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From landmark legislation on guns to harrowing testimony at the Jan. 6 hearing to an historic ruling on abortion, it’s been an especially newsworthy 48-hour period, to say the least. Topline readers’ opinions on these issues may vary, but in each case, the value of democracy has been thrown into stark relief. First, our voices matter. With Roe v. Wade no longer the law of the land, states will once again determine the particulars as to the legality of abortion. As President Biden remarked today, the issue will literally be on the ballot in November. Vote. Second, when done right, democracy accomplishes positive things. Bipartisan work on gun safety legislation is proof that it’s still possible to shun extremism and build consensus around issues that matter deeply to Americans. Kudos. Third, it all depends on whether honorable people are leading the way. As the Jan. 6 committee reveals more about the plot to overturn the 2020 presidential election results, it’s clear that the best defense of democracy is people who put principle above party. Always. —Melissa Amour, Managing Editor
Biden administration announces $450 million in additional military assistance for Ukraine — [[link removed]]CNN [[link removed]]
Arizona GOP chair Kelli Ward subpoenaed in fake elector scheme — [[link removed]]Arizona Republic [[link removed]]
Georgia voting rights lawsuit that could impact 2022 elections wraps up — [[link removed]]The Atlanta-Journal Constitution [[link removed]]
A month after Uvalde massacre, new revelations continue to compound community's grief — [[link removed]]ABC News [[link removed]]
Birx tells House panel that Trump White House asked her to weaken Covid guidance — [[link removed]]The New York Times [[link removed]]
Roe v. Wade is no more
The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade this morning, eliminating the federal constitutional right to an abortion that has stood for nearly 50 years. As one of the most politically divisive issues in America, the decision immediately sparked protests and celebrations across the country. The vote was 5-3-1, with Justices Stephen Breyer, Elena Kagan, and Sonia Sotomayor dissenting “with sorrow.” Chief Justice John Roberts did not join the majority, writing in a concurring opinion that he would not have overturned Roe but would have only upheld Mississippi's law banning abortions after 15 weeks. Going forward, abortion rights will be determined by the states, unless Congress takes federal action. —CNN [[link removed]]
“You can have the final word.” Calling it a “sad day for the court and the country,” President Biden addressed the nation, saying, “Let’s be very clear: the health and life of women across this nation are now at risk.” He then challenged Congress to act on abortion rights legislatively. To the American public, he added, “With your vote, you can act.” —Associated Press [[link removed]]
The national landscape will change quickly. First, 13 states with “trigger bans,” designed to take effect as soon as Roe is overturned, will ban abortion within 30 days. Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt has already issued an opinion allowing such a bill to go forward. Several other states where recent antiabortion legislation has been blocked by lower courts are expected to act next, and states with pre-Roe abortion bans may bring them back to life. Blue states are doing the exact opposite. In Massachusetts, for example. Gov. Charlie Baker signed an executive order [[link removed]] to protect healthcare providers who provide abortion services to out-of-state residents. —The Washington Post [[link removed]]
What’s next? Most of the conservative justices claimed that the court's decision to revoke abortion rights does not mean other similar rights—such as contraception access and same-sex marriage—are at risk. But Justice Clarence Thomas took a different tack. He called on the court to "reconsider” all precedents based on the 14th Amendment's due process clause, “including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell.” —Insider [[link removed]]
MORE: Read the Supreme Court opinion overturning Roe v. Wade — [[link removed]]Politico [[link removed]]
A criminal conspiracy comes to light
The Jan. 6 committee hearings are confirming what most of us already knew: Donald Trump and his inner circle conspired to overturn the 2020 election; a handful of people stopped the conspiracy from going forward; and a few key figures could have stopped the mob from storming the Capitol—but did nothing. What’s shocking is the amount of evidence the panel has gathered, the number of people involved, and the sheer brazenness of the attempt. Top officials’ testimonies and private emails and texts reveal they were actively aware of the crimes they were engaged in and closer than we feared to success. Ultimately, these hearings could be a catalyst for criminal accountability. —Democracy Brief [[link removed]]
“How close we came to losing it all.” Rep. Adam Kinzinger led yesterday’s public hearing, which focused on Trump’s attempts to manipulate the Justice Department into his scheme to overturn the 2020 election. Key witnesses included former acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen and former acting Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue, who testified in detail about Trump’s plot, which Donoghue said “may well have spiraled us into a constitutional crisis.” —Associated Press [[link removed]]
The coup is coming from inside the House. Reps. Mo Brooks, Matt Gaetz, Andy Biggs, Louie Gohmert, Scott Perry, and Marjorie Taylor Greene were among the Republican members of Congress who asked Trump to insulate them from future prosecutions by granting them presidential pardons in the days immediately following the Capitol attack. Brooks, who just lost a GOP primary election for a Senate seat, went as far as asking for pre-emptive pardons for “every congressman and senator who voted to reject the Electoral College vote submissions of Arizona and Pennsylvania.” Gee, wonder why? —The Guardian [[link removed]]
That there, Clark, is a search warrant. Federal investigators carried out an early-morning search on Wednesday at the home of Jeffrey Clark, a former Justice Department official deeply involved in the effort to strong-arm the nation’s top prosecutors into supporting Trump’s claims of election fraud. The search suggests that the DOJ’s criminal investigation is slowly but surely moving closer to Trump himself. As for Clark, he's pleading the Fifth. What a surprise. —The New York Times [[link removed]]
MORE: Nearly 6 in 10 Americans want Trump charged for insurrection — [[link removed]]HuffPost [[link removed]]
Hayden, Clapper, McChrystal, Lute & Hertling: Join us in defending democracy 
“Written by Americans who are deeply committed to the health of our democracy, [the Safe and Fair Elections Pledge by Team Democracy] asks all Americans to come together on an important piece of common ground—a safe place where regardless of political persuasion, we can agree to embrace the most fundamental cornerstones of our democracy by committing ourselves to elections that are both secure and accessible; and assuring the peaceful transition of power according to the rule of law.” —Gen. Michael Hayden, Lt. Gen. James Clapper, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute & Lt. Gen Mark Hertling in USA Today [[link removed]]
Gen. Michael Hayden (U.S. Air Force, ret.) is chair of Team Democracy, the former director of the CIA and NSA, and the former principal deputy director of National Intelligence. Lt. Gen. James Clapper (U.S. Air Force, ret.) served as director of National Intelligence and the Defense Intelligence Agency. Gen. Stanley McChrystal (U.S. Army, ret.) served as commander of Joint Special Operations Command. Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute (U.S. Army, ret.) served as the U.S. ambassador to NATO and deputy national security adviser. Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, (U.S. Army, ret.) served as the commanding general of the U.S. Army Europe and the Seventh Army.
MORE: Texas GOP's new platform says Biden didn't really win the 2020 election — [[link removed]]NPR [[link removed]]
Gun legislation passes Congress
After 30 years of relative inaction on gun safety, Congress has passed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. The legislation enhances background checks for potential gun buyers under the age of 21, provides funding for states to implement red flag laws, strengthens laws against straw purchasing and trafficking of guns, shores up mental health programs, toughens school security, and tightens a federal ban on domestic abusers buying firearms. A deal on the compromise bill was struck in the Senate earlier in the week by Sens. Chris Murphy, Kyrsten Sinema, John Cornyn, and Thom Tillis. Fifteen Republicans [[link removed]] then voted to end a filibuster and allow the legislation to pass the upper chamber. In the House, 14 Republicans joined all Democrats to pass the bill. The measure now heads to President Biden, who is expected to sign it. —The New York Times [[link removed]]
MORE: Supreme Court allows the carrying of firearms in public in major victory for gun-rights groups — [[link removed]]NBC News [[link removed]]
Bump: Democracy requires honor 
“Protection of the American election system depends on having a hierarchy of individual actors willing to defend that system. Trump tried hard—cajoling, threatening, condemning—to get enough individuals in enough places to weaken the system so that he could retain power. He failed, but he’s been pointed in his endorsements this year that candidates who pledge to put party (or, ideally, Trump) first are the people he thinks should serve in office.” —Philip Bump in The Washington Post [[link removed]]
Philip Bump is a correspondent at The Washington Post.
MORE: Center-right pushes back against election deniers — [[link removed]]The Fulcrum [[link removed]]
Schmidt: There is hope amid the partisan doom loop
“Over the last decade there has been a broad, national trend toward an increasing share of political independents. The percentage of Americans who no longer identify with either political party is rising.” —Lynn Schmidt in St. Louis Post-Dispatch [[link removed]]
Lynn Schmidt is a Renew America Movement Fellow.
MORE: Will Hurd: The crucial role of political centrists — [[link removed]]Common Ground Committee [[link removed]]
What a bizarre state of hypocrisy. SCOTUS says on one hand states cannot decide their own gun laws, but they can decide their own abortion laws. Judicial confusion and hypocrisy can only mean one thing: SCOTUS decisions based on political ideology and theology, not on the law nor the Constitution. A prediction of what comes next…
1. A slew of 1st, 4th, and 13th Amendment lawsuits challenging state laws restricting abortion from the moment of conception.
2. An exodus of educated and wealthy people from red states, where abortion laws are the most restrictive. 
3. A resultant increase in infant and expectant mother mortality rates in red states with the most restrictive abortion laws. The opposite of pro-life.
4. Large corporate employers will exit red states with the most restrictive abortion laws.
5. Economic downturns in red states with the most restrictive abortion laws.
6. Resultant increased reliance on federal support, welfare, and Medicaid in economically suffering red states.
7. An ultimate blue wave in now-red states as the poor and youth in those states begin to see the error of their elders' ways.
8. A push to expand the court to 13 members and add DC and Puerto Rico to the list of official states, with two senators each.
Nothing stays the same. —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.

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