An unprecedented leak

Last night’s shocking leak of an impending Supreme Court decision on Roe v. Wade has thrown the hugely divisive topic of abortion back into the national spotlight. Regardless of whether you are celebrating or mourning it, the decision, which hasn't been officially issued, has already created a firestorm of questions. Who leaked the draft and why? What will happen if Roe is overturned? What are the implications for other controversial SCOTUS decisions? Every American will have an opinion—often a very passionate one—about these intensely emotional issues. As the court, Congress, and the states drill down on them, I would humbly ask that we avoid jumping to potentially incendiary conclusions. As a nation, we've experienced a lot of upheaval over the last few years, and we’ve witnessed firsthand how public conspiracy-theorizing, even with an absence of malice, can quickly lead to widespread doubt and unrest. Facing another major clash of strongly held beliefs, the best we can do is not make a turbulent situation worse. —Miles Taylor, Executive Director, Renew America Movement

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‘We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled’

The Supreme Court has voted to strike down the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, according to an initial draft majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito and leaked last night. The draft opinion is an unflinching repudiation of the 1973 decision that guaranteed federal constitutional protections of abortion rights and a subsequent 1992 decision—Planned Parenthood v. Casey—that largely maintained the right. “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start,” Alito writes. If it becomes official, the decision would have widespread ramifications, leading to abortion bans in some states and new advocacy efforts to protect access to abortion, and potentially reshape this year’s midterm elections. —Politico

• “An abomination.” Democrats, not surprisingly, are livid. “The Republican-appointed justices’ reported votes to overturn Roe v. Wade would go down as…one of the worst and most damaging decisions in modern history,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said. “Several of these conservative justices, who are in no way accountable to the American people, have lied to the U.S. Senate, ripped up the Constitution, and defiled both precedent and the Supreme Court’s reputation.” Sen. Elizabeth Warren said an “extremist Supreme Court” was poised to “impose its far-right, unpopular views on the entire country.” —The Guardian

• “Clearly meant to intimidate.” Instead of the content of the ruling, Republicans have focused their ire on the leak itself. “This breach shows that radical Democrats are working even harder to intimidate and undermine the Court,” said Sen. Rick Scott. “It was always their plan. The justices cannot be swayed by this attack.” Sen. Marco Rubio said, “The next time you hear the far-left preaching about how they are fighting to preserve our Republic’s institutions and norms, remember how they leaked a Supreme Court opinion in an attempt to intimidate the justices on abortion.” —The Hill

• “An egregious breach of trust.” The court today confirmed the authenticity of the leaked draft, which was dated to February, and Chief Justice John Roberts said he had ordered an investigation into the leak. A court statement released today also emphasized that the draft is not the justices’ final word. Opinions often change in ways big and small in the drafting process, and a final ruling has not been expected until the end of the court’s term in late June or early July. Stay tuned. —Associated Press

MORE: Biden says 'a woman's right to choose is fundamental' following Supreme Court draft opinion that would strike down Roe —CNN

Focus on the Jan 6 investigation

In a late-night decision, U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly ruled on Sunday to throw out the Republican National Committee’s request to block its email vendor and software company, tied to Donald Trump’s re-election campaign, from answering a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The ruling won’t go into effect immediately, so the RNC can appeal, but the judge made it clear that he sided with House investigators’ wishes. “It is hard to imagine a more important interest for Congress than to preserve its own ability to carry out specific duties assigned to it under the Constitution,” Kelly wrote in a 53-page ruling. —The Daily Beast

• Dividers go low. Reps. Andy Biggs, Mo Brooks, and Ronny Jackson rejected requests from the panel to testify voluntarily regarding the Capitol attack. All three slammed the committee, calling it illegitimate or characterizing the probe as a "witch hunt." Brooks, who shared details of a pressure campaign by Trump after the ex-president withdrew his endorsement for Brooks' Senate campaign, said the moment had passed for his cooperation. He said in a statement, “I wouldn't help Nancy Pelosi and Liz Cheney cross the street—I'm definitely not going to help them and their partisan Witch Hunt Committee." Classy. —NPR

• Renewers stand tall. Renewer Reps. Jaime Herrera Beutler and Dan Newhouse, two of the 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Trump in the wake of the Capitol attack, both went further than previously known in pushing to have Trump removed. Newhouse, in a meeting of House Republicans following the attack, raised the idea of invoking the 25th Amendment, which would have allowed a majority of Trump’s Cabinet to vote to remove him from office. And Herrera Beutler, in the same meeting, suggested that GOP leaders in the House and Senate ask Trump to resign. —The Seattle Times

• Odds and ends. After months of negotiations, Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani is expected to appear before the panel this month. Meanwhile, former GOP Rep. Denver Riggleman, a RAM adviser who has served as a senior technical adviser to the committee, will leave the position to begin work with a nonprofit organization in Ukraine. Riggleman is a disinformation expert who helped sift through data the committee took in as part of its investigation. “It is my sincerest hope that this committee can produce a facts-based report on those responsible for Jan. 6, and identify processes and polices to prevent such activities in the future,” he wrote. “The importance of the committee cannot be overstated.” —ABC News

MORE: Georgia official contacted Mark Meadows during Trump phone call —ABC News

Dent: Defeat fear by fighting it

“In the last decade, the fringe elements within the party have increasingly dominated the GOP's narrative. This problem will persist unless the decent people of the Republican Party stand up, speak out, and lead from a position of strength instead of fear. And the way to defeat fringe elements who instigate and launch primaries is to fight them. Full stop.” —Charlie Dent on CNN

Charlie Dent is an advisor to the Renew America Movement. He formerly represented Pennsylvania in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he chaired the House Ethics Committee and the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies.

MORE: Kinzinger says it's insane that Marjorie Taylor Greene plays victim —Insider

Boot: NATO cannot let Putin intimidate it

“We cannot stop Putin from a reckless escalation, but we need to convince him that the price would be too high to pay. We certainly should not allow his threats to deter us from providing Ukraine with every weapon it needs to win. If Putin were to prevail, he would be emboldened to further aggression—and so would other rogue states such as China. We have to make clear that, as President George H.W. Bush said after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, ‘This aggression … will not stand.’” —Max Boot in The Washington Post

Max Boot is a Washington Post columnist, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, and the author of “The Road Not Taken: Edward Lansdale and the American Tragedy in Vietnam.”

MORE: Putin may soon officially declare war on Ukraine, U.S. and Western officials say —CNN

‘If they win…we’ve got real problems on our hands’

Voters in about two dozen states will be choosing their state’s next chief election official this year. One of those states—Ohio—is holding its primary election today; whichever candidate emerges victorious from the Republican primary for secretary of state is widely favored to eventually win the office in the GOP-dominated state. A number of these candidates embrace the falsehood of rampant fraud in the 2020 presidential election. “All one has to imagine is…what it would have been like if [Georgia Secretary of State] Brad Raffensperger had said, ‘Yes, I will find you those votes and deliver Georgia for you,’” says Jocelyn Benson, Michigan’s secretary of state. “That’s what could happen if you have an election denier serving as secretary of state.” Former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, an adviser to RAM, agrees. “This is an effort to replace the people who oversee these races—to change the rules to make the results come out the way they want them to,” she says. —Florida Politics

MORE: These states are about to put new voting laws to the test —The Daily Beast

Molineaux & Nevins: A new politics is needed

“Throughout unforeseen events like a global pandemic, insurrection, and the land-grab by Russia in Ukraine, we have seen the strain on our checks and balances. Without accountability by the voters and judicial system, will our checks and balances hold? The increasing polarization is plaguing the ability of our democracy to survive. Throughout the last year, we have stood fast by the principles that are the basis for our philosophy of self-governance. We believe we are better as a nation when we collaborate, embrace differences, focus on solutions, and are open-minded, all ensuring that Americans are informed and active. This is the foundation of a just and healthy democracy where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.” —Debilyn Molineaux & David Nevins on The Fulcrum

Debilyn Molineaux is president/CEO of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund. David Nevins is co-founder and board chair at the Bridge Alliance. They are co-publishers of The Fulcrum.

MORE: Garry Kasparov and Uriel Epshtein: Utah Senate race could hold the key to breaking political polarization —CNN

The current Republican Party has become the party of authoritarian socialism. Ron DeSantis, Greg Abbott, Glenn Youngkin, and Donald Trump all have no qualms using the power of the state to interfere with your life, from the boardroom to the bedroom. Everyone should be terrified of DeSantis’ election police, which is clearly meant to intimidate people. The abuse of the power of the state to deprive individuals of their liberties is the tool of the current GOP.

This is not Ronald Reagan’s party, nor is it William F. Buckley’s vision for the American conservative movement.

A new breed of true American conservative though is rising in the West. Be it the independents backing Evan McMullin in Utah, or the pro-business Democrats backing Jared Polis in Colorado. Free markets, free enterprise, and freedom to live your personal life as you please (as long as you don’t hurt others) is embodied in the American West.

Let’s hope this liberty movement spreads to red states currently occupied by the authoritarian socialists abusing their power and costing taxpayers billions through their corruption and expropriation of commercial activity. —Ken G., Colorado

The views expressed in "What's Your Take?" are submitted by readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff, the Renew America Movement, or the Renew America Foundation.