Could there be a more graphic illustration of the differences between the two major American political parties than their reaction to the leak of a draft opinion regarding the probable fate of Roe v. Wade?
Someone on the U.S. Supreme Court staff likely leaked the document to Politico, which then revealed it to the world. The draft, written by Justice Samuel Alito, suggests the court is ready to overturn the landmark January 1973 ruling that legalized abortion in the United States.
Conservatives have hailed the opinion. Liberals (such as me, your friendly blogger) have condemned it.
The back-story reaction, though, is most telling. Conservatives want the leaker’s head on a platter. It’s the thought that someone would violate the court’s privacy that has the right-wingers all worked up. Liberals, meanwhile, are less concerned about the leak than the contents of the opinion. I’m on the libs’ side.
Of course, I was surprised that it became known via a leaked document. It’s never happened before.
But, geez, there weren’t any national secrets revealed! Indeed, the privacy invasion strikes many of us as ironic, given that the SCOTUS’s conservative majority doesn’t seem at all concerned about a woman’s privacy in determining whether to end a pregnancy. But leak a draft document? The world is coming to an end!
I realize this is just one example of the chasm that divides the two major parties. It’s just too damn bizarre to ignore.