I’m back today on The BradCast, after Nicole Sandler of RadioOrNot.com filled in for a few days! (Thanks, Nicki!!!) And while little has changed in the GOP race for the White House since I’ve been gone, it was a very big weekend for Bernie Sanders on the Democratic side, even if the mainstream corporate media continues to disregard his campaign. [Audio link for the complete show is at bottom of article.]
Then, I’m joined by constitutional law expert Ian Millhiser, author of Injustices: The Supreme Court’s History of Comforting the Comfortable and Afflicting the Afflicted
, to explain today’s stunning ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in favor of public sector unions. The decision in Friedrich v. California Teachers Association is a major turnaround from what had been the expected outcome earlier this year when we spoke to Millhiser in January just after oral argument in what had been regarded as “the biggest legal attack on unions in decades”.
Thanks, however, to a 4 to 4 deadlock on the Court, in the wake of the recent death of Rightwing activist Justice Antonin Scalia, today’s ruling is the opposite of what had been previously expected and “one of the first consequences” of his death, says Millhiser. “Scalia was probably going to be the fifth vote to do some serious violence to the way that public sector unions are funded,” he explains, while detailing why today’s ruling is very good news for both Democrats and democracy itself in the wake of what had been “potentially an existential threat to unions.”
“What this decision does mean is that if someone wants to undermine unions, they don’t get to take a shortcut. They don’t get to go to five Justices and get the Justices to put in place the laws they want for them,” Millhiser tells me.
He also decodes the Court’s somewhat “baffling” order today concerning a challenge by religious activists to the ‘ObamaCare’ contraception mandate, as well as the latest status of the GOP’s seemingly self-defeating obstruction of President Obama’s nomination to replace Scalia.
Finally, we’ve found something that both Republican and Democratic voters agree on! What happened last week to voters in Phoenix — many of whom had to wait up to 5 hours to cast a vote (and some of them were the lucky ones!) — was an outrage across the board, and we’ve got just some of the outraged voter testimony from the AZ state legislature on Monday to prove it!…
Arizona had the best voting integrity activists on the planet, who worked hard as hell, for years, to prevent future problems just like this.
The “leaders” didn’t listen.
I decided to finish watching Fatally Flawed this evening. WOW! They always seem to be able to make the activists fizzle out until the stuff hits the fan later on.
I live in a “right to work – for less” state. Never thought I’d be thanking Scalia after 2000.
Per Washington Democratic Party rules, we will not learn of the official pledged delegate count until May 21.
Washington has three layers of caucus. The public participated in the Precinct Caucuses on March 26. There will be Legislative District Caucuses on April 17 and County Conventions on May 1. 67 of the delegates will be selected on May 21.
I dare say some of Tony’s best rulings are ahead….he’s making the world a better place, and who are we to judge the way he goes about it?….i’m sure he’s smiling and for me that’s enough…
Republican Sec of state has been undermining the democrats voting for a very long time. In 2004 Ohio S O S had one college voters standing in line for 10 to 11 hours to cast a vote while a republican district got through in 20 minutes. 2008 Fla residents were standing in line for 5 hours in heavy democrat area. We need to get out to vote in every election or soon you might as well stay home.
Brad, I know you dislike vote by mail and I don’t disagree with your dislike of it completely but one advantage of it is every registered voter receives a ballot about 2 weeks before election day and can fill it in at their leisure and return it at their convenience. That eliminates any shenanigans with inadequate polling places and lack of a paper trail. I’m pretty happy with it so far here in Oregon.
Riverat @ 6:
While I don’t disagree with your general thoughts there, I’d prefer a real fix to the problem: Precincts small enough to make both voting and hand-counting easy and quick for all.
I do recommend that folks who are forced to vote on touch-screens on Election Day use absentee instead, if possible. However, I also recommend they drop the paper ballots off on Election Day in person at the precinct or county (also, where allowable.)
I know that you and many of your fellow Oregonians are quite happy with the convenience of Vote By Mail. I suspect folks might also enjoy playing video games on the touch-screen, or receiving money in return for voting. Doesn’t mean that either of those things is a good idea! 🙂
Called election board in Ohio and ask for absentee ballot. Week later received form to fill out to get ballot. Sent form back and never got ballot. Went to election office and voted. Asked why I never received ballot and got a reply of “Well you know how the mail service works” Since that time I go in and vote at the election board office.