Conservative Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito spoke last night to a prominent Washington right-wing group. He said that the leak of the court’s opinion overturning abortion rights across the country put the justices in danger, Ed Pilkington reports:
Samuel Alito, who wrote the draught opinion that would have taken away the right to abortion, has said that the leak put the conservative majority at risk of being killed.
Alito said at the Heritage Foundation, a right-leaning think tank in Washington, that the leak a month before the final ruling was made public was “a grave breach of trust by someone” that put the lives of several justices in danger.
“The leak also made those of us who were thought to be in the majority in favor of overturning Roe and Casey targets for murder, because it gave people a good reason to think they could stop that from happening by killing one of us.”
Tuesday night’s debate for Pennsylvania’s US Senate seat was all about abortion rights. Republican candidate Mehmet Oz, a famous doctor, said that decisions about abortion should be left to “women, doctors, and local political leaders,” while the Democratic candidate, John Fetterman, criticized the GOP’s hardline stance.
Oz, a former surgeon and longtime host of the Dr. Oz show, started the debate in Harrisburg by talking about how he wanted to “make Washington civil again.” The Republican who backed Trump said that he wanted to “unite, not divide.”
But Oz quickly went back to the 2022 Republican playbook, which has been marked by abrasiveness in races all over the US. He called Fetterman, Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor, a “left-wing extremist” with “radical positions.”
John Fetterman, the Democratic lieutenant governor of the state, was still getting better from his stroke. He tried to get closer to it and said, “It knocked me down, but I’ll keep getting back up.”
His Republican opponent, Mehmet Oz, didn’t have that problem, but he made a mistake when he said “women, doctors, and local political leaders” should decide who has access to abortions. This is exactly the kind of comment Democrats were hoping to hear to remind people that the GOP is a threat to their right to choose how to have children.
Still, Fetterman had a rough night, and an online poll from a Pittsburgh TV station shows that people noticed:
NEW: WPXI Online Poll
Who won the PA Senate Debate?
(R) Mehmet Oz — 82%
(D) John Fetterman — 18%https://t.co/IBfFJGetal pic.twitter.com/qsp265y8EJ— InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) October 26, 2022
Here’s how the state’s departing Republican senator Pat Toomey put it:
Anyone watching today could tell there was only one person on that stage who can represent Pennsylvania in the U.S. Senate: @droz.
It’s sad to see John Fetterman struggling so much. He should take more time to allow himself to fully recover. #pasenatedebate @abc27
— Pat Toomey (@PatToomey) October 26, 2022
Bob Casey Jr, Pennsylvania’s sitting Democratic senator, tied Fetterman’s debate performance, where he was assisted by a closed caption system, to the larger issue of rights for people with disabilities:
My office adds closed captions and alt text to our social media because we know that inclusivity and accessibility bring folks closer to our democracy and the governing process. Accessibility makes our democracy stronger. #PASenateDebate
— Bob Casey Jr. (@Bob_Casey) October 26, 2022
Meanwhile, an independent running as a write-in candidate on the ballot last night withdrew his candidacy, telling his supporters to vote for Fetterman:
U.S. Senate Announcement: I am polling around 3% which places Democracy at risk. In the interest of protecting the United States I am dropping out of the U.S Senate Race in PA. I fully endorse John Fetterman. The Democrats must win. PA must be Blue. It has been an honor running.
— Everett Stern (@EverettStern1) October 25, 2022
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Jessa Martin is the author of Nogmagazine, A professional in writing by day, and novelist by night, she received her bachelor of arts in film from Howard University and her master of arts in media studies from the New School. A Brooklyn native, she is a lover of naps, cookie dough, and beaches, currently residing in the borough she loves, most likely multitasking.