Peter Wehner puts the problem of Congressional Republican self interest vs. that of the the common good very well in his NYT opinion piece What in the World Happened to Elise Stefanik?:

“Ms. Stefanik’s story is important in part because it mirrors that of so many other Republicans. They, like Ms. Stefanik, are opportunists, living completely in the moment, shifting their personas to advance their immediate political self-interests. A commitment to ethical conduct, a devotion to the common good and fidelity to truth appear to have no intrinsic worth to them. These qualities are mere instrumentalities, used when helpful but discarded when inconvenient.”

Remember the following when it comes time to vote.  Well summarized by Heather Cox Richardson in her July 23 Letters from an American:

“In the House, Republicans voted against federal protection of an individual’s right to choose whether to continue or end a pregnancy and to protect a health care provider’s ability to provide abortion services: 209 Republicans voted no; 2 didn’t vote. That’s 99% of House Republicans.

They voted against the right to use contraception: 195 out of 209 Republicans voted no; 2 didn’t vote. That’s 96% of House Republicans.

They voted against marriage equality: 157 out of 204 Republicans voted no; 7 didn’t vote. That’s 77% of House Republicans.

They voted against a bill guaranteeing a woman’s right to travel across state lines to obtain abortion services: 205 out of 208 Republicans voted no; 3 didn’t vote. That’s 97% of House Republicans.”

Jamelle Bouie writes in the NYT about the problems inherent in the current manifestation of the U.S. Senate.  It’s worth a read: Joe Manchin Is a Symptom, but It’s the Senate That’s Sick

Paul Rosenzweig writing in the Atlantic, and Jim Waldo in the Boston Globe discuss how there are many, many problems with the Secret Services claim that January 6 2021 text messages were “deleted.” As Rosenzweig says, “At best, it’s a tale of shocking incompetence. At worst, it’s much, much worse.”

Eugene Robinson, writing in the Washington Post, quotes the  Atlanta Journal-Constitution in describing how Georgia US Senate candidate Herschel Walker (supported, natch, by DJT) explained his views on the mechanics of climate change to a group of Republican activists:

“We don’t control the air. Our good air decided to float over to China’s bad air. So when China gets our good air, their bad air has got to move. So it moves over to our good air space. Then, now, we’ve got we to clean that back up.”

Enough said.

The NYT lists The 147 Republicans Who Voted to Overturn Election Results in January 2021; the eight senators and 139 representatives who voted to sustain one or both objections to certifying the presidential election.  Remember them.

Well, with the release of the latest West Virginia v. EPA decision (details here), it seems to me that once the rulings have begun to demonstrate clearly appalling consequences for the safety of US citizens and for the planet, as well as send an overt signal that may prevent federal agencies from properly regulating their charged duties, it’s time to consider reining in this court to prevent future erroneous actions.    See Ezra Klein’s excellent podcast interview with Columbia Law professor Jamal Greene for a wonderful discussion on the subject of improving the court – and not just changing it for reasons of partisanship.

From the Dobbs v. Jackson majority opinion overturning Roe v Wade:

John Gruber at the always excellent Daring Fireball pulls some sadly relevant language from the dissent of the all-too-erroneous Dobbs v. Jackson Supreme Court Decision.  John’s last quote from that dissent (it starts on page 148 of the decision), written by justices, Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan follows:

“One of us once said that “[i]t is not often in the law that so few have so quickly changed so much.” For all of us, in our time on this Court, that has never been more true than today. In overruling Roe and Casey, this Court betrays its guiding principles.

With sorrow — for this Court, but more, for the many millions of American women who have today lost a fundamental constitutional protection — we dissent.”