Bill Everhart

The party that wins the White House traditionally takes a hit in the midterm elections two years later, a fate Democrats thought they might avoid this November as recently as Labor Day weekend. With Election Day looming, however, that optimism is dwindling, and Democrats are now scrambling to revise a shortsighted campaign strategy. It may be too late.

The overturning of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court’s right-wing majority in June handed Democrats an issue for the midterm elections and has caused some Republican candidates to abandon long-held anti-abortion stances in response. Let the voters beware, however.

The passage by the U.S. Senate Sunday of the Inflation Reduction Act, which is expected to soon be approved by the House, constitutes some rare good news for Americans. It represents the largest investment in fighting climate change in U.S. history, and among its other provisions, would give Medicare the right to negotiate prices on certain prescription drugs.

The overturning of Roe v. Wade drew most of the outrage, but the U.S. Supreme Court’s extremist right wing majority did plenty of other damage before the Court mercifully recessed for summer. The separation of church and state, a bedrock Constitutional principle, took two severe hits from the Court majority.

Whenever there is a mass shooting in the United States - and the clock is ticking toward the next one - ritual theater follows to compound the anger and anguish with frustration.

The shockwaves from the leak of a draft U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning the abortion rights case Roe v. Wade continue to reverberate. But the only real shock is the unprecedented leak of the draft. The political right has been plotting to sabotage women’s rights to privacy and choice for half a century and now they have the five Supreme Court votes to do so.

During the Cold War paranoia of the 1950s, “witch hunts” of Americans seen as sympathetic to the cause of Russian communism were triggered by U.S. politicians like Sen. Joe McCarthy, fueling an ugly national hysteria targeted largely at film-makers and others in the arts community. Careers were ended and lives were ruined.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine, done for no other apparent reason than to satisfy Vladimir Putin’s autocratic ambitions, is shameful. It is not, however, surprising.

It has often been said of the Olympic Games that this gathering of the world’s finest athletes represents a respite from the world’s troubles. With the Winter Olympics set to begin, however, little could be further from the truth.

On the evening of Jan. 6, 2021, stunned Americans who had watched the horrific, bloody assault on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump breathed a sigh of relief. Vice President Mike Pence had certified the results of the Electoral College vote confirming that Joe Biden was the next president. Democracy had prevailed.