countries.” Again, the change in approach from the prior administration’s use of “quid pro quo” is refreshing. See also WhiteHouse.gov, Fact Sheet: Biden-Harris Administration is Providing at least 80 million COVID-19 Vaccines for Global Use.”

          Finally, Biden issued a public call for a cease-fire in the conflict between Israel and Hamas. See The Hill, “Biden backs Middle East cease-fire in call with Netanyahu.” The administration has held 60 calls behind the scenes, but Biden’s statement was his first public call for a cease-fire. Though Biden has been under pressure from some Democrats and many Republicans to intervene more forcefully, White House Director of Communications said that “having those conversations behind the scenes, weighing in with our important strategic partnership we have with Israel, also with other countries in the region, is the most constructive approach we can take.” It is a complicated and daunting problem that calls for steady leadership rather than public demands and ultimatums. Let’s hope that peace prevails soon.

Developments in the Supreme Court

          Although it is always tough to make predictions, it appears that Mitch McConnell’s two stolen Supreme Court seats will pay a major dividend this term. On Monday, the Supreme Court accepted review of an anti-abortion statute in Mississippi that was enacted for the specific purpose of giving the new conservative majority the chance to overrule or limit Roe v. Wade. See op-ed by Leah Litman and Melissa Murray in WaPo, “With Mississippi abortion case, make no mistake: The Supreme Court is coming for ‘Roe v. Wade’.” The Mississippi law “would ban most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy — a case that poses a direct attack on the constitutional right to abortion.”

          There is a lot to unpack here, so let’s start with some basics. When people refer to “overruling Roe v. Wade,” that is shorthand for “overruling Roe v. Wade as modified by Planned Parenthood v. Casey and other cases.” Republicans have been on a five-decade crusade to overrule Roe v. Wade. After Mitch McConnell violated Senate norms to confirm Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, Republican legislatures began passing blatantly unconstitutional restrictions on abortion rights to give the illegitimate conservative majority an opportunity to reverse the underpinnings of Roe. In granting review of Jackson Women's Health Org. v. Dobbs, 945 F.3d 265, the Supreme Court signaled that it may accept the invitation of Mississippi to reverse a ruling that the Court issued only a year ago in June Medical Services LLC v. Russo, in which the Court invalidated restrictions similar to those passed by Mississippi.

          The signals emanating from the Court suggest a knock-down drag-out battle over whether the Court should reverse its precedent in June Medical Services. (The technical term for requesting review is a “petition to grant certiorari.” For simplicity, I will use the term “review”.) As explained by Amy Howe in SCOTUS Blog, the Court delayed considering the petition to review the lower court’s ruling for months. The Court then apparently considered whether to grant the petition on thirteen occasions at weekly conferences where such petitions are considered. Considering a petition for review thirteen times is unusual—and could be interpreted as a good sign or bad sign by proponents and opponents of the law. For a fascinating and detailed discussion of what may be happening on the Court, see James Heaney in De Civitate, “Reading the Tea Leaves in the Supreme Court’s Grant of Dobbs.”

          Whether the Court overrules Roe v. Wade in the Mississippi case is academic. The Court will erode the rights recognized in Roe at every opportunity until there is nothing left—and women are at the mercy of state legislatures regarding their reproductive rights. Even if the Court does not accept the invitation to overrule Roe in the Mississippi case, the threat will not abate until court reform removes the iron grip of the ultra right-wing majority unleashed by Mitch McConnell. The path to reform runs straight through Congress. If Democrats can retain control of the House and enlarge their majority in the Senate to overcome the objections of Senators Manchin and Sinema to eliminating the filibuster, Supreme Court reform can begin in earnest. That is a long-term solution to a short-term threat. But it is the best we can do. We must not become dispirited over that state of affairs. Republicans plotted for half a century to pack the Court. We can surely maintain focus and discipline long enough to undo their ill-gotten gains.

Manchin and Murkowski seek bipartisan voting rights reform.

          Senator Joe Manchin continues his quixotic quest to convince Republicans to pass voting rights protection. See Talking Points Memo, “Manchin And Murkowski Urge Bipartisan Reauthorization Of Voting Rights Act.” Manchin and Murkowski are focused on reauthorizing the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, not on the more expansive reforms in H.R.1 / S.1. The Voting Rights Act would re-impose a “pre-clearance” requirement for state legislation that affects voting rights. The Supreme Court invalidated the VRA in Shelby County v. Holder but invited Congress to revise the VRA to adopt a new formula for when pre-clearance is required.

          Although I believe that Manchin’s efforts at bipartisanship will fail, the efforts may help convince him that there is no negotiating with terrorists—or with a Republican Party that sees voting rights as an existential threat. I wish Senator Manchin the best of luck in his efforts but hope that he soon realizes that Mitch McConnell wasn’t kidding when he said that “100% of [GOP] focus” was on “stopping” Biden’s agenda. See USA Today, “While Trump calls him 'gutless,' Mitch McConnell says focus is 100% on 'stopping' Biden.”

Concluding Thoughts.

          Thanks for the input on the format of the newsletter. I will use the date and a subtitle in each edition. Many readers asked me to change fonts. It appears that the email platforms for many readers are converting rich text / HTML of the newsletter to plaintext. If that includes you, the online version of the newsletter appears in a more readable font. You can read the newsletter online here: Today's Edition Newsletter (substack.com). You may want to bookmark that link in your browser so it always handy.

          Amidst the feedback I received about formatting, one reader asked me to stop discussing Trump. As noted previously, I have made an editorial decision to minimize the discussion of Trump, especially where the stories are backward-looking. That said, Trump is the leading candidate for the 2024 GOP nomination and is the undisputed head of the Republican Party. It would be impossible not to discuss Trump, if only because he appears to be part of the GOP’s future. In that regard, some backward-looking stories—like the possibility that he may be indicted—are highly relevant to Democratic challenges and opportunities in the future.

          But, for the record, I do not believe we should fear a Trump candidacy. I understand that people are mentally exhausted by a malignant narcissist who convinced a few thousand followers to mount an insurrection. But he is a serial loser (literally, not figuratively) who is repelling more Republicans and Independents every day. So, rather than roll your eyes and move to the next story, recognize that the GOP’s inability to rid itself of Trump is a sign of weakness, dysfunction, and moral bankruptcy. Please don’t misunderstand me: We should not dismiss Trump, but neither should we bestow on him an aura of invincibility. He remains the equivalent of an uncontrolled nuclear meltdown, while Joe Biden continues his steady leadership during turbulent times. In other words—we have every reason to be confident, but no reason to be complacent!

          Talk to you tomorrow!