The Washington Post - USA (2022-05-08)

SUNDAY, MAY 8 , 2022. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ RE A

supreme court

had long taken a more incremen-
tal approach, pushing various
clinic rules and restrictions that
would make abortion care more
difficult without banning the
procedure outright, under the
theory that such measures had a
better chance of withstanding
court challenges.
National groups like Ameri-
cans United for Life remained
focused on a “mother child”
strategy, which included talking
about their belief that some
forms of abortion are dangerous
for the woman while pushing
legislation that purported to
make clinics safer. They sought
to mandate clinics to widen their
hallways or hire doctors with
admitting privileges at local hos-
pitals, moves that led to the
closure of some clinics.

The Trump era

The direction of the move-
ment changed again when a New
York businessman and television
personality suddenly stormed his
way into the 2016 Republican
presidential nomination fight.
With a documented personal life
that did not lend itself to evan-
gelical support, Trump made
overturning Roe v. Wade a cen-
terpiece of his campaign, at one
point even suggesting that there
needs to be “some form” of
punishment for women who seek
the procedure, before backtrack-
ing.
At a lunch with more than a
dozen others that year at the
powerhouse law firm Jones Day,
Trump said he wanted to make
the Supreme Court a campaign
priority, surprising some in the
room, including Leo, a devout
Catholic who regularly visits the
Vatican. Leo told others it was
easy to come up with list of
judges that would please the
Republican base because there
were decades of conservative
lawyers in the pipeline.
“The success of this movement
has been the result of sharp and
unwavering focus, growing pub-
lic sentiment against overreach
by judges, and consensus among
conservative activists around a
single principle that having judg-
es who respect the limits on their
power and who enforce the limits
on the power of the rest of
government, as set forth in the
Constitution, is the best way to
preserve the dignity and worth of
all people in the long run,” Leo
said.
Trump would benefit from the
fact that when Scalia died unex-
pectedly in February 2016, Mc-
Connell immediately announced

FROM PREVIOUS PAGE over 220 conservative judges to
the federal bench. Abortion
rights advocates were helpless to
stop the transformation, which
culminated in the confirmation
of Barrett, who took the oath of
office eight days before Trump
lost reelection.
“The most devastating gut
punch was when Justice Gins-
burg died,” said Kristin Ford, the
vice president of communica-
tions and research at NARAL, a
national abortion rights group. “I
remember bracing for how much
worse things were going to get.

The aftermath The sudden shift in the make- up of the high court opened the floodgates in state legislatures. At least nine states passed abortion bans in 2019 that clearly violated Roe, which protects abortion up to the point of viabil- ity, around 22 to 24 weeks, each hoping their law would make it all the way up to an increasingly conservative Supreme Court. In May 2021, the activists got what they were looking for when the Supreme Court agreed to consider a ban from Mississippi that outlawed abortion at 15 weeks in the case that’s now poised to overturn Roe. By the time the Southern Bap- tist Convention gathered last year, they had fully repudiated their past views, embracing an aggressive approach that some in the antiabortion movement had rebuffed just a few years before. “We will not embrace an incre- mental approach alone to ending abortion because it challenges God’s Lordship over the heart and the conscience and rejects His call to repent of sin complete- ly and immediately,” the platform read. Meanwhile, antiabortion advocates in Texas decided not to wait for a Supreme Court ruling. Frustrated by all the bans that had been blocked by the courts, former Texas solicitor general Jonathan Mitchell developed a novel legal strategy with law- makers to evade a court chal- lenge: empowering private citi- zens to enforce the law. The gambit worked. “PRAISE THE LORD!” Texas state representative Matt Schaefer (R) texted Mitchell just after the Supreme Court ruled in early September to allow the six-week abortion ban in Texas to take effect. That night, Mitchell let the significance of the moment sink in. “It was the first time a state had successfully imposed a six- week abortion ban since Roe v. Wade,” he said.

BY MARIANNA SOTOMAYOR

Rep. Susan Wild (D-Pa.) is not
waiting for the Supreme Court to
officially overturn Roe v. Wade to
bluntly ask constituents in her
swing district to consider what
other rights might be at risk.
“Contraception? Deciding how
many children to have, or not to
have children at all? Whether you
can marry the person you love,
regardless of gender or color?
Whether women can get credit in
their own names?” Wild tersely
said, rallying with activists less
than 24 hours after a draft opin-
ion leaked, revealing the court’s
likely plans to overturn Roe. “The
will of the American people is
being violated as part of an ideo-
logical crusade by far-right forc-
es, and it means that all of our
constitutional rights are at stake.”
She blamed former president
Donald Trump — “a president
who lost the popular vote,” she
noted — and the three conserva-
tive justices he appointed, who
she said “outright lied during
their confirmation hearings” in
claiming Roe was settled law.
Wild has spent months avoid-
ing culture-war topics in her
moderate district, but her pas-
sionate speech at a courthouse
rally Tuesday night was reminis-
cent of 2018, when Trump’s presi-
dency invigorated liberal activ-
ists, many of them women. That
year, Democrats flipped dozens of
seats long held by Republicans —
including Wild’s district in east-
ern Pennsylvania that includes
suburban Allentown and Bethle-
hem.
Wild narrowly won again in
2020, when Joe Biden carried the
state, but redistricting added ru-
ral Carbon County, which Trump
won with 65 percent of the vote,
to her district. Many voters also
disapprove of the job President
Biden and Democrats are doing
and are angry about inflation,
increased gas prices and supply
chain problems. Wild, who de-
fines herself as pro-business
Democrat, has carefully tried to
explain how her party is attempt-
ing to confront these problems

and reach voters who aren’t sure which political party to trust. But as she rallied with sign- holding activists on Tuesday, Wild made clear where she stood on abortion — even if it might upset conservative voters in her district. Two years ago, Wild held a town hall in a rural part of the district and was confronted by attendees who falsely accused her and other Democrats of support- ing legislation that would abort full-term fetuses. Democratic and Republican strategists predict an overhaul of Roe by the Supreme Court this summer could galvanize the Democratic base, which previous- ly has shown little motivation to turn out this November. “So many people are incredibly angry and motivated to do something right now,” said Sam Bobila, the chief external affairs officer at Planned Parenthood Keystone, who joined Wild at the rally and was struck by the energy of those gathered. “We’re pivoting to now making sure that our supporters are organized, and they’re mobi- lized, and they’re ready to do a couple of actions that will help us in this fight.” But even in speaking forcefully about abortion, Wild says she plans to continue focusing on the issues that her constituents ask her about often and that her Republican opponents will continue to attack her on: rising prices, the workforce and the repercussions of supply chain logjams in a largely manufactur- ing and labor community. “People in my district aren’t single issue voters, and I’m not a single issue Congresswoman,” Wild said in a statement Friday. “I’m going to continue to fight every day for the people of Penn- sylvania’s 7th, on all issues ... But you better believe reproductive freedom is going to dominate serious attention in the coming weeks and months, because people’s lives and liberty are on the line. There is nothing I take more seriously.” Republicans involved with the race say their message against

Wild will be different than in 2020, with a heavy focus on inflation, crime and immigration. “As I travel the district, the number one concern I hear about is the cost of living,” said Lisa Scheller, who was defeated by Wild in 2020 and is running again in the GOP primary on May 17. “The people of the Lehigh Valley are ready for a common-sense conservative who prioritizes good jobs, safe communities and a good standard of living.” Most of those issues came up at a roundtable Wild held last month in Allentown with 18 man- ufacturing executives who want to create more avenues for young people to be trained in textiles without the need to seek a college education, a cause Wild has championed while serving on the House Education & Labor Com- mittee. But several executives told her they were also worried about the skyrocketing price of oil, steel and other products that have caused major delays in com- pleting projects, making them lose business. Wild listened, listed bills she has introduced to combat the supply chain problem and stressed her belief that government should have a respectful relationship with businesses, conducting oversight when nec- essary. She made exuberantly clear that she is not a member of her party’s liberal wing that is often more visible and vocal. “The New Democrat Coalition that I’m a part of is not particularly a favorite of the far left,” she said, referencing the moderate, pro-business caucus. “When I first joined the New Dems, I got a fair amount of flak for that because they don’t particularly like that pro-business mentality. My answer is: Well, if you’re not going to be pro-business, then where are you going to get all these jobs people need?” Several executives noted that their workforce has been deplet- ed and suggested that refugees willing to work in labor-intensive jobs should be given appropriate visas, a process that was restrict-

ed under Trump. “The sad part is we’re not talking about employing the people already here,” one female execu- tive quipped. “But the reality is we don’t have enough workers,” another responded. Wild echoed the sentiment, noting that the declining birth- rate in the United States and the lack of people returning to the workforce after the pandemic created a labor shortage. “There are plenty of people from countries who want to come work, but we’re not doing any- thing to attract those people,” Wild said. “That’s right,” another execu- tive responded. Forty-seven minutes in, Wild mentioned Biden for the first time, noting his decision to ac- cept Ukrainian refugees, all of whom she said could bolster the workforce through proper visas. At another event with local leaders later that evening, Port- land, Pa., Mayor Heather Fischer asked Wild how to address mis- guided concerns from constituents that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) would soon send buses packed with undocumented im- migrants to the Lehigh Valley after doing it to D.C. (Abbott only sent two charter buses to the nation’s capital before facing a backlash, including from his own party, for misappropriating tax- payer funds.) “I’m really glad you asked that question,” Wild said, before ex- plaining that that’s not going to happen. She noted that planes carrying undocumented children do arrive at the Lehigh Valley airport because it’s cheaper to land there than at a New York City-area airport, where the children are eventually transported. In an interview, Fischer, who began leading a more conservative borough in Wild’s district this year, said she appreciated how accessible the congresswoman was even though she wished there were more concrete an- swers to the problems affecting her community.

“It feels like it’s all happening at one time,” she said. “There’s not a lot of positives going on, but it’s nice to see Susan Wild come out and talk about it. There’s the positive there, but it’s a lot to take in for small communities.” It’s likely Wild will face off against Scheller, her former Re- publican opponent who benefits from name recognition after seeking the seat in 2020 and has raised 10 times more than her current primary opponent, Kevin Dellicker, according to federal disclosures. During a GOP primary debate last month, Scheller expressed openness to criminalizing abor- tions except in cases where a mother’s life is at risk. She also said she did not support banning abortion pills, which are pre- scribed to induce a miscarriage in the first 10 weeks of pregnancy. Dellicker said he would support both. Scheller’s approach is one that some Republican strategists say could make her more palatable in an evenly split district filled with former GOP voters who became independents after Trump took control of the party. They point to Wild’s 2020 victory margin, which was more than six points lower than in 2018, and the fact that she held only a four-point lead over Scheller at a time when Biden was more popular. While the addition of Carbon County may skew the district more conservative, these strategists say, the midterm election winner will probably be deter- mined by voter enthusiasm and turnout in the suburban neigh- borhoods that anchor the Lehigh Valley. Voters like Paul Montgomery, 60, are waiting until after the primary to begin weighing who to pick. A former Republican who registered as an independent in 2020 after being turned off by Trump, he remains frustrated about inflation but does not re- gret his vote for Biden, largely blaming Republicans in the Sen- ate for stalling legislation that could alleviate economic prob-

lems. “I don’t understand where they’re going with their social agenda, he said about pro-Trump Republicans running for office, outside an Allentown Wegmans grocery store last month. “As far as their economic agenda, it seems like it’s just stalling Demo- crats at every phase.” Kathy Garza, 72, echoed some sympathy for Biden, saying that most of the issues he faces are “not really his fault.” She contin- ues to identify as a Republican, having voted neither for Biden nor Trump, but acknowledged many like her in suburban Lehigh Valley are turned off by candidates who embrace Trump’s style and act as obstructionists in Con- gress. She likes Wild and acknowledged that not hearing much about her in the news is actually a good thing. “That’s what I like,” Garza, who is retired, said outside of a Wawa gas station. “I think she votes with her head and not her heart, and that’s important.” The National Republican Con- gressional Committee has paint- ed Wild as a liberal parading back home as a moderate, often point- ing to her 100 percent voting record with Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) this congressional term. (She broke with Pelosi on one vote — the Heroes Act — during her first term). It’s an attack Scheller has already used in campaign ads that labels Wild as helping to push a “radical agenda.” But Wild and her team are confident voters will see through the attempts to categorize her as a staunch liberal, citing her accessi- bility and close ties to constituents who often call or text her personal cellphone — which, they argue, is the ultimate way to mobilize voters. “I think people either turn out to vote or don’t turn out to vote based on whether they feel like they have something to vote for, and I am pretty confident my district feels like they have something to vote for,” she said.

A s wing-district Democrat avoided culture wars. Then the Roe draft leaked.

from a trip in the Virgin Islands that he would not replace him with Obama’s nominee to the Supreme Court. McConnell’s crit- ics called the move craven, and even some Republicans won- dered if he could hold. Abortion rights leaders were furious. “They broke all the rules,” said Hagstrom Miller, who testified against Justice Neil M. Gorsuch during his confirmation hearings. “It just feels like they lied and cheated and stole those really important roles, and now we can’t rely on the justice sys- tem.” Gorsuch, Trump’s first Su- preme Court nominee, was one of those included on the first list of six people that Leo had brought to Trump. Leo went to the White House in 2017 with a second list of five proposed candidates that included Brett M. Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Bar- rett, who would become Trump’s next two picks for the high court, replacing the retiring Kennedy and the late Ruth Bader Gins- burg. Leo, McGahn and McConnell became a team, working to keep the judicial nominations effort

moving even as other parts of Trump’s term fell victim to inter- nal fighting. The three men usu- ally agreed, with McGahn and Leo, among others, searching for nominees, and McConnell quickly confirming them. McConnell credited Trump’s advisers for the picks and Trump himself for “signing off on them.” Trump would frequently ask advisers if his administration was setting records for judicial nominees, and if judicial candi-

dates were “tough” and “looked the part,” according to multiple people familiar with the conver- sations who spoke on the condi- tion of anonymity to reveal inter- nal discussions. He never veered from the lists of candidates suggested by Leo and others, they said. Josh Holmes, a McConnell ad- viser, said it was an “eternal campaign” to “keep the accolades rolling in so Trump would stay interested in the topic.” “Part of McConnell’s goal was to make sure that Trump was getting the accolades that he needed to keep on doing what he was doing,” Holmes said. “There was no shortage of effort to raise the profile of the judges issue so Trump would continue to have interest in it. Every time I saw Trump privately, he’d say, Mitch McConnell. Judges. Judges. Judges. The only thing he wants is judges.” A spokesman did not respond to a request to interview Trump for this story. Leo found he had extensive access in the White House, and that the judges issue moved quickly compared to previous White Houses, he told oth-

ers. After Gorsuch’s confirmation in 2017, Trump was delighted by the progress. Flying on Air Force One, Trump raved to McConnell and others about what a good nominee he had been, according to Rep. Garland “Andy” Barr (R-Ky.), who told the story on the “Ruthless” podcast last week. “And he went on for a pretty good while with his monologue about how this was the greatest choice ever to the United States Supreme Court. And at some point, after about 10 minutes or so, the president took a breath,” Barr recalled. “When there was a pause in the action, leader Mc- Connell didn’t miss a beat. He kind of leaned forward and he said, ‘Mr. President, when are you going to thank me for that?’” Ironically, the two men who had played such a central role in reshaping the nation’s judiciary have not spoken since the end of 2020 , after Trump turned on McConnell for not attempting to overturn the results of the election he lost. By the end of his presidency, in part because of the 2020 death of Ginsburg, Trump had named

JABIN BOTSFORD/THE WASHINGTON POST President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump stand with Amy Coney Barrett, newly confirmed to the S upreme Court, and her husband, Jesse Barrett, at the White House in October 2020. The GOP’s shaping of the federal bench girded the antiabortion movement.

“The success of

this movement has

been the result

of sharp and

unwavering focus.” Leonard Leo, chairman and former vice president of the Federalist Society

The Washington Post - USA (2022-05-08)

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